Halo 3 vs. Spider-Man 3?
Nikki Finke points to Keith Boesky‘s comparison by the numbers of the release of Halo 3 (the video game) to Spider-Man 3 (the movie). Pretty impressive at first glance…
Even though the media trumpeted how the launch of Halo 3 was the largest single day financial event in entertainment history, the articles fail to address how much larger. The retail vs. box office numbers show revenue for first day sales of Halo was about 13% higher than Spider-Man 3, this year’s biggest movie opening weekend. This is pretty cool. However, when you compare the bottom lines, it is beyond pretty cool. It is really f’ing cool and cannot even be touched by the movie business. When you consider the nearly 50% audience growth over Halo 2 despite a nearly 50% smaller installed console base, it is even more incredible.
…BUT: Boesky’s numbers don’t count the millions of extra coin generated by Spider-Man 3 tie in products, including, for example, video games. And I really doubt anybody is going to be making Halo slippers any time soon. Without the licensing money, it’s a very incomplete picture.
Glenn,The article was meant to compare revenue from media launches, but I actually did comment on ancillary revenue. "Sure, this is the launch of a 20 year equity, and sure there are trailing revenue streams, but those revenue streams are now factored in to support the production cost. These ancillary revenue streams are no longer a windfall." Over the years Hollywood budgets have grown to take ancillary revenue into account. When Star Wars was made, projections had to show that a film would recoup at the box office. Today, budgets far exceed box office recoupment based on the opportunity for additional windows, merchandising, and other ancillary revenue. Accordingly, the margin, even with the licensing revenue, is not as large as in a game. Especially when you factor in the time value of money, or the sales of Spiderman 3 merchandise. As far as Halo slippers, you might not be able to find those, but you can find a book series, action figures, collectible statues, soft drinks and just about every other license you would find from a film. That is the beauty of video games, they support licensing programs the same way films do.
It's hard to believe that with given the financial circumstances outlined above no one has made a Halo Movie yet. Or actually– maybe it makes more sense. Why make a crappy movie out of a cool game and make less money than the actual game? Movies are step up from the income of comics, but for games like Halo, they really are a step down.When I go home tonight I will no doubt be playing Halo 3… meanwhile Spider-Man ain't even in the prospects.