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How Significant Is Star Power?

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Predicting Movie Success at the Box Office

Abstract

Star power has been regarded as a critical determinant of overall success. Close examination of box office data has confirmed that movies with the biggest stars deliver the biggest returns. However, stars do not always guarantee box office success, with some movies bombing even though their lead actors were very well known and among the highest paid. Even when their presence in a movie was prominent, questions could be raised about whether it was the actor who was central to a movie’s success or the fact that a movie studio spent more money on the movie when a big-name star was hired. Recently, star actors’ power has been diluted as movie-goers have been attracted more by big action sequences and special effects.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Media, Communication and Sociology, University of Leicester, Leicester, UK

    Barrie Gunter

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Gunter, B. (2018). How Significant Is Star Power?. In: Predicting Movie Success at the Box Office. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-71803-3_11

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