Movie Make Avengers 3 D Men Money World Million

"To be in the black" means to make a profit, when a company receives more money than it spends. (The opposite is "to be in the red," when you are losing money.) "Movie studios" (companies that make movies) sometimes make millions of dollars in profit on their films, and sometimes lose millions.

In 2012, the movie The Avengers was "released" (started to be shown in theaters) around the world, making more than $1,000,000,000. The cost of the movie was "only" $220 million, so the movie studio is so far about $800 million in the black.

What's interesting about movies like The Avengers is that most of the money is made outside of the United States. Men in Black, the 1997 "blockbuster" (movie that makes a lot of money), made more than $500 million, with about 60% of that coming from outside the U.S. In fact, the international success of movies is so important to studios that one writer recently wrote an article called "How to Make a Hollywood 'Hit'" (successful movie), in which she pointed out the "elements" (characteristics) of an internationally successful movie. Here are some of those elements:

- "Set the movie" (have the movie take place) in an "emerging market" (where new customers can be found) - or "nowhere." Many internationally successful movies take place in a fantasy world, such as Harry Potter, Avatar, and Lord of the Rings.

- Use an "established" (already known) "brand" (idea, product, or service). The Avengers, for example, is based upon well-known comic books and characters many people are already familiar with.

- Get "bilingual" (speaking two languages) stars. Adding Antonio Banderas's Puss in Boots character to the second Shrekmovie helped "triple" (multiply by three) ticket sales in Spain and doubled them in Mexico.

- Make the movie in 3-D and IMAX. In 2011, 40% of the movie ticket sales in China, Brazil, and Russia were from 3-D movies. The Avengers was, of course, released in 3-D and IMAX, in addition to the "normal" way.