budgets and
celebrity endorsements
CPM rates and
creative talent and
digital technology and
event-film strategy and
limited-release strategy and
opting out of blockbuster strategies
product life cycle and
push strategy and
smaller vs. larger producers in
superstar-acquisition model and
wide release strategy and
marketing channel
Marley & Me
Maroon 5. See also Levine, Adam
Marquee Las Vegas
Marquee New York
new model for
old model for
reopening of
success of
Mars, Bruno
Marvel Entertainment
Masia, La
Matrix movies
Mayer, John
Mayer, Louis B.
McCain, John
McGuigan, Peter
McPhee, William
Mehdi, Yusuf
Men In Black
Meneilly, John
Merle’s Door
Merrill Lynch
Messi, Lionel
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)
Metropolitan Opera
MGM (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer)
Miami Heat
Micelli, Peter
Michaels, Lorne
Mickey Mouse Club, The
Microsoft
Bing
Decoded and
digital content and
LeBron James and
Miller, Robert
Million Dollar Baby
Mims, Randy
Mission: Impossible
Mission: Impossible III
Mission Responsible (Tolcher)
MLB (Major League Baseball)
MLB Network
MLB Tonight
MLB.TV
Modern Family
Monday Night Football
Monster Ball tour
Monsters, Inc.
Monty Python and the Holy Grail
Moore, Demi
Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA)
Motor Trend
Motorola
Mourinho, José
Moves Like Jagger (Maroon 5)
movie industry
co-financed movies and
event-film strategy of. See event-film strategy
limited-release strategy and
Netflix as disrupter for
opting out of blockbuster strategies
partnership between talent and
predictors of revenues for
production costs for
role of broad portfolio for
studio system and
superstar-acquisition model and
wide release strategy and
movie trailers
MPAA (Motion Picture Association of America)
MTV
Murphy, Eddie
Murray, Bill
music industry
approaches of smaller vs. larger producers
Billboard chart and
contracts with newly signed talent
digital channels and
limited-release strategy and
marketing channel and
partnerships between larger and smaller producers
piracy and
revenues in 2011
self-released albums and
talent-development models in
unbundling and
MusicNet
My Big Fat Greek Wedding
Myron, Vicki
Nadal, Rafael
National CineMedia (NCM)
National Football League (NFL)
natural monopoly
Navratilova, Martina
NBC Universal
Gaspin and
Hulu and
NFL and
station managers and
talent-development model and
Zucker and
See also specific NBC shows
NCM (National CineMedia)
net deals
Netflix
New England Patriots
New Kids On The Block
New York Jets
New York Times, The
New York Yankees
News Corp.
Newsweek
NFL (National Football League)
NFL Network
NFL RedZone
NFL Sunday Ticket
Nielsen on digital tracks
nightlife entrepreneurs
Nike
Nine Inch Nails
O-rings principle
Obama, Barack
O’Brien, Conan
Observer
Ocean’s 11
Ocean’s 12
Ocean’s 13
Octone Records
development of artists
innovative model of
Maroon 5 and
Sony BMG and
Tolcher and
O’Donis, Colby
OK Computer (Radiohead)
O’Neal, Shaquille
Onion, The
online businesses
online channels. See digital channels
opera
Opéra de Paris
Orange Is the New Black
Original Channels, YouTube
Oseary, Guy
Outliers (Gladwell)
Overbrook Entertainment
Overexposed (Maroon 5)
Pablo Honey (Radiohead)
Pacific Standard
Palacio, Rodrigo
Pandora
Papa John’s
Paramount Pictures
Paranoid Android (Radiohead)
Paranormal Activity
Paranormal Activity 4
Parker, Marc
Parnell, Chris
Paul, Richard
Pavarotti, Luciano
Pepsi
Pérez, Florentino
on Figo
Galácticos strategy of
Mourinho and
Ronaldo and
winner-take-all structure and
Perfect Storm, The
Perlmutter, Isaac
Perry, Katy
Persie, Robin van
P&G Entertainment
pharmaceutical companies
Pickford, Mary
Pink Panther, The
piracy
Pitt, Brad
Pixar
Plan B Entertainment
Plepler, Richard
Poehler, Amy
Poker Face (Lady Gaga)
Polaroid
Presley, Elvis
Procter & Gamble
product attributes
product life cycle
promoters for clubs
Providence Equity Partners
publishers
bidding wars between
digital channels and
limited-release strategy and
opting out of blockbuster strategies
push strategy and
retailers and
role of broad portfolio for
wide release strategy and
See also specific publishers
Pullman, Bill
Punisher, The
push strategy
Raab, Jamie
Raddon, Ryan. See Kaskade
Radiohead
Random House. See also Spiegel & Grau
Ratatouille
Razzies. See Golden Raspberry Awards
Real Madrid
debt of
Figo and
Gago and
Galácticos strategy for
history of
Manchester United as model for
as member-owned
revenues of
Ronaldo and
strategy for acquiring talent
record labels. See music industry
Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA)
&
nbsp; Red (Swift)
Red Bull
RedOne
Redstone, Sumner
Reid, L. A
Renner, Jeremy
revenue-sharing model
Rhapsody
RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America)
RIDE (YouTube channel)
rifle-shot approach
Rihanna
Riquelme, Juan Román
risk-averse strategies
blockbuster strategies vs.
