Do you think Hasbro had any huge expectations on the films success?

[Azureth 687]

While I am indeed very happy they made it, I do wonder if Hasbro really thought this would be some real huge blockbuster or if they knew it would be looked at as lukewarm (by the masses) and while not some huge hit could do decently and just went away with it anyway. Normally studios don't finance films unless they think they can make mega bucks and aren't satisfied with simply breaking even or gaining a somewhat decent return at best. Now given what sources we have it has done decently but I wonder if the execs at Hasbro expected about how well it has done or if they thought it would do much better?

[Jade Fire 7,059]

Hasbro is different in the fact they are a toy company. they did the movie to boost toy sells. as long as they made their money back from the film which they did, they dont care. it's all about the toy sells with them

[Mirage 24,777]

Another @Azureth epic question of the day...

Movies are made with various motives - they are not all made with the idea of total financial windfall. I wrote a couple of scripts, one of which made it into the hands of LA studios, so I have a little first hand experience working with directors and producers.

In general, yes, it is an investment that the producers want to see a return on. However, more than anything, the actors, directors and producers involved want the project to boost their careers. Every producer wants to be the next Walt Disney, every director wants to be the next Tarantino, and every actor wants to be the next Brad Pitt or Sandra Bullock. These personal drives are a significant factor in how a movie is financed, in that, if they think the project has the right stuff, they will take the risk. It's about 90% politics, and 10% math.

The MLP movie however, is what I'd call a 'pool side' project. Everyone involved is already successful. And so they do a movie to make some money while doing what they love to do - these types of projects are typically not ground breakers, but they are often successful anyway because they are already popular and loaded with talent.

[Denim&Venöm 20,472]

I mean, not really? Look at the amount of advertising. If I were a Hasbro exec and didn't know about adverts not starting till a week before showtime, I'd be in a panic. They new not to expect a whole lot, otherwise a whole lot more would've been put into advertising and distributing it. To them, it's just another commercial. 

So far, it's at a $20 million domestic gross, and overall $43 million world box office. Even if the budget were on the high end estimate of $30 million, it's obviously made back it's budget and a half. And that's not counting toys and eventual home distribution. 

At worst, execs didn't loose anything.