Wednesday, December 06, 2006

What Makes A Hit?

I can't find a reference online to the budget for "Over The Hedge," the animated film from DreamWorks. But Jeffrey Katzenberg says the film's $330 million take worldwide (which doesn't count DVD and other income of course) is "disappointing." Why? Because the movie cost $200 mil to make? No, because "Madagascar" made more than $500 mil worldwide. But that's meaningless. Remember my rule: the only two numbers that matter are the budget and the final worldwide gross (throw in DVD too, if you like). I'll assume "Over The Hedge" cost $100 mil to make, which is reasonable enough since there's nothing flashy or remarkable about the animation. That means a solid $450 mil (at least) once you add in DVD is pretty damn good. Will they be doing sequels or TV spin-offs? No, but that's not a reasonable standard. They made money -- arguably a lot of money -- and who could ask for anything more? In Hollywood, apparently, hits are boring, even if they're profitable. Only megahits count.

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