Do Big Name Hollywood Stars Deliver?
A basic Hollywood tenet is that there are bankable stars that will guarantee a revenue floor and a film’s success.
Nothing could be further from the truth. If stars truly bring a revenue floor to a film, then how does one explain the dismal failure of such star driven vehicles as Robin William’s Hook, Jim Carrey’s The Cable Guy, Sandra Bullock’s Speed II, Robert Redford’s Havana, Bruce Willis’ Hudson Hawk, Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Last Action Hero, Kevin Costner’s The Postman, Tom Cruise’s Born On the Fourth Of July, Sharon Stone’s Basic Instinct II, and Julia Robert’s Mary Reilly.
Past success of a star clearly does not predict future success of a movie. The Institute For Mathematical Behavioral Sciences at the University Of California Irvine, several years ago released a report (Uncertainty In The Movies: Does Star Power Reduce The Terror In The Box Office) which concluded that their research “makes clear that large budgets and star presence can create the biggest of flops, like the film Waterworld. Much smaller budgets and lack of star presence do not prevent a film from becoming a box office hit, like Home Alone.”
The report further concluded that micro budget films with no stars can have “very high rates of return, the highest earned by any motion picture. The Brothers McMullen, El Mariachi, and Sex, Lies and Videotape grossed 417, 292 and 25 times their respective production cost[…] The largest gross return to a movie with a star was 16.7 times production cost for Beverly Hills Cop[…]”
Our production is committed to casting talented actors who have a passion for this project and who will bring the film’s memorable characters to life. Anyone interesting in finding out more can visit our casting page for more information.
Tags: actors, actress, beverly hills cop, box office, bruce willis, casting, gross return, jim carey, production budget, sandra bullock, star power, stars, and tom cruise
August 19th, 2007 at 8:54 am
I truly believe that star power has a limited effect on money made at the box office.A good story that is entertaining will spread by word of mouth and quickly become a box office smash and having hollywood rushing to do a sequal.People are looking for a real story they can relate to.I believe this movie will be a hit that is why I stay in touch with the writer.It is a great story. THOMAS WINSTON
November 17th, 2007 at 11:35 am
I love the script. I’d love to audition for a part in the film. Thanks for making this opportunity available to actors. Good luck with your film! I love your philosophy of filmmmaking. Today’s studio films are just awful no story, no value, and no heart. You can and will do better than them because you care.
Mike Laman