Investing in Films

13_05_ironman3posterTomorrow the much anticipated Iron Man 3 movie comes out in North America 😀 I can’t wait to see it! Other movies I’m looking forward to this summer are Star Trek Into Darkness, Man of Steel, World War Z, Pacific Rim, and The Wolverine. What movie are you excited for this year? The film industry is a very lucrative space bringing in more than 10 billion dollars a year just in US domestic box office revenue.

How can ordinary folks like us get a piece of this market? I am successfully doing it in two ways right now. The first is to own a piece of the giant movie studios that are making these films 😉 They include names most people are already familiar with like Universal (Comcast), Buena Vista (Disney), Fox (NewsCorp), Paramount (Viacom), Sony, and Warner Bros. All these companies are publicly traded. Any time these studios make money, which they all do, you and I (as long as we own their stocks) will be the beneficiaries 😀 This is why I decided to invested $2,000 in Disney earlier this year. When The Avengers movie broke sales records and they announced more Marvel movies to come out over the next few years I knew Disney was going to take me places 🙂 I bought Disney in March and its shares have appreciated by more than 10% already woohoo \(^_^)/

But there are so many movie companies. How do you know which one to invest in? I would look at businesses that you think has the strongest brands. I like Disney because besides Marvel Entertainment, they also own Pixar Animation, ESPN, Lucas film, and about 27% of Hulu. And I like all those brands! Not to mention Disney is also in the business of lodging and merchandising. So they’re a very diversified and well rounded company ∩( ・ω・)  They even have a Disney University where cast member go for professional development and job training lol.

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The second way we can profit from the film industry is to invest in movie theaters. Every year there are more visits to cinemas than amusement parks and sporting events combined. In 2011 I wrote about how I invested $2,000 in Cineplex. They are the largest theater name in Canada. And so far their stock price is up over 30% from when I bought them, woohoo again (^_^)

 

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Laurie @thefrugalfarmer
05/03/2013 6:14 am

Awesome advice – we will definitely consider these options when we start investing. We’re looking forward to seeing Ironman 3 as well!

John S @ Frugal Rules
John S @ Frugal Rules
05/03/2013 6:38 am

Great advice! Sadly, there’s no Batman coming out this summer…so I’ll look forward to the Man of Steal & Iron Man 3. 😉

Gareth @ Investment Road to Freedom
Gareth @ Investment Road to Freedom
05/06/2013 6:19 pm

Great Advice. Saw Iron Man 3 over the weekend and really enjoyed it. Now time for the number 1 superhero as we restart the Superman series.

I was looking at Disney at around 54. Does the yearly dividend ( as opposed to quarterly) put you off them at all?

Jenny @ Mashed Thoughts
05/07/2013 2:18 pm

I have Cineplex as well! I didn’t get in as cheap has you but I’m still up and they do pay a nice dividend! Disney sounds like a solid company to own. I haven’t gotten into US stocks yet though. :/