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Talent and publicity as determinants of superstar incomes: empirical evidence from the motion picture industry

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  • Kay H. Hofmann
  • Christian Opitz

Abstract

By drawing on the two prevailing economic stardom theories, the paper investigates the sources of superstardom in the US movie industry. For the econometric analysis, we use income and popularity data of screen actresses and actors from the annual Celebrity 100 lists as published by Forbes Magazine. The empirical findings indicate that Hollywood, in contrast to other professional settings, supports two different types of stars. While ‘talent stars’ exploit acting merit, it is media exposure that drives the income of ‘publicity stars’. Apparently, in the motion picture industry both underlying resources are equally important and equally valued. Based on these insights we develop concrete recommendations for the career management of artists and the management of film projects.

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  • Kay H. Hofmann & Christian Opitz, 2019. "Talent and publicity as determinants of superstar incomes: empirical evidence from the motion picture industry," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 51(13), pages 1383-1395, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:applec:v:51:y:2019:i:13:p:1383-1395
    DOI: 10.1080/00036846.2018.1527452
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    Cited by:

    1. Kay H. Hofmann, 2021. "Television Serials as Career Stepping Stones: An Empirical Analysis of Employment Paths of Professional Actors," Schmalenbach Journal of Business Research, Springer, vol. 73(3), pages 501-525, December.
    2. Gaenssle Sophia & Budzinski Oliver & Astakhova Daria, 2018. "Conquering the Box Office: Factors Influencing Success of International Movies in Russia," Review of Network Economics, De Gruyter, vol. 17(4), pages 245-266, December.
    3. Rachel Scarfe & Carl Singleton & Paul Telemo, 2021. "Extreme Wages, Performance, and Superstars in a Market for Footballers," Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 60(1), pages 84-118, January.
    4. Rachel Scarfe & Carl Singleton & Adesola Sunmoni & Paul Telemo, 2024. "The age‐wage‐productivity puzzle: Evidence from the careers of top earners," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 62(2), pages 584-606, April.
    5. Jordi McKenzie, 2023. "The economics of movies (revisited): A survey of recent literature," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 37(2), pages 480-525, April.
    6. Olivier Gergaud & Vincenzo Verardi, 2021. "Untalented but successful? Rosen and Adler superstar Pokemons," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 60(5), pages 2637-2655, May.
    7. Francesco Angelini & Massimiliano Castellani & Lorenzo Zirulia, 2022. "Overconfidence in the art market: a bargaining pricing model with asymmetric disinformation," Economia Politica: Journal of Analytical and Institutional Economics, Springer;Fondazione Edison, vol. 39(3), pages 961-988, October.
    8. Joel Hellier, 2023. "Asymmetric Globalization, Top Performers’ Income and Inequality," Working Papers 634, ECINEQ, Society for the Study of Economic Inequality.
    9. Telma Barrantes-Fernández & Esteban Cruz-Hidalgo & José Francisco Rangel-Preciado & Francisco Manuel Parejo-Moruno, 2023. "Decommodify the 2030 Agenda: Why and How to Finance What Is Not Profitable?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(5), pages 1-16, February.

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