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Showing posts from December, 2010

Most Profitable Movies of All Time

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A profitable movie doesn’t just do well at the box office. Toy Story 3, for example, is the highest-grossing movie of 2010 so far, with a worldwide take of over $600 million. However, its budget was $200 million, meaning that it has only made three times its investment. Even the mighty Titanic, the second highest grossing film of all time, could only realize a 900% return on its budget. What follows is a list of the 15 most profitable movies of all time, based on worldwide box office receipts. These movies made back their money over and over again, and while there are some acknowledged blockbusters here, there are also those that came out of nowhere and surprised everyone with their performance at the box office.

The Biggest Box Office Bombs

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What makes a movie a box office "bomb "? Just losing money doesn't make it qualify. It's the amount of loss from the production costs to ticket receipts that makes the difference. For example, 2006’s Zyzzyx Road took in a shocking thirty (30) dollars at the box office, but since it cost only $1 million to make, it didn't lose enough money to make the list. And the 2000 John Travolta vehicle Battlefield Earth made back less than half of its $73 million budget, but losing a mere $43 million makes it only a modest disaster. However, there are plenty of films that did lose staggering amounts to qualify as a box office bomb. When adjusted for inflation many of the biggest losses exceed $100 million according to BoxOfficeMojo.com .

Bollywood's Biggest Earners

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India’s movie industry is the largest in the world in terms of ticket sales and movies produced. In 2009, 3.2 billion movie tickets were sold, more than double the number in the United States. India also churns out three times as many movies as Hollywood. It's no wonder that Bollywood’s leading men and women are mega-stars and rake in millions. The earnings are conservative because they’re based on advance taxes paid for the financial years 2009 or 2010, as reported by Indian media. It assumes a top tax bracket of 33 percent and an exchange rate of 44.5 Indian rupees per dollar. 9. Aishwarya Rai Estimated annual earnings: *$1.5 million A former model and Miss World, Aishwarya Rai entered the movie industry in 1997. She won accolades for her roles in period dramas such as "Devdas" (2002). Better known internationally as the face of L’Oreal and Longines watches, Rai co-starred with Dylan McDermott in the 2005 Hollywood film, "The Mistress of Spices"

15 Companies with Zero Debt

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Throughout the financial crisis, large debt loads weighed on company balance sheets and had serious implications for the firms that let their borrowing get out of control. Other companies, however, have a history of operating with low debt levels, and many choose to issue no debt at all. Instead of debt, these companies hold cash and liquid investments in order to make acquisitions, investments and to run daily operations. Although too much debt can quickly turn into a problem, zero debt does not always translate to a rising stock price, as you can see from the historical data provided in the following pages. Regardless, some companies have been successful in turning their zero-debt situation into a very favorable operating model. With data from Capital IQ drawn from the most recent quarterly statements across the S&P 500, here are 15 companies that report having no debt on their balance sheets.

Fast Money's Trader Icons

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Who doesn't dream of greatness - swinging like Babe Ruth or punching like Muhammad Ali? But those guys are sports stars. If you're like us, your heroes are the legendary all-star investors, the heavy hitters who knocked the cover off the ball time and again with their winning trades. Following are the Fast Money icons - some of the greatest traders of all time.