Why making movies isn’t like making hamburgers
The summer movie season is not exactly off to a strong start. The Memorial Day weekend box-office take was one of the lowest in years.
Disney’s lackluster “Tomorrowland” was partly to blame. It cost a couple hundred million dollars and brought in just over $40 million. But it wasn’t the only disappointment, and this weekend could bring more pain with the opening of Sony’s $40 million movie, “Aloha,” starring Bradley Cooper and Emma Stone. Early reviews have ranged between scathing and, well, scathing. According to emails leaked when Sony was hacked late last year, there were signs that the studio knew the picture was in trouble.
But movies aren’t like other products. You can’t test market them the same way as hamburgers and toothpaste. They can be very expensive to tweak. And at some point, you just have to turn out the lights and hope for the best.
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