All films are considered to be mainstream films. Majority of them are fantasy. The formula of making a successful film is having connections or being a franchise that is trusted by the public. For example Marvel. Everyone expects a good marvel film and they know more will come out of that one films. Franchises creates fandoms and so people can connect over a film. Also having well known film actors involved is a big part. Titanic had Leonardo De Caprio which drew attention to box offices and therefore box offices publicised it everywhere. If a film is publicised everywhere and trailers played around for ADS or Posters being posted more people will get an insight into what the film is about and will be more intrigued into going to watch it. Communication plays a huge part in the formula for a film to become successful as if people enjoy the film they will share it with their friends and so on and the news about this film being good gets spread around and so more people will go to watch the film. Having the film be a well known and popular genre will entice more people to watch the film and help to create a successful film.

The majority of the films on this list were made by Disney and are either sequels or remakes. Disney has been investing a lot of time and money into Marvel which has been delivering in the box office. Most Marvel films tend to have a similar structure and are marketed towards men and families, leading to them having a massive audience. They tend to have similar concepts and messages but are enjoyed by their massive number of fans. A lot of these films also have incredibly high special effects and animation budgets to make it look as good as possible and one without would probably perform a lot worse with the public. They also have a lot of overlapping cast members who are known to be enjoyed by audiences which is a safe bet to make a lot of people watch the movie.

Is there a pattern to the top performing films in box office, what do they have in common that appeals to the masses.

The top ten most well-performing films in box office from 2018 are as followed: Avatar, Avengers: Endgame, Titanic, Star wars, Avengers…. As you can start to tell most of the top ten films are either a fantasy, Sci-fi, an adaptation or part of a franchise. These films appeal to the masses so well because the fantasy and sci-fi films are always interesting and have a great concept and the adaptations and franchises are lines of films that people come to trust and the target audience start to know what they’re going to get. Franchises also gather a fandom overtime, especially a franchise like Marvel since it has been going since 2008 it has had a long time to gather a fandom and since the target audience is so broad it turns out to be huge. some of the films have gained such a good box office because they’ve stood their test against time and still manage to gain a larger viewing years later so if its a franchise it will always grow each year.

A lot of them are franchises, for example Avengers: Endgame (Anthony Russo, 2019) that have gained recognition over time and builds a cult following . The majority are also action/adventure or science fiction that are family friendly. They are also produced by big companies like Disney, meaning they have a large budget to spend on actors, sets equipment ect…

Communicators are useful to film as without being able to show your ideas you won’t be able to make a good film 

Knowledgeable people are useful to film as it helps make sense to a script and help bring context to a film. 

Risk takers, open-minded people and thinkers are all helpful in film studies as they create a new interpretation to a film that could be exciting or interesting.

Being Principled is important to a filmmaker as it allows them to have standards  

Reflective people are good for editing because they know what’s good/bad and are able to see faults and develop

Inquirers are helpful for film studies as they provide research and enthusiasm

The ib learner profile  

The learner profile for film studies has words such as 

– knowledgeable  

This word would be applicable to a film maker because a film maker must be knowledgable to make films that have meanings that would mean something to the watcher  

-risk takers  

A film maker must be a risk taker because they must be ready to take risks such as different typesof movies that havent done before to have a better movie  

-reflective  

A film maker should be reflective so that they couls look back at the first draft of a film and make chcanges that will make the finished overall film  

-caring 

A film maker should be caring so that the audience will know that this film hasn’t had a negative impact on the surroundings (such as animals or people) 

-principled  

A film maker should have good principles so that the audience will know that the film maker has a good view point and that they have good standards and the watcher will be assured that the film maker wont lower their standards  

-communicators

a film maker should be a communicator so that they can get their point and message to the audience through the film

-inquirers

afilm maker should be an inquirer so that they can ask questions and inquire about topics that they will include in their film

-balanced

a film maker should be balanced so that they will put as much thought and consideration into each element and aspect of the film so it will be balanced and an overall good film

-open minded

a film maker should be open minded so that they will be open to making different types of films in different genres that they might not be used

-thinkers

film makers should be thinkers so that they can think up new ideas for films and plots and different characters so it will give the audience something new and unique to watch

The IB learner profile is a list of 10 characteristics which are key to being a successful IB student.