Gaspin on
local stations’ objections to
Paramount and
Zucker and
River Plate
Robinho
Roc Nation
Roc Nation Sports
Rocawear clothing line
Rock, Chris
Rolapp, Brian
Ronaldo. See Lima, Ronaldo Luís Nazário de (“Ronaldo”)
Ronaldo, Cristiano
Rooney, Wayne
Rosell, Sandro
Rosen, Sherwin
Rotella, Pasquale
Roth, Eli
Rowling, Jo
Royal Opera House at Covent Garden
Samantha Thavasa
Samberg, Andy
Samuel, Walter
San Francisco Opera
Sandler, Adam
Saturday Night Live
Schmidt, Eric
Schroeder, Hans
Screen Actors Guild
Seacrest, Ryan
Seattle Mariners
Seinfeld
self-publishing
self-released albums
self-released specials by comedians
sequels
7th Heaven
Sex and the City
Sex and the City sequel
Sharapov, Yuri
Sharapova, Maria
background of
endorsement partnerships of
talent life cycle of
Shawshank Redemption, The
She Will Be Loved (Maroon 5)
Sheen, Charlie
Shelton, Blake
Sherlock Holmes
Shields, Brooke
Shorts
Silverman, Ben
Silverman, Sarah
Sirius
Skrillex
Skylanders
Sloan, Harry
Smart Girls at the Party (YouTube channel)
Smith, Reed
Smith, Will
SNL Films
Snoop Dogg
soccer. See also specific soccer clubs/teams
social media
Decoded and
Fifty Shades of Grey and
The Hunger Games and
Lady Gaga and
wide releases and
See also specific social media
Social Network, The
Songs About Jane (Maroon 5)
Songz, Trey
Sony BMG Music Entertainment
Spacey, Kevin
Spamalot
Sparks, Nicholas
Spears, Britney
Speed Racer
Spider-Man (movie)
Spiegel & Grau
Splice
sports. See specific sports
SportsBusiness Journal
Spotify
Springsteen, Bruce
Sprint
St. Martin’s Press
Stam, Jaap
Starbucks
step-function fee structure
Stewart, Kristen
Stone, Oliver
Strauss, Jason
Streamline Records
Streep, Meryl
studio system
subscription services
Sun, The
Super Bowls
superstar-acquisition model
superstars
creating value vs. capturing value
entertainment industry’s focus on
high fees of
models as
partnerships between movie industry and
as product attributes
push for rewards
recruitment of
struggle between movie studios and
talent compensation models and
talent life cycle and
See also creative talent
Suzuki, Ichiro
Swanepoel, Candice
Swift, Taylor
syndication revenues
Tag Heuer
Take-Two Interactive
talent compensation models
talent-development models
of Boca Juniors
of FC Barcelona
of Manchester United
in music industry
in television industry
talent-holding deals
talent life cycle
creating value vs. capturing value
risk and
TAO Group
Target
TBS (Turner Broadcasting System)
Teatro Alla Scala
Tebow, Robby
Tebow, Tim
TechCrunch
television networks
blockbuster strategies and
contracts for new talent
limited-release strategy and
marketing and
online content and
risk-averse strategies and
role of broad portfolio for
talent-development models and
unbundling and
See also specific television networks
tennis players, professional. See also specific tennis players
tent-pole strategy. See event-film strategy
Tepperberg, Noah
Tévez, Carlos
theater owners
Theron, Charlize
30 Rock
This Love (Maroon 5)
Thor
Three Dog Life, A
Three Tenors
360 deal. See all-rights deals
Tiësto
Timberlake, Justin
Time
Time Warner
Time Warner Cable
Tipping Point, The (Gladwell)
Tolcher, Michael
Tower Records
Town, The
Townes, Jeffrey Allen
Toy Story
transaction costs
Transmission: Gaga-Vision (Lady Gaga)
Traviata, La
Tumblr
Turner Broadcasting System (TBS)
TV Everywhere
Twentieth Century Fox
Twilight series
Twitter
Two and a Half Men
Two Kings Dinner
2K Games
