I don't know why this is such a surprise to everyone. Outside of the startup scene, showing net profit is a Bad Thing. It increases liability to taxes and to employees[1], etc.
Maybe public companies are different (though since, movie studios are just about all subsidiaries of public companies, maybe not), but in my dealings with many multi-million dollar companies (especially those with union contracts to deal with), they find any way possible to show a loss on the balance sheet.
Between accounting tricks and taking money off the table through reinvesting (real or imagined) and executive salaries, profit is basically a made up number based on whatever management wants it to be.
Taking any percentage of net profit, in plenty of industries, is basically the same as taking nothing.
On a side note: the article and the one from the other day that mentioned this story as well only seemed to consider box office gross as the movie's revenue. I mean how many of us just on HN have more bought or gotten than one copy of the Star Wars movies over the years? I know I have at least 3 hanging around, to say nothing of TV airings and the like.
[1]Liability to employees: Through profit-sharing programs, raise discussions, union contract talks, etc., publicly showing a "profit" can cost the company money.
Maybe public companies are different (though since, movie studios are just about all subsidiaries of public companies, maybe not), but in my dealings with many multi-million dollar companies (especially those with union contracts to deal with), they find any way possible to show a loss on the balance sheet.
Between accounting tricks and taking money off the table through reinvesting (real or imagined) and executive salaries, profit is basically a made up number based on whatever management wants it to be.
Taking any percentage of net profit, in plenty of industries, is basically the same as taking nothing.
On a side note: the article and the one from the other day that mentioned this story as well only seemed to consider box office gross as the movie's revenue. I mean how many of us just on HN have more bought or gotten than one copy of the Star Wars movies over the years? I know I have at least 3 hanging around, to say nothing of TV airings and the like.
[1]Liability to employees: Through profit-sharing programs, raise discussions, union contract talks, etc., publicly showing a "profit" can cost the company money.