Hollywood veterans may debate the future of theatrical releases, streaming windows, and box-office recovery, but according to entertainment research expert Kevin Goetz, none of it matters if you don’t understand one thing: the audience.
Goetz, founder and CEO of Screen Engine, joined Entertain Me! with Heather Brooker to talk about his new book, How to Score in Hollywood: Secrets to Success in the Movie Business, out now from Simon & Schuster’s Simon Element imprint. After testing more than 5,000 film titles and advising every major studio, Goetz says the industry’s biggest hits all share one core philosophy: creative instincts and data must work together.
“In Hollywood, you don’t just need a good idea — you need the right idea at the right size,” he told Heather. “A movie can absolutely be profitable if it’s made and marketed for the audience it’s truly meant for.”
His book pulls back the curtain on the decision-making process studios rarely discuss publicly. Among the strategies he details:
- how filmmakers can spot and develop a big idea before it ever hits the page,
- how to define why a movie should exist and what makes it stand out,
- how to tailor production and marketing costs to match a film’s real potential,
- how digital platforms have reshaped release strategies,
- and how to handle so-called “feathered fish” — genre-blending films that need careful positioning to succeed.
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