Here’s a cool idea from a new Hollywood movie producer, a money back guarantee!
Nicholas Tabarrok is putting his money where his mouth is. The
producer from Toronto-based Darius Films is certain that audiences will
crack up during the screening of his oddball comedy Weirdsville, opening Friday, or he will refund their movie-ticket money come Monday morning.Tabarrok tells Playback Daily it was a "spur of the moment" idea.
"It occurred to me that this is a common thing… If you buy a
product and you’re not satisfied, you get your money back… The same
principle [should apply] to film," he says.
Brilliant, innovative, incentive-compatible! You’d think this guy had an economist for a brother or something.
Any relations to Alex Tabarrok?
I think though that this might have an unintended side effect – people go into a comedy expecting that they are going to laugh, and this tells them that the director thinks that there’s a chance that they might not. It also incentivizes people to not laugh, so that they can get their money back. I think we all know people that exhibit this kind of behavior.
I think PR speaking this will draw attention to generally underfunded movies such as comedies tend to be. I however feel that in the case of the movie watcher they may take advantage of the policy. Is there going to some way to test or quantify if a person actually enjoys the experience? I can absolutely say I did not enjoy the film and take that five back. Not that I would, but I could.
Actually for MR I suggested a double-your money back offer!
NBC did the same thing for the Season 1 DVD of Friday Night Lights.
How long did Nicholas have to film you and Tyler to get enough footage for his movie?
Definitely not incentive compatible.
Hmmmm, Alex wrote Changing of the Guard, Two Cheers for Contingent Fees and Judge and Jury. Nicolas worked on Jailbait, Judgement and We the Jury.
That is weird.
Giving a refund for a movie ticket to an unsatisfied viewer seems as if it would be a good idea. I know I am unhappy when I pay for a movie ticket and come out not enjoying the movie. However, if someone did this, a lot of unethical people would come out saying that they did not enjoy the movie or didn’t think that it was funny just so they can get their money back. Paying for a movie ticket is just a risk people have to take. The only thing you can rely on are the previews. The movie can be either good or bad no matter how much you pay for it.
Money back guarantee is an incentive that would get most of anyone’s attention, even if they are not fans of comedic movies. I think that it is a great idea what this producer is doing, though it might have effects that are not expected. It does not state it in the blog post but one would have to imagine that people might just get their money back even if they liked the movie, just lie and say they didn’t like it. The principle of buying a product and if you are not satisfied then return it and get your money back probably is not an idea that all film makers should consider because at the end of the day there will not be a lot of money going in to the box office but he seems confident in his risk taking and knowing the satisfaction of the audience is much greater than the opportunity cost of losing money in the long run. Different marketing tactics seem to be in the air lately. Radiohead just recently let people decide how much they want to spend on their album after having listening to it. So now the power is in the consumer’s hands, well more so than usual, and hopefully the market for Radiohead albums will be looked at differently by their fans. As for Weirdsville, I think that people will probably be going in to the movie with a more serious state of mind and rate it more critically than if they would if they did not have the option of getting their money back. It is a different idea, and I don’t know if it has been done before but all I have to say is that I hope it’s a good movie!
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