1. Low budget vs High budget institutions –
Vi är bäst! (We Are The Best!) vs Suicide
Squad
2. What are the main institutions used for each of the films? (in terms of production and
distribution?) Find their logo and add it on.
We Are The Best! was produced by the Swedish film companies Film i Väst and Memfis Film, and
distributed by Svensk Filmindustri.
Suicide Sqaud was produced by multiple production companies such as:
DC Entertainment
RatPac-Dune Entertainment
Atlas Entertainment
It was distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures
3. How much money was used to produce each film? (The budget)
How much money was made from each of the films?
While I was unable to find out the budget for We Are The Best!, the money
made from the film overall was $1.4million in the Box Office. However, as it
was produced by a smaller production company, the budget was likely quite
small.
The budget for Suicide Squad was $175million, which was earned back by the
$732.4million it made in the Box Office.
4. How well known are the production companies for both the
high-budget and low-budget film?
Although it is likely heard of more in Sweden, the production company to
produce We Are The Best! would be unfamiliar to most people, due to having
lower budget films with lesser known actors in the starring roles.
In contrast, millions of people worldwide have heard of and follow the work of
DC Entertainment who have released film franchises such as Green Lantern,
Superman and Batman.
5. List the differences between the high-budget film and the low-
budget film in terms of the institutions.
While Film i Väst has typically produced films with lesser known actors cast in
the lead roles and lower budgets, DC Entertainment releases extremely high
budget films with well known actors (for example, Suicide Squad stars Margot
Robbie, Will Smith, Jared Leto and Cara Delevigne – this is a large contrast to
the actors cast in We Are The Best!, who were largely unheard of child actors
Mira Barkhammar, Mira Grosin and Liv LeMoyne.
6. List any similarities that exist between the high-budget film and the
low-budget film in terms of the institutions.
The main similarity I can see between these two film institutions is that they
are consistant in the type of films they produce - Film i Väst releases dramas
which have elements of comedy and DC Entertainment is widely known for its
superhero/fantasy films.
7. What other films has the production company made? Were these
as successful? Why/why not?
Film i Väst has produced a number of films, including Dogville and Dancers In
The Dark – these films are the more successful out of eveyr film released by
Film i Väst, which is owed to the lead actors being previously heard of. Björk
having a successful music career but no previous acting experience encouraged
more hype for the film, both from her fans and critics eager to see her first film
performance. Dogville, starring Nicole Kidman, likely owed a lot of the
attention given to it to Kidman, as she had starred in many blockbuster hits
previous to Dogville.
8. What other films has the production company made? Were these
as successful? Why/why not? (Continued)
DC Entertianment has released films such as Green Lantern, Superman and
Batman, which all gained hundreds of millions of dollars in the Box Office, and
were screened internationally. Due to the films being based on comics, there
was already a large fanbase ready and waiting to buy their tickets to see them,
but alongside TV trailers, cinema trailers, adverts on buses and such, these
films were extremely successful.
9. What genre of films does the company usually produce? Is this
important when considering who could produce your film? Why?
Film i Väst is known for producing dramatic films, while DC entertainment mainly
makes superhero/comedy films - this would definitely be taken into consideration when
choosing a producer for our film, as producing different genres would have a large effect
on how the film would turn out and the atmosphere created by it.
10. What audiences do each of the institutions aim to appeal to? Is this
reflected through their film choice, or does this vary?
DC entertainment appeals to all ages (although perhaps unsuitable for very young
children under the age of five) although some films such as Batman: Dark Knight Rising
could be considered suitable for teenagers and above, due to the feature of some more
frightening/graphic scenes.
Film i Väst appeals to an older audience, probably more to young adults rather than
younger teens, as it deals with more serious subject matters and uses humour that
younger people might not understand.
11. Which institution do you feel outperforms the other and could claim to
be more successful, considering your research? Explain your reasons.
I feel that both institutions could claim to be equally as successful – many low budget
films (Blair Witch Project, The Drowning Of Arthur Braxton) garner a lot of attention
and praise for being of high quality despite having a lower budget than many high
budget films that were box office failures. Although high budget films are able to use
better special effects and more well-known actors, low budget films can be more
appealing as they are created by people with real enthusiasm for film, despite the amount
of money that goes into it.