Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/18/84; site ucla-cs.ARPA Path: utzoo!decvax!tektronix!hplabs!sdcrdcf!trwrb!trwrba!cepu!ucla-cs!reiher From: reiher@ucla-cs.UUCP Newsgroups: net.movies Subject: Re: DUNE is doing well at the box office Message-ID: <2954@ucla-cs.ARPA> Date: Wed, 26-Dec-84 01:07:13 EST Article-I.D.: ucla-cs.2954 Posted: Wed Dec 26 01:07:13 1984 Date-Received: Thu, 27-Dec-84 07:17:04 EST References: <75@timeinc.UUCP> Reply-To: reiher@ucla-cs.UUCP (Peter Reiher) Distribution: na Organization: UCLA Computer Science Department Lines: 29 Summary: I'm not surprised that "Dune" opened up to $6 million business. The financial charm of "Dune" was that many million copies of the book had been sold, and a substantial number of the buyers would be certain to flock to the film quickly, dragging their friends with them. However, the movie cost $40 million or so. Conventional Hollywood wisdom says that it must earn back about $100-$120 million before it goes into profits for its financers. If ten million copies of "Dune" were sold, and every buyer ent to see the movie, bringing along a friend, then, assuming ~$4 per ticket (what with children's admissions and bargain matinees and so on), that's $80 million. Another 10 million people who hadn't read the book would have to buy tickets. $40 million (the discrepancy) is a very good gross for anything but a blockbuster, nowadays. To make a lot of money off of "Dune", De Laurentiis is counting on repeated viewings of the film by large numbers of fans, a la "Star Wars". I don't think most people will want to see "Dune" twice, I don't think quite as many as ten million copies of the book werre sold, I don't think that everyone (or even nearly everyone) who bought the book will go to the movie, and I think that they will have trouble getting those other 10 million people in to see it. My guess is that after foreign screenings, cable sales, video cassettes, and a network TV sale, "Dune" will show a modest profit, mostly off of fans of the book. -- Peter Reiher reiher@ucla-cs.arpa {...ihnp4,ucbvax,sdcrdcf}!ucla-cs!reiher