Most people don’t understand just how big of a gamble a blockbuster movie can be. Sure, you’ll hear about massive production budgets getting thrown around, but even if a movie costs $200 million to make, the studio needs an additional $60-$80 million for marketing, and they get only half of the ticket price. So, if the movie bags $500 million at the box office, only $250 million go to the studio, that means they still haven’t turned a profit.

This is why in the past decade all major studios have turned to spectacle and franchise pictures, they have to be sure that there’s a massive, worldwide, built-in audience for their product. However, this is difficult to gauge, so again, they’re gambling. They’ve placed their bet two years before when the project was started, and opening night, they wait and see if their bet pays.

It really is no different than being in a casino, playing a hand of blackjack. You have some information, you know what you’re holding, but you have no idea what’s going to come. The rush for studio heads is similar, with the exception that most people prefer to do their gambling online these days, through online casinos. These services have become so widespread and they offer so much variety, you can easily find slots based on your favourite movie, and you have a chance to land a jackpot and even use the best casino bonus to boost your winnings.

Apocalypse Now

Now you might think – wait, this is a classic, one of the best of all time, how was this a risk? Well, the movie went through development and production hell. George Lucas had the project for many years before passing it on to Ford Coppola, who changed many actors, when famously way, way over budget, and over schedule, and on top of that the movie spent two years in post-production. However, in the end, it grossed over $150 million (in 1970s money) and the risk paid off.

Titanic

Again, don’t be fooled by a movie’s success, just because in the end, it proved to be all worth it, doesn’t mean that things weren’t dicey and producers knew what to expect. In this case, it was of course somewhat of a given that Titanic was going to be a hit, but in what scope, was it going to be enough to justify its $200 million budget? It was the most expensive movie ever at that time, and it was one that was super dangerous to shoot, with numerous injuries occurring on set.

There’s no denying the fact that Titanic is one of the most iconic movies. When it was released, it received a lot of positive critics. Even though it is more than 20 years old, it still manages to impress people who have watched it for the first time.

John Carter

Now, here’s an example of studios not having their finger on the audience’s pulse. This mega-blockbuster was based on the genre literature character, John Carter. A Civil War soldier that’s miraculously transported on Mars where he fights off aliens. This was a project that was in development for quite some time, eventually, it was made, and Disney tried to push it in the still popular 3D format. However, it didn’t work as they lost over $200 million, making it one of the biggest flops ever.