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Demographics and Theatre attendance

Posted by: pquicio on Apr 08, 00:05 in response to lobogotti's post some random BO stats I find interesting....

In 1939 there were about 140 million americans.  Today there are almost 326 million (plus a few million illegals).  According to Box Office Mojo theatre attendance figures, 208 million americans went to see Gone With the Wind.  This means many millions went to see it twice or three times.  In major cities (New York, LA, Chicago etc) ticket prices for premier movies was $0.35.  In lots of other cities it was cheaper than that.  But, there was no TV, internet or other entertainment venue (with the exception of live theatre) to compete.

 

In 2015, a little over 108 million people bought tickets in the U.S. to see Star Wars: The Force Awakens.  That is one third of the U.S. population today.  The prices of tickets range from around $10 down to around $6.50.  

To get from $0.35 to $10 is an inflation of 2,857%

some random BO stats I find interesting.... lobogotti Apr 07, 06:22

one more.... lobogotti Apr 07, 06:36

There are 3 Americans today for every 2 in 1980. Also, Delta House measures movies by return on investment {nm} DTXbro Apr 07, 07:16

when I saw Star Wars in 1978 it cost 78 cents to see it {nm} FrozenDude Apr 07, 09:19

yep. that's why when you adjust for inflation it is the 2nd biggest film of all time... lobogotti Apr 07, 10:42

Among the top adjusted, does it seem to anyone else that doctor zhivago gets almost no mainstream attention these days? All the other going islndr Apr 07, 12:11

it’s great, but you’re absolutely right. {nm} lobogotti Apr 07, 13:36

it was one of last roadshow spectacles of the dying studio system. which still made for a big box office but probably viewed as lesser Lean slipping jimmy Apr 07, 14:51

thank you {nm} islndr Apr 07, 15:21

It would be interesting to know how the average blockbuster budget has increased since 1980. lesana Apr 07, 09:25

yes, wish budgets for films were made as readily available as box office gross. {nm} lobogotti Apr 07, 10:43

One for you, Lobo, TGSOE is #3 all time among movies never to chart higher than third place on any weekend. austpow Apr 07, 16:23

that is crazy, thanks for that one! {nm} lobogotti Apr 07, 19:50

It also broke the 12 yr record of smallest 2nd week drop (+76%) by a lot - for 3000+ theaters JDolphin Apr 08, 11:56

Thanks for sharing! {nm} THXER Apr 07, 12:02

These are great, thanks. {nm} tatoufan Apr 07, 12:26

Very interesting info, thank you for sharing this. {nm} Randy Apr 07, 13:07

Your post are always interesting. Thank you. {nm} GruntNoNeck Apr 07, 15:41

MOVIES THAT SOLD THE MOST TICKETS UNADJUSTED FOR INFLATION pquicio Apr 07, 17:35

and in terms of absolute ticket sales (to the extent we can measure 1939 sales) nothing will ever come close to beating GWTW {nm} slipping jimmy Apr 07, 18:04

It sold nearly twice the amount of tickets as TFA... insanity {nm} lobogotti Apr 07, 19:51

The power and impact of film in 1939 vs today is nearly unimaginable; {nm} goodvibe61 Apr 08, 23:27

Demographics and Theatre attendance pquicio Apr 08, 00:05

good stuff! {nm} lobogotti Apr 08, 07:43

Tickets by me range $23 to $7.... I wish they only cost $10. The $7 is half price Tuesday. {nm} Baron_Darcon2017 Apr 08, 10:44

Tickets by me range $23 to $7.... I wish they only cost $10. The $7 is half price Tuesday. {nm} Baron_Darcon2017 Apr 08, 10:45

People also went to theaters back then for the news reels before each showing. My mom said that's the only reason they got to see movies {nm} JDolphin Apr 08, 12:01

Craziest thing I discovered the other day was just how big the China box office has become. Wolf Warrior 2 made $850m last year MiyazakiFan Apr 09, 08:01





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