Steve Sparacino
Mr. Reuter
Economics
11/15/2015
I Sense a Disturbance in my Wallet
There are very few people out there that don’t know about the prominent never ending battle between the light, the dark, and the force. The exponentially expanding empire that is the Star Wars franchise has been entertaining fans for nearly 40 years since it debuted in theaters in 1977. Though it would be difficult to find out how many people in total have seen Star Wars, boxofficemojo.com concludes that the most recent film, Revenge of the Sith in 2005, brought in $50 million. Knowing that the ticket price would be around $6, that means that at least 6% of the US population knows what Star Wars is. Though it now begs the question, how popular is Star Wars? Moreover, how much is the franchise worth?
When the first film, A New Hope, was released to theaters on May 25 1977 by George Lucas, the movie made $461 million in the United States and $314 million overseas (the numbers). This film quickly held the title of highest grossing movie of all time for a while and had a sort of monopoly of sci fi films even today. Since that time, George Lucas made 2 more movies in 1980 which was The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi in 1983 to make episodes 5 and 6. Together, the next 2 movies made almost $600 million in the box office.
However, the amazement of these films would not be possible without a significant investment. George Lucas used the highest quality graphics available when A New Hope was made. The production and use of such state of the art technology cost the producers $11 million (the numbers). Understandably, the opportunity cost of the production of the first film would be that money invested. In this instance, it’s pretty clear that the trade off was insignificant compared to the profits and an exponential increase in fandom. For the next 17 years there were no Star Wars movies, but in the later 90’s Lucasfilms, George Lucas’ company, announced the continuation of the saga. In 1997, Lucas began the production of The Phantom Menace which would be a prequel of the original series. The article, Top 10 Memories of Anticipating The Phantom Menace, put it simply “we were all stoked when we heard the news” (Geer). If you don’t trust this man’s opinion, the listen to the statistics. The film surpassed the previous films even today with over $474 million in total and over $1 billion worldwide! “At least a month before May 19th, 1999, fans camped out in front of movie theaters across the country” (Geer). Needless to say the consumer expectation was insanely positive for this movie.
Now, if you thought all of Star Wars’ money was raked in from movies alone, you’d be terribly mistaken. And if you thought that was a roll of tape with C-3PO, you’d be right. In fact, figures modeled off the series before 1995 sold 3.85 billion copies and figures made after that year sold over 5 billion! (Statistic Brain Research Institute). Not just that, but the series has published 358 books making $1.82 billion and 138 games making $3.4 billion! None of this accumulation of wealth would have been possible, however, if it weren’t for the tremendous fanbase. In fact, space.com writes that “in the 2001 United Kingdom census, some 390,000 people stated their religion as Jedi, making it the fourth largest religion surveyed” (Choi). There have even been spinoff episodes of TV shows that featured Star Wars parodies such “Family Guy's tribute-spoof season premiere episode called "Blue Harvest," in dedication the saga's 30th anniversary” (Giacomazzo). Truly, the demand and love of Star Wars was a big phenomenon.
Today, the Star Wars Saga still grows with 6 movies including the most recent Revenge of the Sith in 2005. And, a 7th movie will be released to theaters on December 18th 2015, The Force Awakens. Even after 40 years of the first film’s release, we can still see it’s popularity and wealth hold steady. In late October of 2015 ticket presales went out online for the movie and sold out in many theaters within the first minute.Yes, even after all this time the movies may have aged, but the excitement for the franchise remains timeless. There will always be a love for the force, a love for Star Wars.
Works Cited
"Box Office History for Star Wars Movies." Star Wars Franchise Box Office History. The Numbers. Web. 18 Nov. 2015.
"Box Office Mojo - Movie Index, A-Z." Box Office Mojo - Movie Index, A-Z. Box Office Mojo. Web. 18 Nov. 2015.
Choi, Charles. "How 'Star Wars' Changed the World." Space.com. 10 Aug. 2010. Web. 18 Nov. 2015.
Geer, Dan. "Top 10 Memories of Anticipating The Phantom Menace - PopcornMonster.com." Top 10 Memories of Anticipating The Phantom Menace - PopcornMonster.com. 2009. Web. 18 Nov. 2015.
