It's not just about bragfests. The box office revenue generated is a key input variable in downstream licensing prices (that is, for premium Pay TV, cable chann

It's not just about bragfests. The box office revenue generated is a key input variable in downstream licensing prices (that is, for premium Pay TV, cable channels, syndication, etc.) So, the bigger the box office, the more the movie generates "automatically" during the rest of its lifecycle. In some cases, you can think of the massive investments in marketing around the time of the theatrical opening as a loss leader for greater lifetime revenue.