blockbuster
blockbuster, cultural product, particularly a film, that achieves exceptional commercial success and significantly influences market dynamics. Although traditionally the term blockbuster has been used to describe cinematic releases, it has been subsequently extended to other cultural productions such as books (usually novels), music albums, and video games. Blockbuster films are typically products designed to be commercially successful. In that sense, blockbuster best describes the strategy of the producer-distributor and, therefore, the expectations of potential audiences about the success or failure of the product in the months following its release. The term carries implications beyond financial success, often associated with commercial orientation and, occasionally, perceived diminishment of artistic complexity or authorial vision. This commercial emphasis has led to associations with concepts such as genre cinema and star systems, which similarly prioritize marketability.
History
There is some degree of disagreement over the origin of the cinematic blockbuster. Some historians identify the unprecedented box-office success of Gone with the Wind (1939) as establishing the model for large-scale productions targeting broad audiences. Although some films were considered blockbusters in the classical period of the 1950s, the term may have been used more as an adjective to describe commercial success. Its use was inspired by military terminology from World War II, when blockbuster referred to a bomb designed to destroy entire city blocks.
The modern conception of a blockbuster, however, also involves a particular set of production strategies within creative industries. Most researchers identify the emergence of contemporary blockbusters in the post-classical period, beginning in the 1970s, when the success of film productions was accompanied by substantial changes in production models and, according to some, the aesthetic and narrative qualities of the films themselves. Thus, The Godfather (1972), Jaws (1975), and E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982) are often treated as major milestones in the emergence of this new type of cinema.
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Approaches
In the post-classical, or New Hollywood, period, the production model shifted from a vertically integrated system dominated by the major studios to a more flexible corporate, financing, and distribution structure. The post-classical blockbuster model maintains large budgets but allocates many more resources to marketing, integrating transmedia strategies in advertising, and creating tie-in products. Film premieres are part of an integrated global distribution strategy to create movie events and invite publicity.
Generally, the creation of blockbusters invites the minimization of risks and the maximization of benefits. The ideal blockbuster has the capacity to generate franchises through its characters and their narrative premises or is based on well-known cultural property. Other strategies include casting stars or adapting successful products originating in other media. In the post-classical period, action-adventure themes with heavy use of special effects have had a central role in the market. This is related to the idea that a cinematic blockbuster is meant to produce a spectacle and emotional engagement, in other words, the creation of experiences.
Especially since the beginning of the 21st century, superhero films are often perceived as blockbusters since they bring together many of the previously described characteristics: production strategies and cross-media distribution, the expansive franchise capacity of their characters, and the consolidation of action scenes and special effects as the main components of the cinema spectacle. In addition, the popularity of superhero franchises has often proved sustainable; in some cases, publications about a character’s backstory and the network of related secondary characters can span decades.
Blockbuster Films Outside of Hollywood
Blockbusters are typically developed within a context of global promotion for general markets. However, productions targeting smaller markets can be profitable if they are well received on a global scale and distributed effectively. Many independent (indie) producers maintain distribution arrangements with major production networks. In that sense, indie cinema can in some cases replicate the classical-period expectation that novelties would be produced by established auteurs. Some world-renowned filmmakers who are not primarily associated with high-budget productions, such as Japanese anime director Miyazaki Hayao, cofounder of Studio Ghibli, exemplify this pattern. This contrasts with the old Hollywood blockbuster in which the filmmaker is often overshadowed by thematic content or casting. On the other hand, the emergence of other global industries has made possible the creation of national blockbuster projects.
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When examined within transnational frameworks, blockbusters often lose qualities associated with their origins in American cinema contexts. Bollywood, for example, is a unique case of global cinematic production centered on Hindi-language markets. The model works in a horizontal direction, integrating small producers. Bollywood blockbusters break not only with the global production systems led by major American film studios but also with the content of the films these studios produce. In American cinema, superheroes or soft versions of science fiction are the genres with the greatest potential to become blockbusters because of their appeal to teenagers and family audiences. In Bollywood blockbusters, on the other hand, the narrative model of the masala (spice-mix) has proliferated, mixing numerous genres, including romance, drama, comedy, and other thematic elements.
Finally, unexpected blockbusters, whether from indie or transnational production contexts, also occur. These may be extremely profitable films despite lacking ambitious investment and distribution strategies or missing traditional blockbuster textual properties.
Blockbusters in Other Media
For television productions, the terms breakaway hits or breakout hits are often used instead of blockbuster to refer to surprisingly successful series. Although some television programs achieve very large audiences and substantial marketing support, television success is typically measured differently from that of theatrical films. Series often build audiences gradually across episodes or seasons, and their distribution and promotional strategies are usually structured around ongoing broadcast or streaming schedules rather than a single high-profile release.
In the case of printed publications, Peyton Place (1956) is often considered an early and influential blockbuster novel. Although there were more successful previous publications, this novel represented a break in cultural history through its social impact. Additionally, the phenomenon is a response—as with other media—to the global expansion of the publication markets and its links to mass-culture institutions. In fact, the search for not only the big book but also content with potential for adaptations and tie-in products is what generates the aforementioned production synergies within the conglomerate media industries.
Other industries have also produced blockbusters, including music albums and Broadway musicals. The most recent parallel with cinema is the video game industry owing to both its potential transmedia expansion capacity and the search for secure large investments. Blockbuster video games are called AAA games. This label implies the existence of an experienced producer, high-quality standards, and a large investment in their production, promotion, and distribution. They follow the strategy of their cinematic counterparts since they minimize risk through large budgets based on intellectual property that has proven profitable and often rely on sequelization. Furthermore, cross-platform adaptations (e.g., personal computers, domestic game consoles, mobile operating systems) can generate numerous benefits for franchises. Finally, in a clear parallel with the film industry, a video game’s release can become an event, as it occurs during the first phase of distribution when the investment’s success can be measured in preparation for the potential production of a sequel or the adoption of complementary distribution strategies.
The original version of this article was published by SAGE Publications in The SAGE International Encyclopedia of Mass Media and Society.