This paper attempted to answer the research question, “What determines a film’s success at the domestic box office?” The authors used an OLS regression model on an expanded data set of 497 films from the randomly selected years 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, and 2011, taking the top 100 films from each year. Domestic box-office receipts served as the dependent variable, with MPAA ratings, critical reviews, source material, release date, and number of screens acting as independent variables in the final regression. Results showed that source material, critical reviews, number of screens, release date, and a PG rating were statistically significant and positively contributed to a film’s domestic revenue. The authors conclude therefore that the consistently significant variables of reviews, release date, source material, and certain genres contain the most explanatory power
