A sample microeconomics presentation I created during my time with Full Sail University

1. https://youtu.be/L_dPWLGYs3A

2. Marvel Studios, based in Burbank California and a subsidiary company of Walt
Disney Corporation is an American Motion Picture studio.
The motion picture industry has been dominating in the world of entertainment, dethroning the
live stage entertainment back in 1893. Thomas Edison built the first movie studio, Black Maria
to start distributing movies at vaudeville theaters, penny arcades, wax museums, and
fairgrounds, being the ultimate innovative disruptor. According to NPR.org (2015), "In 1888
Edison wrote a note saying, he is experimenting upon an instrument which does for the Eye
what the phonograph does for the Ear". From the craze of "motion" pictures, another like-
minded follow suite popping up studio in Los Angeles California in 1900. Because of the vast
amounts of films being created from contributing film makers, in 1967 another game changer
happens when American Film Institution (AFI) was founded. Founder George Stevens Jr. goal
was to promise to preserve the heritage of the motion picture, and to honor the artists and their
work while educating the next generation of storytellers” (AFI, 2019). While some major
studios have come and gone, others are no longer the powerhouses to thrive the market, such as
MGM. There remain six major Hollywood studios that continue to release the vast blockbuster
flicks. Let’s just called them the “big six”. McKittrick stated (2019), “Each major studio has
had an illustrious history in entertainment, developing some of the most beloved movies and
movie franchises over the past decades”. The remaining six powerhouse studio companies are;
Universal Pictures (founded in 1912), Paramount Pictures (founded in 1912), Walt Disney
Pictures (founded in 1923), Warner Pictures (founded in 1923), Colombia Pictures (founded in
1924), and 20th Century Fox (founded in 1935). With industry pillars and entertainment being
high in demand, we have seen other content creators taking their popular intellectual properties
and developing a script for the big screen. One studio company that is making a statement at
the box office is Marvel Studios. Marvel Studios was founded by Marvel Entertainment Group
back in 1983. Marvel partnered up with various studios and distribution companies bringing
their notable characters to life. On December 31, 2009, The Walt Disney Company purchased
Marvel Entertainment for 4 billion.
Marvel Studios finds itself with great competitors giving audiences a chance to choose to see a
good action film of iconic comic characters. Not just seeing cosplayers battling in the long-
time roles of rivals of Marvel vs. DC characters, we see it on the silver screen as well. DC
Extended Universe (DCEU) and American media franchise of comic characters coming to life
through film. DC movies are distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. We have seen movies like
the Justice League, Batman vs. Superman, Man of Steel, Wonder Woman, and Aqua man
being a direct threat to Marvel. Century Fox getting in the ring with MU films, more comic
books heroes on the big screen such as X-Origins, First Class, The Wolverine, Days of the
Future Past, Fant4stic, Deadpool, Apocalypse and Logan.
These studio companies being based in Los Angeles California are in competition because they
are producing films around American comic book franchises. They all have parent companies
that are members of the “big six”. And they all made record breaking moments at the box
office during opening night. Marvel Studios success rests on the strength and marketability of
its iconic characters. The entertainment company lends its more than 9,000 characters to
publishing, licensing, and film production operations. Through Marvel Worldwide, the

