Industry Stats

Question 1

Number of private sector jobs supported by Motion Picture & TV Industry in 2010

Answer 1

2.1 million

Question 2

Total wages (direct & indirect) paid by Motion Picture & TV Industry in 2010

Answer 2

$42.1 billion direct, $143 billion indirect

Question 3

Percent average salary in MPTI is above national average in 2010

Answer 3

32% higher

Question 4

Number of jobs in core business of producing, marketing, manufacturing and distributing motion pictures & tv shows in 2010

Answer 4

282,000 jobs

Question 5

Average salary of core MPTI job & percent above average nationwide salary in 2010 (emphasis on core jobs)

Answer 5

$82,000 and 74% higher than avg nationwide salary

Question 6

Core businesses of MPTI

Answer 6

Producing, marketing, manufacturing, distributing

Question 7

Indirect businesses supported by MPTI

Answer 7

Eg’s: caterers, dry cleaners, florists, hardware and lumber suppliers; other consumer-related businesses like DVD retailers, theme parks, tourist attractions

Question 8

Number of businesses related to MPTI nationwide

Answer 8

95,000 businesses located in every state of the US

Question 9

Amount of taxes generated by MPTI in 2010

Answer 9

$15.6 billion

Question 10

Amount of services exports from MPTI in 2010; how does that compare to 2009 and 2006?

Answer 10

$13.5 billion in exports (one of the few that consistently generates a positive balance of trade; down 2% from 2009, up 6% 2006

Question 11

Amount of services trade surplus MPTI was responsible for in 2010; percent of overall private sector services trade surplus

Answer 11

$11.9 services trade surplus, or 7% of total US private sector trade surplus in services

Question 12

By comparison, the MPTI services surplus is larger than the surpluses in these other industries

Answer 12

Telecommuniations, management & consulting, legal, medical, computer, and insurance services

Question 13

Major Motion Picture Studios

Answer 13

Walt Disney, Sony Pictures, MGM, Paramount Pictures, 20th Century Fox, Universal Studios, Warner Bros

Question 14

Average number of films distributed in US per year

Answer 14

~480, or somewhere between 460 and 510 feature films

Question 15

Average number of films distributed by major studios

Answer 15

Less than half of the ~480 distributed in the US

Question 16

Percent of box office revenues made by major studios

Answer 16

> 95%, despite the fact that they distribute less than half of the ~480 features films per year

Question 17

Number of films that made over $50 million in 2001

Answer 17

52

Question 18

Number of major theatrical films that lose money, break even, and/or are profitable out of 10, on average

Answer 18

6-7 are unprofitable, 1 breaks even, 1-2 are profitable. though, over time, most films will earn substantial revenue from ancillary markets such as home video, cable television, international release, and merchandising.

Question 19

Major causes leading to the breakup of the old “studio system” of movie production

Answer 19

1) Supreme Court breaking up studios from theatre chains in 1948
2) Invention of television in the 1950s lead to reduced attendance at movies, leading studios to diversify from simply movies to tv, music and theme parks
3) Unions, agents and attorneys protecting the interests of the writers, actors and directors that the studios used to practically own

Question 20

Negative results of the studio system breaking up and MBAs taking over

Answer 20

1) Hollywood is risk-averse. The goal is to make money and so a desire to make the safe bet takes precedence over making the bet w/the biggest upside
2) Hollywood Execs try to avoid risk, so they make films they can justify to their boards; they take similar story lines and attach popular directors and actors to make the film, thus presenting an impressive-looking package with some “insurance”.
3) Hollywood Execs inserting themselves into the creative process because they see a correlation between that and the ability to negotiate a good deal, AND b/c they are the ones whose asses are on the line
4) The movies that do best are distinctly original (Star Wars), not re-treads

Question 21

Positive results of the studio system breaking up and MBAs taking over

Answer 21

Reducing risk has let to creative ways to finance films:

1) Pre-sale agreements w/cable and home-video co’s, or by cutting deals w/outside investors, much risk has been eliminated from the filmmaking process
2) Today’s films are no more profitable than they were during the studio system days