Evaluation Question 3

1. WhowillDistribute?
Certainmediainstitutionsproduceand
distributegenresmoreeffectivelythanothers.
Itisclearbytheboxofficesuccessofsome
genresthatthemediainstitutionbehindthem
wastherightorwrongchoice.Themostsuccessful
horrorfilmsinrecentyearshavecomefrom
distributorsamongstthelikesdistributorsamongstthelikes
ofWarnerBro’s,MiramaxandLionsgate.
IAmLegend(2007),thehighestgrossinghorror
filminthepast10yearswas
distributedbyWarnerBro’s,puttingWBatthetop
ofthelistforMalustobedistributedby.IAm
Legendmade$256,393,010
overall,puttingitjustunder$100,000,000overall,puttingitjustunder$100,000,000
higherthanthesecondhighestgrossing
horrorinthepast10years,Hannibal(2001).
WhenresearchingintoWarnerBro’ssuccess
theyhavebeenresponsibleforthelikesofThe
DarkKnighttrilogyandtheentire8-film-series,
HarryPotter.Thisshowsthattheyaremorethan
capableofdistributingfilmswiththemesoffantasycapableofdistributingfilmswiththemesoffantasy
successfullyandpotentiallyplacingthemamongst
thehighestgrossingfilmsofalltime.Forthisreason
IbelievethatWarnerBroswouldbringthemostsuccess
toMalus.BeingresponsibleforHollywoodblockbusters
wouldputMalusingoodsteadduetothefactthatthe
audiencewearetryingtotargetwith
thefilmisthemainstreamcinemaaudience
ofteenagersagedfifteenanupandadults
interestedinthegenre.
Intermsofselectingamediainstitution
whoIfeelwouldbebesttoproduce
MalusIwouldhavetofavourNewLineMalusIwouldhavetofavourNewLine
Cinemawhohavebeenresponsiblefor
thesuccessofthelikesofANightmare
onElmStreet(1984)andFinalDestination
5(2011)aswellasmakingasuccessful
teamwithWarnerBrosonTheConjuring
(2013)whichisoneofthehighestgrossing
horrorfilmsofalltimehorrorfilmsofalltime
ThesuccessofTheConjuring,withatotal
grossof$137,400,14,provesthatthe
combinationofNewLineCinemaand
WarnerBrosisthebestbettoensurethe
successofMalus.
Whenconsideringtheadvantagesanddisadvantages
ofusingthesetwomediainstitutionstheonlydisadvantageofusingthesetwomediainstitutionstheonlydisadvantage
canthinkofisthatusingtwocompanieswho’sfocusis
primarilyonmainstream
blockbustersmeansthatthearthouse
andindependentaudiencemaybedeterred
fromwatchingasitmayappearthatitisanotherHollywood
regurgitationthananartisticandinterestingproduct.
OCTOBER2014EMPIRE 75
Empirecaughtupwiththeproducers
ofMalustotalkaboutthedistributionchoices.