3. company is the #1 comic book publisher with a 40% market share. Marvel earns toy licensing
revenues through a deal with Hasbro. Other licensing fees come from character use in
consumer products such as clothing and video games. Marvel-produced movies have included
such worldwide hits as Guardians of the Galaxy , The Avengers , two Thor films, two Captain
America films, and three Iron Man films. Below is a 2008 revenue of what Marvel Studios
brought in.
The movie industry is a changing market structure. From an oligopoly in which movie studios
had price making power, now the market is Pure competitive.
A change in consumers income as a whole can have adverse effects on a demand for a product
in a wide range of outlets, Marvel Studios is not exempt from this philosophy. Referencing the
film industry, a drop in a consumer’s income can lead to a decrease in the overall drive to want
to purchase expensive movie tickets and even continue subscriptions to streaming giants such
as Netflix and Hulu. A rise in consumer income can lead to a positive boost in the demand for
these said products. A consumer with more funds available may find it more acceptable to
purchase expensive movie tickets, streaming channels such as Netflix and even product
specific merchandise.
The Marvel Universe is constantly evolving and expanding to an ever growing following.
While the newest movies being produced are always the highest in demand, the movie’s
starting with Iron Man are produced in a specific order that ensnares the consumer to follow
the evolution in characters and storyline: thus, greatly boosting sales and revenue. This
chronology of films is each complemented with its own unique line of merchandising and
spinoffs. Some examples of this merchandise can be seen through toys and video games found
in almost every major chain of stores across the country. A search in shop.marvel.comwill
reveal various products that complement the series of movies they have produced over the
years. The very first items viewed are titled “new arrivals”. For instance, Captain Marvels star
crystal bead necklace is priced steeply at $39.95. Fluctuations in price will ultimately affect the
demand from the target market. A rise in prices will lower demand and a decrease in prices can
increase the demands. This can also be controlled through clever marketing schemes that give
the consumer the illusion that the products they are purchasing are rare or of very high quality
thus raising demands while still holding a higher price range.
In a recent article from screenrant.com titled “Exclusive: Marvel Studios Hasn't Changed
Stories Based on Box Office Success”, it would appear evident that Marvel Studios is going
with the “If it isn’t broke, don’t fix it” sort of mentality. The articles author Ana Dumaraog
goes on to reveal that Marvel Studios has generated over $18 Billion across 20 movies in 11
years. Those numbers mentioned; the Marvel Comic Universe is the highest grossing franchise
of all time. All this success starting with Iron Man, it continued growing to its giant
proportions with Avengers: Infinity War being the biggest commercial success. Marvel Studios
will continue this path of success in the foreseeable future to come. Marvel has numerous
expectations from not only fans but the company itself. Fans are anticipated to see what new
superhero is going to be made. The new obsession. Also, remaking films such as Spiderman.
Spiderman was a big hit when the first three movies came out, but marvel decided to add new
story lines, create a new villain, and relate to the new generation. People believe that new

4. remakes will continue to happen which could cause the fan base to purchase merchandise for
their favorite superheroes. There is also hope of marvel making new films where heroes work
together to save the city.
What may increase the number of customers is creating more films with new heroes that relate
to what is happening to the world now and creating a relatable background for every person in
a film. Also, making plots that involve more than one hero would help keep the company
diverse. A decrease can be caused by having the same plot for every film. Having a hero be
bullied, already having their powers without the viewer knowing how they got said powers,
and then saving the world is predictable. Marvel wants to stand out in order to keep their title
of being one of the top film producing studios. Increasing prices will cause a decrease in
business. Movies tickets are already expensive. People rely on streaming services, such as
Netflix, to watch films. Comic prices will also decrease in sales. Comics are very known to the
Marvel fanbase. Lowering prices will increase sales. People will take advantage and buy all
comics on sale. People who buy comics want to see these comics come to life. Due to this, they
will be more encouraged to go see the movie in the theater as well as buying a copy. The
consumers prefer to read the comic before watching the film.
Marvel Studios has many different inputs they should consider in which would affect their
decision on how to supply tremendously. One input would be wages. There are many actresses
and actors in the industry, but only certain ones can play the roles and meet the requirements
Marvel demands. On top of that, depending on their experience and the demand of the actor,
they may require more money to work. Another input would be the prices they pay for
costumes, makeup and explosives. Due to Marvel Studios making action packed films they
would need equipment of the highest quality. Considering these few inputs, Marvel Studios
would need to make strategic decisions on how to spend whatever budget they have for each
movie. If they do not have the high-quality equipment, then they may not be able to capture the
action-packed fighting scenes. If Marvel doesn’t capture certain scenes to their best ability,
then the supply would decrease due to people not being interested. The same goes for if they
don’t spend enough money on good make-up artists or enough explosives and so on. If Marvel
were to go over their budget it may decrease their profit in which would affect their decision to
supply. Technology- what new technology is coming out that will decrease your company’s
costs?
We all know that technology is endlessly evolving. There are new products and versions of
popular items coming out every year. Can we say the same for the film industry? According to
Sheldon-Hicks we can. 3D printing, depth sensors and the evolution of digital communication
have all helped with the decrease in cost of film production. New technologies help lessen
mistakes and errors, energy cost, reduce the need for manpower, productivity monitoring, and
allows outsourcing. How is this all informative when creating a new Marvel movie? Well 2019
will be a big year for Marvel studios. There is a new movie coming out, Avengers: Endgame.
According to Ethan Anderton on slashfilm, this movie is on track to be one of the biggest box
office hits of all time. In this particular article Anderton went on to state that the first day of pre
sales shattered records previously set by Star Wars: The Force Awakens. As long as the first