unbundling
United Artists
Universal Music Group
Up
USA Today
Usher
V for Vendetta
Valdano, Jorge
Valkyrie
value
creating vs. capturing
of talent, risk and
Verizon
Viacom
Victoria’s Secret
video game market
Villa, David
Virgin Mobile
vitaminwater
Vogue
Voice, The
Wachowski siblings
Wade, Dwyane
Wadsworth, Tony
Wagner, Paula
Wahlberg, Mark
Walgreens
WALL- E
Walmart
Walt Disney Studios
ABC and
Horn and
Hulu and
Jobs and
John Carter and
Marvel and
subsidiaries of. See Disney Channel; ESPN; Marvel Entertainment; Pixar
War of the Worlds
Warner Bros.
acquisition of rights to Harry Potter
agreements with theater owners
event-film strategy at
marketing and
Million Dollar Baby and
&n
bsp; production budget for 2010 films
role of broad portfolio for
studio system and
YouTube and
See also Horn, Alan
Warner Music
Warner Sound, The
Washington National Opera
Washington Post
Watch the Throne (West and Jay-Z)
Watersong (Hocking)
Watts, Duncan
Way I Am, The (Eminem)
Wayne, John
West, Kanye
Wheeler, Alex
When Harry Met Sally
Whiteout
wide release strategy
Wigram, Lionel
Williams, Serena
Wilson, Owen
Winfrey, Oprah
winner-take-all markets
creative talent and
digitization and
long-tail theory vs.
opera
Wintour, Anna
Witherspoon, Reese
Witter, Bret
Wolf, Richard
World of Warcraft
Writers’ Coffee Shop
WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment)
X2 (X-Men II)
X-Factor
X-Men
Xanadu
Xavi
XL Recordings
XV Enterprises
Year Zero (Nine Inch Nails)
Yorke, Thom
YouTube
Bieber and
challenges for
creation of
effect on consumers’ perceptions of pricing
growth of
The Hunger Games and
Lady Gaga
long-tail theory and
movie trailers on
Original Channels
Radiohead and
Red Bull and
Zidane, Zinedine
Zucker, Jeff
Zynga
About the Author
ANITA ELBERSE, the Lincoln Filene Professor of Business Administration at the Harvard Business School, is one of the youngest female professors to be awarded tenure in the school’s history. Her work has been featured in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, Variety, and Fortune. She lives in Boston, Massachusetts.
Henry Holt and Company, LLC
Publishers since 1866
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New York, New York 10010
www.henryholt.com
Henry Holt® and ® are registered trademarks of Henry Holt and Company, LLC.
Copyright © 2013 by Anita Elberse
All rights reserved.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Elberse, Anita.
Blockbusters: hit-making, risk-taking, and the big business of entertainment / Anita Elberse.—First edition.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-8050-9433-6 (hardcover)—ISBN 978-1-4299-4532-5 (electronic book)
1. Mass media—Economic aspects. 2. Motion picture industry. 3. Music industry. 4. Celebrities. I. Title.
P96.E25E53 2013
384—dc23 2013014320
First Edition 2013
Charts by Mapping Specialists
eISBN 9781429945325
Harvard Business School adopted a Conflict of Interest policy in 2012 that requires faculty members to disclose publicly all paid and unpaid outside activities, sources of external funding, and material financial holdings directly related to a work product that is available to the public. At the time of this book’s publication, Professor Anita Elberse was in compliance with this policy, and through her annual reporting had identified no related activities, funding, or holdings.
Blockbusters: Hit-making, Risk-taking, and the Big Business of Entertainment Page 36