Labor Day Weekend Sept 3 2016
Jeff Bridges stars in Hell or High Water.
This movie since an early August open in selected theaters cost $12 M to produce and has taken in $9.7 M so far. The big test will be this weekend when it moves to 1300 screens.
My research interest regards socionomics.
This theory holds that internally generated mood determines social actions. This is a rejection of the conventional idea that mood is generated by external events.
The more likely a movie theme coincides with the current mood the better the box office is liable to be.
And that appears to be the case for this film.
The plot involves a pair of down and outs resentful that the bank has foreclosed on a mortgage. Their solution is to rob West Texas banks. Interestingly this is an echo of the success of Warren Beatty's Bonnie and Clyde which debuted about the time of Easy Rider.
1966-1982 was a prolonged bear market. Bear markets are the result of negative mood. And bank robber films, seeking revenge on banks, certainly reflect the mood.
This article noted the army of men no longer working in America.
That sort of negative mood would resonate in a movie like this one. Whether the out of work men have the money to see the movie is of course another issue.
In the meantime, speaking of costs, another example of low budget success is the hilarious 1986 release of Ruthless People.
Now contrast these successes with the current release of the $100 M budget re make of Ben Hur.
It rates a mere 5.6 stars on imdb.com. And it is fading fast at the Box Office. Looks like re releasing the Charleton Heston 1959 original to new audiences with
improved sound and such would have been a much better idea.
The bottom line is, it is better to bet on nine films costing $12 M than one costing $100 M.
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