What are some of the things that can make starbond adjusts difficult?

Calculating starbond adjusts is pretty simple - as described in this other column - but there are a few technicalities that can trip you up if you don't know what to look for.

This article will take you through all of these rules, which are also covered in the HSX Glossary and the HSX FAQ.

$250 million cap

Starbond prices are adjusted to reflect their Trailing Average Gross, or TAG.  Generally, the TAG is the average of the North American box office of the star's five most recent films, but this is not always the case.

For example, the box office for each movie used in calculating TAGs is capped at a maximum of $250 million.  So if a movie earns $400 million at the box office, that box office only counts as $250 million when calculating the TAG.

Here's an example of how this works.  A starbond has five movies in its TAG with the following box office amounts.

• Movie 1: $150 million
• Movie 2: $100 million
• Movie 3: $80 million
• Movie 4: $20 million
• Movie 5: $400 million

Totalling the box office:

$150 + $100 + $80 + $20 + $400 = $750 million

which would result in a TAG of $150 million.  However, Movie 5's box office of $400 million only counts as $250 million, so the box office used to calculate the TAG is:

$150 + $100 + $80 + $20 + $250 = $600 million

giving a TAG of $120 million.

For more information on why this rule exists, you can check out this column.

Fewer than five attachments

Many starbonds are attached to fewer than five moviestocks.  For these starbonds, the TAG is calculated using a different formula, depending on how many movie credits the star has.

For starbonds with four attachments:

the average box office of those four movies

For starbonds with three attachments:

the average box office of those three movies

For starbonds with two attachments:

the total box office for those two movies, divided by three

For starbonds with one attachment:

the box office for that movie, divided by three

Also, starbonds do not adjust in price for the first film in their TAG.

Two movies delisting on the same date

Sometimes, starbonds will be attached to two (or more) movies that are delisting on the same date.  When this happens, the TAG and the starbond price will be adjusted for all of these movies at the same time.

For starbonds with five attachments, for each new film coming into the TAG the oldest will be dropped.  So, if two movies delist on the same date, then the two oldest movies in the TAG will be dropped, and replaced by the two new movies.

This works slightly differently for starbonds with fewer than five attachments.  Sticking with the example of two movies entering the TAG on the same date, for starbonds with four attachments, the two movies will come into the TAG but only one will drop out - so the TAG is recalculated using the starbond's five most recent movie credits.  Similarly, for starbonds with three or fewer attachments, the two new movies will come into the TAG, but no moviestocks will drop out, and the TAG will be recalculated using the appropriate formula for the new number of attachments.

Two films in the TAG with the same release date

Movies drop out of the TAG in order of release date, but sometimes the two oldest movies in the TAG share the same release date.

When this happens, the film with the smallest box office gross will be dropped from the TAG first.

This is reflected on the individual starbond pages, which has a list of credits in the reverse order You can also verify this by checking the box office on the relevant moviestock pages.

Movies that do not report box office

Sometimes, a movie is released in theatres, but does not release box office information to ERC.  This is discussed in another column, but the implications for starbonds are that when this happens, any starbonds credited to the moviestock will be removed in the week before the moviestock's delist and will not adjust after the moviestock delists.

While this doesn't have a direct impact on the TAG, when a movie fails to report box office traders will be checking the starbonds attached to the relevant moviestock and looking forward to their next scheduled adjust.

When a movie doesn't report box office on its first week, there can be a good reason for not doing so, like a late release date change.  However, if the movie has not reported box office by its second weekend of release, it almost certainly won't for the remainder of its theatrical run.  So be prepared.