Bestsellers and Blockbusters: Movies, music, and books

W. Walls

No 2012-09, Working Papers from Department of Economics, University of Calgary

Abstract: This paper is a survey on the economics of blockbusters and bestsellers in popular entertainment and culture, with a particular focus on empirical methods and applications to motion pictures, music and books. We first survey various conceptual models on the economics of superstars and the winner-take-all nature of product success. We then survey the range of statistical methodologies that can be used to quantify formally the winner-take-all nature of the distribution of success while estimating the correlates of success across competing titles. In separate subsections for movies, music, and books, we survey the empirical literature that relates to the blockbuster phenomenon. The final section discusses specific current topics related to the distribution of success, focusing on issues that appear to be fruitful areas for future research.

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