Being Knowledgeable is useful in IB Film Because being a good film maker means you have to know about all the elements about film and how to incorporate them into your own films in a way which is meaningful and can carry a message and/or meaning.

Being a Risk Taker is key in IB and especially Film because as a Film Maker You should always be taking risks with your art and be experimental. If a certain idea doesn’t work out, for example let’s say you make a sort of abstract film or a genre that doesn’t receive well with the viewers then you would’ve learned something out of that and overall become a better and knowledgeable Film Maker

Being a good communicator is vital for Film since when you’re working on a crew you will have to communicate ideas and instructions all the time to get scenes shot efficiently and to the best ability. Especially if you’re a Director working on a film you will have to communicate your ideas and instructions to almost the entire crew but especially the Actors and Cameramen on how he wants this scene to be done.

When taking Film you must be Open-minded. Open-minded in the sense that you appreciate other cultures, opinions and traditions of individuals and communities. When you’re studying film you must be open-minded to other genres and different types of film to what you prefer or mainly focus on.

Being an inquirer connects to Ib film because you should always be watching films independently and trying to learn and read them to better your knowledge on the subject in order for you to know how successful film makers use techniques in their film to convey different messages.

Being a thinker can easily correlate with IB film since students should always use critical and creative thinking skills to analyse films. And when making their own films they should definitely exercise in initiative in making reasoned, ethical decisions.

Being principled is an obvious key characteristic that a student should have when taking film, because in film you should always give credit where credit is due. So lets say you use a film as an example in your work you should always say what year the film was made and who directed it. This shows that you can act with integrity and honesty, with a strong sense of fairness, justice and respect for the dignity of people.

Being caring while taking film is essential because film makers should always make films to make a positive difference in the lives of others or at least not make a negative impact.

IB Film students should be Balanced to not only understand the importance of intellectual, physical and emotional balance to achieve personal wellbeing but to also recognise their interdependence with other people and with the world in which we live in. Being balanced will help the student while making films.

You need to be reflective in film in order to improve your film making ability. Furthermore, lets say you make a film, you should be able to reflect on that film and modestly find what didn’t work so well and what did work well in order to better your film making ability.

Ib learner profile from Victoria Walters

Knowledgeable- Having the knowledge of films in general and willingness to learn from others.

Risk takers- Being able to give your own opinion and present new ideas. Film makers may come up with new ideas that have never been attempted previously

Reflective- Being thoughtful on aspects such as the films message, and cinematography

Caring- Being considerate of other peoples opinions and ideas, as well as the safety and rights of people, and animals.

Communicators- Being able to project messages and ideas through the form of a film

Inquirers- Asking questions and being engaged with the film

Principled- Being mature about other peoples ideas, and messages, such as themes of certain films.

Open-minded- Putting yourself in the perspective of other people, and considering how it can effect the people viewing.

Balanced- Having an equal amount

Communicators – Film makers communicate messages through their art.

Risk-takers – Not all films will be well-received, so releasing each film will be a risk.

Open-minded – When working in a group (especially in film), its important to consider each person’s opinions.

Knowledgeable – Film makers must have the knowledge of techniques and the different elements.

Reflective – Film makers should reflect on their own work to see how it can be improved and also seek out the feedback of others.

Thinkers – When starting a new project you need to brainstorm you ideas or when faced with challenges you have to find a solution.

Caring – Film makers should ensure that they don’t cause harm when filming.

Inquirers – You should inquire with others for feedback and inquire with your group for ideas etc.

Balanced – Film makers should make sure they have balanced representation in their films and when working in groups everyone has an equal workload.

Principled – Film makers shouldn’t lower their standards.

Communicators- A film maker’s goal is to communicate ideas to the audience as well as the people they are working with.

Reflective- A film maker should be able to reflect and improve on ideas.

Caring- A film maker should care about the people that they are working with as well as their audience.

Risk-takers- Film makers should be willing to take a risk and try new ideas.

Balanced- A film maker should be well rounded with many different skills.

Thinkers- They should be able to come up with ideas as well as consider many options.

Principled- They should be able to know when something being created is morally right or wrong and attempt to correct it if needed.

Open-minded- A film maker should willing to try new things and listening to others’ opinions.

Inquirers- A film maker should be willing to ask questions and try to learn new things.

Knowledgeable- A film maker should know what they are doing and be willing to learn things they don’t.