The correctanswer choiceeliminates an ALTERNATE PATH TO THE SAME END.
According to the argument, all films should be released conservatively, in order to obtain the
greatest return on marketing investments. The rationale given is that audience reactions can only
be properly gathered and interpreted after the opening weekend; these reactions then serve as the
basis for marketing decisions such as expanding the films release. However, the argument ignores
other possible means to achieve the stated goal of maximum returns onmarketing investments.
Specifically, the argument overlooks the impact of marketing decisions that are made before open-
ing weekend, such as the initial number of screens or the initial size of the advertising campaign;
such decisions could influence the results of the opening weekend. In fact, investing a great deal
in marketing before a film opens might be the best way to generate profits, as in the case of block-
busters or of films predicted to collapse after the opening weekend. Note that several of the incor-
rect answers reinforce a conservative attitude toward releasing a film, but none of them are critical
to the validity of the conclusion, and thus none are assumptions upon which the conclusion
depends.
(A) CORRECT. In order to conclude that all films should have limited releases, it must not be pos-
sible for large pre-release marketing spending to lead to the best returns on investment, no mat-
ter what film is considered. Also, check the LEN: large marketing investments made before the
opening weekerid could eventually yield greater profits than small initial marketing investments.
The author's conclusion would fall apart if this were true.
(B) If marketing costs fell, then releasing films might be less risky. However, the conclusion here is
concerned with how to maximize profits. This choice does not address whether a conservative
release plan is the best method to maximize profits.
(C) This is a tempting choice. A premise in the argument says that reactions from commercial
audiences are the most useful indicators in making marketing decisions. Try the LEN strategy:
performance in non-commercial settings is at least somewhat correlated with how the general
public tends to react. Does this destroy the conclusion? No. The non-commercial audience
reactions could be decendy correlated without being the most useful type of audience
reaction.
(D) The author claims that limited releases are the best means to maximize returns on marketing
investments. In other words, the author is predicting something about the expected return on a
marketing investment. At the same time, the author's conclusion does not logically depend on
whether marketing investments have predictable effects or not.
(E) The opening weekend's results may be a strong indicator of future performance, but that does
not allow us to conclude that the given plan will always result in the best financial returns on a
marketing investment. There may be other, better indicators of future performance.