Although I have a certain acumen for business and specifically the marketing realm of knowledge, it is in film that my heart lies. And so my paper topic stems from the world of movies. One of the most interesting questions I have always wondered about the film industry is what makes a good film. What are the key ingredients mixed together and put on celluloid that produces a critical and audience favorite? Is it star power? Awards recognition? Critical praise (or lack there of)? I feel like there are a number of different variables contributing to the success/failure of a film. But is that always the case? It seems that for every blockbuster hit there is a big-budget Hollywood failure. I’m not quite sure there is a specific solution or answer to this question, but I want to dig deeper into the film industry to discover what influences the box office returns of major Hollywood productions. I think that there might be more hidden influences than I imagined. For example, the box office since the start of the new year has been on fire. Each subsequent weekend produces record numbers that are unprecedented for the spring movie season. Just last weekend the Friday the 13th remake debuted with a staggering $42 million dollars, the highest opening weekend gross for a horror film ever. Who could have predicted that? Is it the bad economy leading droves of people to the multiplexes to escape their troubles? And I think that is what makes this topic so interesting. It is very capricious in the way it fluctuates and changes from the various factors. But audiences know what they like to see so maybe all the predictions about the outside influences have no real effect. It is then up to the filmmakers and the marketers to capture a piece of entertainment that audiences will enjoy; it is about their experience. After all, that is what movie-going is all about: the experience.

I’ve always felt that movie-going was always about the experience. No two people will ever agree on all the same movies, so it comes down to each individual. However, when a movie becomes a box office smash and critical darling, there is a certain common factor that unifies the audience. Each individual audience member may be having a different experience, but the audience is connected by the communal experience of sharing the moment together. It is that experience, that fleeting magic in the air that filmmakers and marketers alike wish to tap into so that every film released will lead to box office gold. But since that ephemeral movie magic can’t be captured, packaged, and delivered, it is up to the filmmakers and marketers to create a new customer experience each time with precarious results. That is how my topic relates to customer experiences, in the way marketers and filmmakers must mix the right ingredients to produce an experience that is both unique to the individual and communal amongst all movie-goers.

To further understand my topic, I found an article that discusses three distinct factors that may influence box office receipts. The article is titled How Critical Are Critical Reviews? The Box Office Effects of Film Critics, Star Power, and Budgets. The article details how film critics, star power, and budgets create the right customer experience so the film is a success. It uses mostly empirical data and formal hypotheses to suggest that these three factors, when combined correctly, can be the right ingredients. The article, however, fails to recognize distinct examples of movies that did not rely on these three factors and turned out to be hits.

I will be honest in stating that I’m not sure of the structure or direction of this topic. It seems a bit broad and too vague right now. Perhaps as I go along in the semester I can better define the parameters and hone in on a narrow idea within this topic that will be easier to interpret and discuss. Although I do find this topic interesting and I think it does apply to customer experiences, I’m just not sure what I’m supposed to get from it or what conclusion I’m supposed to draw from it. But maybe the uncertainty of this topic is right in line with the uncertainty marketers face with each new product or service idea.

Basuroy, Suman, Subimal Chatterjee, and Abraham Ravid. "How Critical Are Critical Reviews?" Journal of Marketing 67 (Oct. 2003): 103-117. Google Scholar. 19 Feb. 2009 .