"We're looking for quality, and substance," he said. "We want to see our name associated with the kind of music, literature and movies that people will say, 'I'm glad Starbucks brought this to the marketplace.' "

Hollywood can only hope for this kind of success at a time when new technology is encroaching on traditional film distribution models. While this year's box-office total has so far pulled ahead of last year's disastrous statistics, industry experts are still puzzling over how to adapt to changing consumer habits in a world of Internet, cellphone and iPod entertainment.

In this environment, Starbucks provides a potentially important new point of sale, and could have the kind of impact on movies — narrow, but profound — that Oprah Winfrey has had on publishing with her book club.