Giacomazzo, Bernadette. "Star Wars Legacy: How A Little Sci-Fi Flick Became a Global Phenomenon." Latin Post RSS. Latin Post, 9 Feb. 2014. Web. 18 Nov. 2015.
"Statistic Brain." Statistic Brain. Statistic Brain. Web. 18 Nov. 2015.
It's crazy to me that the first of the films series was made to have an ending just in case it didn't do well, but now they have already made five more after that, along with three more on the way. I've always been interested in the grand total sales that the star wars movies have been able to produce but like you stated it's impossible to get a number because there industry has been ever growing since then with so much other merchandise other then the movie. It is true in saying it's like a monopoly in the sci-fi business because there is truly nothing like it.
ReplyDeleteI really like How you found a lot of numbers for money. I also found it funny that at the end you mentioned that even after all these years we still have enthusiasm for movies. Mostly because it remains (despite attempts by other) the best way to watch new movies. Although something that might dampen some of the enthusiasm is that many theaters are limiting the amount you can dress up for these movies.
ReplyDeleteA franchise as big as Star Wars knows no bounds when it comes to make amazing and profitable films. What I find interesting is how the prequel that was made after the original films made more than any other Star Wars film. Astonishing.
ReplyDeleteI personally don't recall me seeing any of the star wars movies except for the 3 one, and I only remember it because of Mace Windu and his purple light saber. I haven't seen any others that I can at least remember. But I am still well aware that it is a huge franchise and is worth billions. That being said even though I havent seen the other Star Wars movies I still will be seeing the new one in theaters. That just goes to show you the power that movies have. Although I might go and watch the other ones so I'm not lost. When I think of the most successful Sifi movie series, I think of the Star Wars and The Lord of the Rings/ Hobbit movies. Seeing the extensive amount of success the Hobbit movies had. I believe that this movie will break records for sure.
ReplyDeleteI liked how you included the box office sales chart, which really reflected how each movie did in the box office based on reviews. The second installment of the prequel trilogy received a large amount of negative feedback showing how its sales dropped off far below the other films. One question I have is about whether or not the chart has been adjusted for inflation, because I would think that the original trilogy would be close to if not higher than the prequel trilogy sales.
ReplyDeleteWhen taking in account the early movies they grossed about 11 billion dollars not to mention toys, ect. They were working with animation that was not the same as today's and were still able to make it look very good. The trailer for the new movie on youtube crashed because of how many views it received. There are people buying out whole movie theaters just for themselves so you can see how much money is really coming into the series.
ReplyDeleteThe success of the Star Wars franchise is amazing, especially considering that the first movie was almost never finished because it ran out of money for production. Now they have an affect on everything. I would say that because of the success of the previous six movies, the seventh will be even more successful. Especially considering that most of the original fans have grown up and had kid who also turned out to be fans.
ReplyDeleteI think that this is a great topic considering the release of the forces awakens in just a few weeks. I work at the movie theater so I can speak for all the hype. Star Wars has been all that has been talked about for the past few months and it was sold out the weekend the tickets went on sale in October. I think that is helps that it appeals to such a large audience and die hard fans. I know that at Majestic they are having a Star Wars Marathon of all 6 of the previous movies from 9 am till 2 am. So there will still be making money on movies that came out years ago. I like how you mentioned how a lot of the profit of star wars comes from it's merchandise because lately you can't turn around without seeing something star wars related. I don't think this Star Wars phenomenon will ever end because of the revenue it is raking in.
ReplyDeleteI think it's quite incredible how well Star Wars still holds up because for our generation we didn't experience what it was like when the movie first came out except maybe only seeing the last star wars in theaters but yet everyone still loves it and bought tickets for the new movie the minute they were released. I think what also allows star wars to have such a massive fan base is the way it appeals to kids as a sci fi with light sabers and guns yet it can still be appropriate for children, yet it has such a deep and sophisticated lore that appeals to the adults.
