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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