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A year ago today on BloggingStocks

Trey Thoelcke — Sun, 16 Mar 2008 09:40:00 EST

Filed under: Google (GOOG), Microsoft (MSFT), Starbucks (SBUX), Southwest Airlines (LUV), JetBlue Airways (JBLU), Blackstone Group L.P (BX)

Sometimes in a period of uncertainty, a look back can provide some perspective. So here are a few highlights from BloggingStocks on March 16, 2007,a year ago today.

Business & Sports: Oil, Duke, & Notre Dame -- down: What's bigger news, who's in the March Madness or oil dropping below $57 a barrel?
Will '300' controversy result in higher ticket sales?: Yeah, because this should be the main source of contention between the U.S. and Iran.
An OPIC to counter OPEC: An Organization of Petroleum Importing Countries? Whatever became of that?
Harry Potter and the 12 million order: Will the final movie in the Harry Potter series -- er, make that two movies -- generate this kind of excitment? Will anything?
The CPI Numbers: Wall Street breathes brief sigh of relief: Wall Street could use another sigh of relief about now.
Time magazine's facelift: Magazines? Is anyone still reading those?
Microsoft's Ballmer takes more shots at Google: Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) has a beef with Google (NASDAQ: GOOG)? Who'd have guessed?
Heineken -- the next Starbucks?: Does Heineken still want Starbucks (NASDAQ: SBUX) as a role model?
CNBC: Blackstone prepping for mega IPO: Remember the days when private equity was king?
The Story You Didn't Read: Digital killed the TV star: TV is going digital? Seems like I heard something about that somewhere recently?
Subprime investment opportunities?: Investment banks struggling with the subprime mess? The more things change ...
JetBlue passengers grounded ... again: Last year it was JetBlue (NASDAQ: JBLU) cancellations; this year it's Southwest (NYSE: LUV) cancellations.

A year ago today on BloggingStocks originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 16 Mar 2008 09:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Will '300' controversy result in higher ticket sales?

Melly Alazraki — Fri, 16 Mar 2007 18:45:00 EST

Filed under: Time Warner (TWX), Columns

On Monday we reported that Time Warner Inc.'s (NYSE:TWX) Warner Bros. movie 300 was a major hit, selling $70 million worth of tickets in its opening weekend alone and probably breaking the record for March releases. The movie depicts the ancient battle of Thermopylae where supposedly 300 Spartans held off a massive Persian army. Iranians are outraged at the inaccuracies of the movie and the way it portrays the Persians.

Movies, however, are in the business of telling a story -- not history -- and a good action flick especially needs good vs. evil forces. In 300's case Spartans are good, Persians are bad; Spartans are good looking, Persians are odd looking and so on. The movie creators maintain it's a fictional account based loosely on facts.

It is no wonder then that since its opening, the movie has outraged the Iranian community in the U.S. and Canada as well as received numerous condemnations from Iran. The movie, the descendants of the Persians claim, "is part of a comprehensive U.S. psychological war aimed at Iranian culture."

Continue reading Will '300' controversy result in higher ticket sales?

Will '300' controversy result in higher ticket sales? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 16 Mar 2007 18:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Warner's 300 thanks to '300'

Jon Ogg — Mon, 12 Mar 2007 16:27:00 EST

Filed under: Launches, Consumer Experience, Time Warner (TWX)

Time Warner Inc.'s (NYSE:TWX) Warner Bros. pulled out another underestimated feather from its cap this weekend. Its gore and hack-fest film 300 has set what appears to be a record release for films in March. While the tally isn't in yet, Sunday estimates put ticket sales for the blood and gore movie (think Gladiator meets Sin City) at around $70 million. The movie's comic-book sequencing and graphic special effects allow decapitations and severed limbs to take on an entirely new light.

The best-guess estimate anyone had thrown out for the movie was up to $50 million. Its production costs on an end-to-end basis were roughly $60 million, putting the movie in the black after only three days. That is long before any DVD, video game or merchandise sales are registered in the coffers, either. It hasn't even opened in the UK as of yet. Analysts have been critical of Time Warner's movie revenues because there has been no Harry Potter nor Lord of The Rings to carry the rest of the movies. This will mark another major success for the unit.

For a company the size of Time Warner, one movie can't add enough to the bottom line to boost the earnings-per-share number. However, a successful movie can add up with others to contribute on the overage. It might also garner some stronger attention from analysts, who may have thought that only major franchise series movies can rule the roost.

One should also consider that this big surprise is coming in the last month of the quarter -- if this really racks up a huge profit in the next three weeks, analysts may have to increase some of their estimates. Two months ago and up until recently, the movie was not a write-off, but it wasn't expected to be nearly this big of a hit.

Here you can see the trailers and get soundtrack excerpts.

Warner's 300 thanks to '300' originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 12 Mar 2007 16:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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