ReplyDeleteJust thinking about the first movie coming out in 1977 and they are still making more today is shocking. They have made many movies and not only movies but toys and books. This new movie is all anyone is talking about and the demand is so high. I know that when my dad went online to buy tickets for the movie it had been sold out because so many people have a demand for it. He eventually bought the tickets and hes making us go on Christmas. A lot of people are buying the new clothing that goes along with the movie. Overall, Star Wars has brought in a lot of money.
ReplyDeleteIt is truly fascinating at how much Star Wars has grown over years along with the profits. When this movie was released, there had been no other movie on the market it before it. The digital effects, though they seem minimal to my generations eye, were spectacular. It is hard to understand the impact that Stars Wars had on its viewers because it made so little money when the first film was released, but as years went on and the second movie came out, the interest in the sci-fy films blossomed as new generations turned over, not only increasing the demand for new films to be produced, but also an increase in production of previous films. I expect the 7th movie will prove to have substantially higher profits as tickets sold out within minutes online, causing sites to crash. As previous generations look forward to the sequel nostalgically, newer generations will be able to discover this large movie industry.
ReplyDeleteSteven you write with such a passion when talking about this topic making it very interesting and fun to read. Before I never realized how significant the movie industry was to the economy nor was I aware of the magnitude of success that Stars Wars had reached over the past three decades. As most people view movies as overpriced, we forget that much of the economy is reliant on the entertainment industry to make a profit. I liked how you incorporated monopoly into the post, not many posts that I have seen use different vocabulary words so it was nice to see it used in a sophisticated way demonstrating your knowledge on both the topic and economics: as monopoly means to dominate one market it is evident that Star Wars a prime example of this. Also that leads me to ask do you think that the upcoming movie will bring in the highest profit of all past released Star Wars films? Since dedicated fans have been waiting for over several years now, I am sure the consumer expectations are high for this upcoming film.
ReplyDeleteColin Marks
ReplyDeleteI think it's great to see how Star Wars popularity has transcended between former generations and our own. As Matt stated, our generation wasn't even born for the initial release of the first three movies, yet the whole series is wildly popular. Also I am glad Lucas splurged on the best technology possible when making the movies, because the opportunity cost of spending big early, payed off in creating one of the most if not the most popular movie series ever.
I never took in how significant the movie industry is to economics, but I did know that the star wars phenomenon was not fading. The economy is so reliant on the entertainment industry, without it there would not be a sense of arts.I liked how you involved monopoly into your persuasion. Describing a monopoly and relating it to star wars is a great economic relation. The new movie coming out is sure to bring tons of attention and create a huge profit.
ReplyDeleteI love the topic. I've had my tickets for opening night for a month. It seemed like the revenue of each movie exceeded that of its predecessor. Is this a possible indication that The Force Awakens could be the biggest movie one yet? It would have been interesting if you would have touched on the effects on movie theaters by referencing a blog post on that topic from a couple weeks ago.
ReplyDeleteIt's crazy to think how much money the Star Wars series has actually generated over the last couple years. Even when the movies aren't in theaters, fan items such as t-shirts and games have been sold worldwide bringing in a lot of cash flow. I personally think that even though so of the characters will be played by different people, the movie will be a huge success and bring in a huge profit.
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting to see how Star Wars hasn't faded into history as being our parents favorite movie when they were teenagers, but has continuously added new installments, making it an always relevant icon in society ever since its creation. Personally I do not believe that this new installment will be as favored as the episodes in the past because of the new plot line, but the enhanced graphics and CGI that will be used in the movie could possibly put it ahead of the others. As long as Disney doesn't mess it up. Anyways, I am very much looking forward to this movie as are many other people just like you clearly are.
ReplyDeleteIt's crazy to believe that the franchise has made that much money. Another thing was the people camping out for a week which is also pretty extreme. When you said they had a trade off for special effects vs. profit, I think it was a good trade off because they probably brought in more people and more people back due to how good the movie looked.
