The motion picture industry is among some of the best performing industries in the country. Having over fifty major films produced each year with different performances, it is necessary to determine the success of a movie based on various statistical pieces of information available to analysts. This paper considers descriptive statistics for various movie releases to determine their success based on four major indicators, namely opening gross, total gross, the number of cinemas showing the movie and the number of weeks the movie was shown.
Table 1 : Descriptive Statistics
Opening Gross | Total Gross | Cinemas | Weeks | ||||
| Mean | $27,367,623.19 | Mean | $90,576,888.64 | Mean | 3098.15 | Mean | 15.28 |
| Median | $19,081,251 | Median | $72,650,344.5 | Median | 3102.5 | Median | 15 |
| Standard Deviation | 26626750.02 | Standard Deviation | 68114884.34 | Standard Deviation | 638.3588392 | Standard Deviation | 5.434792516 |
| Range | 169117079 | Range | 350993227 | Range | 3337 | Range | 37 |
| Count | 100 | Count | 100 | Count | 100 | Count | 100 |
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Considering the above data, we determine that the mean opening gross was $27,367,623.19 while the total gross was $90,576,888.64. This shows that movies that had a higher opening gross would eventually gross higher in their total amount as compared to movies with lower opening gross. Furthermore, comparing the total gross, opening gross, and number of cinemas, we see that movies that had a higher number of cinemas showing the movie had higher total gross and opening gross. Considering a movie like Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, the movie satisfied the minimum mean requirements for all four variables, thereby explaining its financial performance at both the opening and total gross.
Therefore, the four variables can be proven individually in relation to each other. The number of cinemas showing the movie had an impact on the performance of the movie in its total review. Consider the movie The Descendants , which showed in a total of 2,038 cinemas. This was lower than the median and mean value for number of cinemas to be showing. As a result, the movie had a low opening gross and total gross. These grossing were lower than all values given in the descriptive statistics as well. The opposite was true for movies such as The Twilight Saga and The Hangover Part 3 . These movies showed in more cinemas and therefore had higher grossing both at the opening and in total.
The time that a movie was shown also had an impact on the total grossing that the movie had. Harry Potter and Pirates of the Caribbean , for example, were shown for 19 weeks each and had a grossing higher than the mean and median value in both instances. This shows that the longer the period which the movie was shown, the higher the total grossing that it would accumulate. As a result, movies with shorter grossing time often had less grossing. Friends with Benefits is an example of such a movie.
When considering the descriptive statistics therefore one notices that the movies and their performance was largely dependent on the movie’s stay in the cinemas as well as the number of cinemas the movie showed in total. In most instances, movies which showed for longer and in more cinemas had higher grossing. Nonetheless, additional factors were in play during the production of movies such as audience anticipation, marketing strategies and sequels. As a result, some movies had their opening gross as a dependent variable, giving them exceptionally good performance at the beginning of their shows.