5. showing of the movie meets those expectations then Marvel will continue to live up to its name
as being a leading film company. Another reason why there might be a change in market would
be due to the unfortunate death of Stan Lee. This particular death has created a lot of media
publicity creating an extreme focus on the company. Though his death was unfortunate, I
believe Marvel is using all the attention to their advantage especially will all their new movies
coming out this year.
Marvel Studios wasn’t always top dog in the entertainment industry. In fact, in 1996 they filed
for bankruptcy. After many years of being bought by other companies, 2008 Iron Man was
released beginning the kick off to the cinematic universe. The next great thing to happen to
Marvel was in 2009 when the company was bought by Disney. After this occurrence Marvel
produced billion-dollar movies such as The Avengers, Iron Man 3, and Black Panther.
Currently, Marvels biggest competitor is D.C. but according to the top ten grossing movies list
by Stephen Cho, four of the 10 were Marvel movies, zero were D.C. So, I think it would take
any new company starting out a decent amount of time to reach the same successes as Marvel
Studios.
Marvel means to be filled with wonder and astonishment. I believe that this company
represents its meaning to the fullest. Every Marvel movie is filled with action packed fight
scenes and pure comedic whit. The fact that 20 years ago Marvel was nowhere near as
successful, actually was the complete opposite of successful. Personally, their business story is
inspirational. Marvel knew what direction and what they wanted to do with their company and
they never gave up on their dream. What is the future of Marvel? Well, they have already come
out with Captain Marvel which made nearly 1 billion dollars. Avengers: End Game hasn’t even
come out yet and is projected to reach five times the amount of money the first Avengers
made. Needless to say, I think Marvels future is extremely bright.
References:

6. American Film Institution. (2019). Retrieved from https://www.afi.com/about/whatis.aspx
Anderton, Ethan. (2019). Avengers: Endgame Sold Five Times More Tickets Than Infinity
War in the First Week at Fandango. Retrieved from https://www.slashfilm.com/avengers-
endgame-ticket-sales/
Cho, Stephan. (2018). Here Are the Top Ten Highest-Grossing Movies of 2018. Retrieved
from https://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2018/12/here-are-the-top-ten-highest-grossing-
movies-of-20.html
David Sheldon-Hicks June 12, 2015 Five Ways Fil making is evolving thanks to new
technology
Dumaraog A. (2019). Screen Rant. Marvel Studios Hasn't Changed Stories Based on Box
Office Success. Retrieved from https://screenrant.com/exclusive-kevin-feige-mcu-story-
change-box-office-success/amp/
Lambie, Ryan. (2018). How Marvel Went from Bankruptcy to Billions. Retrieved from
https://www.denofgeek.com/us/books-comics/marvel/243710/how-marvel-went-from-
bankruptcy-to-billions
Marvel Cinematic Universe. (2019). Retrieved from
https://marvelcinematicuniverse.fandom.com/wiki/Marvel_Studios
NPS. (2015). MOTION PICTURES Retrieved from
https://www.nps.gov/edis/learn/kidsyouth/motion-pictures.htm
Real, B. (2018). THE HIDDEN HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN FILM INSTITUTE,THE
MOVING IMAGE. Retrieved from
http://web.a.ebscohost.com.oclc.fullsail.edu:81/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=12&sid=b682e
082-e686-4ea0-96b7-ef8fda939455%40sessionmgr4008
Sheldon-Hicks, David. (2015). Five ways film-making is evolving thanks to new technology.
Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/culture-professionals-network/2015/jun/12/film-
technology-evolution-film-making-3d-printing-vr-motion-capture
Suderman, P. (2016). VOX. How Marvel built such an impressive movie universe. Retrieved
from https://www.vox.com/2016/5/9/11595344/marvel-cinematic-universe-captain-america-
avengers
Parkin J. (2009). CBR. More on Marvel's price increases. Retrieved from
https://www.cbr.com/more-on-marvels-price-increases/

7. The AME Group. 5 Ways Technology can Help Lower Manufacturing Costs. Retrieved from
https://www.theamegroup.com/5-ways-technology-can-help-lower-manufacturing-costs/