The Executive: Movie Industry Tycoon Review – A Fun but Flawed Hollywood Sim

by Luis March 17, 2025

Running a movie studio should be a dream for film buffs and business sim fans alike. The Executive: Movie Industry Tycoon aims to capture the magic of making movies while balancing the financial stress of keeping a studio afloat. Inspired by classics like The Movies and Game Dev Tycoon, this title lets you greenlight blockbusters, manage talent, and navigate the ever-changing film industry landscape. But while The Executive gets some things right, it stumbles in a few key areas, particularly in its lack of real-world licensing and a somewhat sterile presentation that leans heavily on menus and spreadsheets rather than true Hollywood spectacle.

The Executive: Movie Industry Tycoon Review – A Fun but Flawed Hollywood Sim

The Executive wastes no time dropping you into the hot seat as the head of your own movie studio. You start small, managing modest productions with limited resources, but with smart investments and hit films, you can grow into a Hollywood powerhouse. The game presents a robust set of mechanics: hiring directors, casting actors, picking scripts, and determining marketing strategies all play a role in whether your movie flops or becomes a record-breaking success.

Where the game shines is in its attention to the business side of filmmaking. Juggling budgets, handling contract negotiations, and choosing distribution methods are all deeply involved, requiring strategic decision-making to maximize profits. Players must also stay ahead of industry trends—horror movies might be in high demand one year, while sci-fi epics dominate the box office the next. The way The Executive captures these shifting trends adds an engaging challenge to long-term studio management.

One of The Executive’s most bizarre design choices is its use of spoonerisms for actors, directors, and movie titles. Instead of seeing real names, you get humorous swaps like “Wohn Jaters” for John Waters or “Quentin Barantino” for Quentin Tarantino. While this approach can be amusing at first, it quickly wears thin. The charm of running a Hollywood studio is in playing with the icons of cinema—imagine being able to negotiate contracts with real A-list actors or poach a top director from a rival studio. Unfortunately, The Executive never offers that kind of immersion, opting instead for legally safe but less compelling approximations.

The same issue applies to movie titles. Rather than crafting your blockbuster based on familiar franchises or licensing parody versions, you’re left working with thinly veiled knockoffs. While the game allows custom naming, it still feels like a missed opportunity to engage players who dream of managing actual Hollywood talent rather than their legally distinct clones. We imagine modding will solve this issue, but it has yet to be implemented.

Another area where The Executive falters is in presentation. While the game does a fine job simulating the business of Hollywood, it does so in a way that feels overly reliant on menus and spreadsheets. There’s very little visual flair—don’t expect to see actors walking red carpets, directors clashing on set, or even previews of the movies you produce. Most of the experience boils down to analyzing stats and making financial decisions rather than experiencing the creative highs and lows of the film industry firsthand.

This approach might be fine for players who love data-driven management sims. But the game’s presentation might feel too dry for those hoping for a more cinematic experience—one where you can truly see your studio’s films taking shape. Even minor touches, like the ability to watch trailers of the movies you produce or more dynamic news headlines reacting to your studio’s successes and failures, would have helped bring the world of The Executive to life.

The Executive: Movie Industry Tycoon is an enjoyable yet flawed take on the Hollywood dream. Its in-depth management mechanics satisfy fans of business sims, but its reliance on fictional names and lack of visual flair hold it back from being truly great. The thrill of running a studio is still here, but it often feels more like running a spreadsheet than crafting cinematic masterpieces. The good news, the team is continually adding updates and with modding support in the wings, some of these issues might find themselves going away, thanks to the community.