What's the 'Best' Month for New Movies and Music? A Statistical Analysis (statsignificant.com) 7
An analysis of film and music release patterns has found that summer and late fall are the optimal windows for movie premieres, while the music industry has no clear "best" month -- only a worst one, December, which the report's author dubbed "Dump-cember."
For films, the calendar splits into distinct strategic zones. Summer months and holidays see elevated box office because audiences have more free time, and studios chase mega-billion-dollar hits during these windows. October and November see a surge of prestige releases as studios cluster their Oscar hopefuls to keep them fresh in voters' minds when awards season begins in January.
The Silence of the Lambs, which swept the Academy Awards' Big Four categories in 1992, remains the only Best Picture winner in seven decades to have been released in January -- the industry's infamous "Dump-uary." The music industry operates differently. Most months are interchangeable for album releases, but December is uniquely bad. Artists avoid it because they would compete against Christmas classics from Bing Crosby and Andy Williams, both dead for decades. Albums released in December also receive weaker critical reception as measured by Pitchfork scores, and labels quietly slot their least promising projects into this low-attention window.
For films, the calendar splits into distinct strategic zones. Summer months and holidays see elevated box office because audiences have more free time, and studios chase mega-billion-dollar hits during these windows. October and November see a surge of prestige releases as studios cluster their Oscar hopefuls to keep them fresh in voters' minds when awards season begins in January.
The Silence of the Lambs, which swept the Academy Awards' Big Four categories in 1992, remains the only Best Picture winner in seven decades to have been released in January -- the industry's infamous "Dump-uary." The music industry operates differently. Most months are interchangeable for album releases, but December is uniquely bad. Artists avoid it because they would compete against Christmas classics from Bing Crosby and Andy Williams, both dead for decades. Albums released in December also receive weaker critical reception as measured by Pitchfork scores, and labels quietly slot their least promising projects into this low-attention window.
"Fuck You it's January!" (Score:1)
"January is the month all the studios release their movies that are obviously too good for the end of the year Oscar season. [youtube.com]
Also known as when studios dump all their garbage on your face"
Pff (Score:1)
Re: (Score:2)
Whichever month is convenient for remakes and reboots.
I believe you misspelled decade.
Dump-ster Fire. (Score:2)
When the product schedule is affectionately known as “Dump-cember” and “Dump-uary”, maybe investors shouldn’t be surprised to find consumer interest in the shitter.
Hollywood stars are gonna need a colonoscopy just to get an Oscar nomination.
Re: (Score:2)
Well, music released in December has to compete against Christmas and holiday music. So it's less likely to do well.
January and February are general bad months for the movie industry because as the east half of North America is seeing, when there's lots of snow outside going to the movies doesn't seem like a very high priority. Plus, the after-holiday season with all the requisite bills you generally cut back on discretionary spending.
In fact, the first quarter (January-March) is generally the slowest perio
Pink Floyd "The Wall" sold well in December (Score:2)
Music (Score:3)