ReplyDeleteThis was an awesome topic to write about because of it's relevance right now, I know that my friends and I already have tickets for opening night and seeing how fast those sold out, this movie is going to be big. I can almost guarantee that it will surpass both Jurassic world and straight outta Compton which were both huge hits this year
ReplyDeleteIt was surprising to me to know how much more money the star wars franchise brought made through video games and figures than the movies. I think that with how much money the big movies make these days that the new star wars could set a record for the franchise in terms of profits. I don't know if the seventh can live up to the hype though because there is a ton of it. But no matter how good the movie is it will still make tons of money because of the name.
ReplyDeleteWho would've thought that the Star Wars saga would have still been insanely popular after almost 40 years after the first movie. There is still so much hype left for the saga, with people going crazy over the new movie, and some people even buying out whole theaters just to watch the movie by themselves. With how large of profits these movies and merchandise are gaining, any trade-offs are well worth it. As long as the movies live up to expectations, the series will be sure to continue gaining profits for years to come.
ReplyDeleteTo think that a movie saga this huge has stayed relevant for this long even after rebounding from major backlash in its history (the second trilogy, gag) is a testament to its success. And off of that success comes marketing opportunities. Its become its own entity almost where different parts Star Wars can be branched off and profited from, that's why there are objects in just about every marketable medium imaginable.
ReplyDeleteOverall the consumer expectations for the new movie will increase the demand for new Star Wars merchandise increasing the sales of goods such as toys and games. This also shows how the cultural effect of Star Wars as people started a Jedi religion which has a large following in the UK. With this influence on culture the Star Wars franchise has a strong grip on the sci fi market and will continue to break sales records with their movies and merchandise.
ReplyDeleteIt's crazy how Star Wars still retains its popularity after so long, because the change in expectations happens so fast in the movie industry. It seems that it has established itself as a superior product due to it's consistent quality throughout its 40 years of existence, in the movies and other ways such as tv shows, video games, and toy lightsabres. It's because of this that there is so much hype for the new movie, and also why I am going to see the movie on the night of the premier.
ReplyDeleteOverall, I thought that your blog post was well written and economically educational. I have always known that Star Wars has maintained its popularity but I never realized the staggering data behind it. It is amazing that the Star Wars brand has transcended time and the demand for its wide array of product is still high. The cultural influence of the force on many people has kept the demand high. It is interesting to point out the general cycling of sales that occurs because of the franchise, from fandom to movies to toys to spinoffs/sequels, the Star Wars franchise is able to withstand the test of time. I personally, cannot wait to see how much better the universe gets when the force finally awakens on December 18th. Overall, well done!
ReplyDeleteI had no idea that star wars had this huge of a following even today and it will be interesting to see how the new movie and possibly sequels will be received by the new generation. This demand could explode will the nostalgia created to old fans and it could continue to increase after the movie is released. I can't wait to see what happens when the movie is finally released.
ReplyDeleteAlmost hard to believe it has been 40 years, the popularity of the series is incredible. Star Wars, like it or not, is a household name, and the popularity is only rising with the release of The Force Awakens. This is the most waited for movie of this year, and I am certain the wait will be worth it. Tickets sold out so fast for the movie people are willing to pay more for already bought tickets then the Super Bowl! I myself being a huge Star Wars fan, will be waiting in the treacherously long line to see the movie, school or not. It is hard to imagine something so simple and stupid as a C3P0 tape roll could sell so well. Kohl’s big license deal this year is Star Wars, and certain parts of the store are even painted Star Wars themed. They everything, from sippy cups to blankets, and waffle irons. Stars Wars is slowly taking over, and when the movie comes out, will only grow even more.
ReplyDeleteThis was a very interesting post, since obviously the new Star Wars movie airs in exactly a week. But only 6% of America knows what Star Wars is? That seems incredibly low to me, but stats are stats. It is also intriguing to think of Star Wars as having monopolistic control over the Sci-Fi industry, because when you really think about it, no other series can come to mind other than Star Wars despite the numerous attempts. The popularity of Star Wars today can be recognized through the hype this new movie is creating, which you very accurately described in this post. I myself can't wait for the movie to come out, and once again this was a very solid post!
ReplyDeleteVery impressive details about the real fact and features within your chart form. Thank you very much.
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