Hollywood betting
Jul. 13th, 2006 08:34 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
slyvermontAt work; browsing the wires. This story reminds me of both hollywdliz and lexsara predicting the box office take of movie opening weekends:
This ’action’ is off the set
By STEVE PERSALL
c.2006 St. Petersburg Times=
Hollywood high rollers always gamble on making movies. Now the way those films perform at the box office is a game of chance for moviegoers, too.
Producer Jerry Bruckheimer and Walt Disney Pictures wagered an estimated $250-million to create and market Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest. ....
Some online gambling „investors“ made money on Capt. Jack Sparrow’s adventure much sooner. Others are kicking themselves for underestimating the film’s appeal, an example of a new wave in proposition bets on entertainment chances.
Members of BetUS.com were offered an over-under line of $110-million for Dead Man’s Chest’s opening weekend box office total. Those who bet the over, believing the movie would earn more than $110-million, won $100 for every $120 wagered. Members who took the under lost their investment during Sunday matinees.
At Sportsbook.com, the over-under line for Dead Man’s Chest was even lower at $96.5-million but with a higher buy-in ($170 to win $100) for winners. That rate of return is far less than what Bruckheimer and Disney will likely reap from the pirate flick.
In recent weeks, enterprising Internet gambling sites have added box office predictions for high-profile films such as The Da Vinci Code, X-Men: The Last Stand and Superman Returns to their wager boards.
hollywdliz and lexsara predicting the box office take of movie opening weekends:This ’action’ is off the set
By STEVE PERSALL
c.2006 St. Petersburg Times=
Hollywood high rollers always gamble on making movies. Now the way those films perform at the box office is a game of chance for moviegoers, too.
Producer Jerry Bruckheimer and Walt Disney Pictures wagered an estimated $250-million to create and market Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest. ....
Some online gambling „investors“ made money on Capt. Jack Sparrow’s adventure much sooner. Others are kicking themselves for underestimating the film’s appeal, an example of a new wave in proposition bets on entertainment chances.
Members of BetUS.com were offered an over-under line of $110-million for Dead Man’s Chest’s opening weekend box office total. Those who bet the over, believing the movie would earn more than $110-million, won $100 for every $120 wagered. Members who took the under lost their investment during Sunday matinees.
At Sportsbook.com, the over-under line for Dead Man’s Chest was even lower at $96.5-million but with a higher buy-in ($170 to win $100) for winners. That rate of return is far less than what Bruckheimer and Disney will likely reap from the pirate flick.
In recent weeks, enterprising Internet gambling sites have added box office predictions for high-profile films such as The Da Vinci Code, X-Men: The Last Stand and Superman Returns to their wager boards.
„The blockbuster (box office) numbers have become more and more popular to report on all these different entertainment shows,“ BetUS.com spokesman Matt Ross, 28, said in a telephone interview. „It seemed like a good idea to try predicting the figures and see if anybody was interested.
“It just sort of snowballed. Now people expect us to come out with movie propositions on a regular basis. „
Betting lines are generally posted Thursday night, after oddsmakers study industry tracking figures of audience awareness, test screening surveys, advance ticket sales and any intangibles that could affect theater attendance. The process isn’t very different from handicapping horse races. Ross said both frequent and casual gamblers place those entertainment bets, comprising nearly 10 percent of the site’s action.
“It’s a combination of both: the guy who’ll bet on anything and the movie fans, „ he said. “Entertainment props generally bring in a few more women on average than sports or maybe the poker (tables) would. That’s a big bonus for us, so we love to expand on the entertainment props for that reason alone. „
Betting on show business through online sites isn’t new; it’s just becoming more specialized and widespread .
“It just sort of snowballed. Now people expect us to come out with movie propositions on a regular basis. „
Betting lines are generally posted Thursday night, after oddsmakers study industry tracking figures of audience awareness, test screening surveys, advance ticket sales and any intangibles that could affect theater attendance. The process isn’t very different from handicapping horse races. Ross said both frequent and casual gamblers place those entertainment bets, comprising nearly 10 percent of the site’s action.
“It’s a combination of both: the guy who’ll bet on anything and the movie fans, „ he said. “Entertainment props generally bring in a few more women on average than sports or maybe the poker (tables) would. That’s a big bonus for us, so we love to expand on the entertainment props for that reason alone. „
Betting on show business through online sites isn’t new; it’s just becoming more specialized and widespread .
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Date: 2006-07-14 01:32 am (UTC)Happy moments I'm remembering now... :)