I think the OP misconstrues the product of the movie industry (as opposed to the filmmaking art). They're not making movies as such, they are making films for p

I think the OP misconstrues the product of the movie industry (as opposed to the filmmaking art). They're not making movies as such, they are making films for people. That is, the real cost must be considered as amortized over the set of viewers. A $100M movie watched by 1M people is the same as a $10M movie watched by 100K people. I read somewhere that Ford spent more money developing the first-generation Focus than Boeing spent on the 777. We wouldn't expect a Ford Focus to cost as much as an airliner, because the development costs are divided over a larger base of customer.