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The adjusted-for-inflation list of box office figures is always said to be the more correct list and the list that should be analyzed when determining the highest grossing movies of all time. To some extent, this is correct, but it also brings about another statistic, which is constantly being used to compare older movies with the newer ones. This statistic is the audience: the number of people who viewed the film during its theatrical release. Each time a new movie grosses a similar amount to its prequel, and today there are many sequels being made, it’s always mentioned that even though their amounts are similar, the sequel had lower attendance due to inflation, and it probably did. However, the numbers are getting more and more ridiculous and the gaps are widening more than they should be. In order to determine the audience figures, ticket prices are adjusted for inflation and divided into the movie’s total gross. According to inflationary statistics, since 2004, money has decreased in value by approximately 26%, and this is the figure they use to estimate the size of the audience. Yet, back in 2004, ticket prices at the nearest theatre to where I live were $13.50, and according to the way average ticket prices are measured, tickets should currently be priced at $17 each; however, they are actually $12.75 each. Instead of inflating by 26%, ticket prices deflated by about 6%. This theatre might be an exception, being the only theatre in North America to see a deflation in its ticket prices. In any case, it’s evident that inflation is rising faster than ticket prices and even though it’s the most reliable statistic to use in determining audiences, it is too flawed. The whole audience category should be disregarded because in the end, it serves little importance to the general public. Producers and studios are concerned about making money, and those figures are accurately reported every single day. The viewers bring in the money, so I understand the desire for studios to analyze the number of viewers, but when a category is as inconsistent as the audience category is, it needn’t be reported to the general public.
Adjusted movie grosses are a lot more accurate than the audience figures, because inflation will correctly determine how much a movie’s gross is worth in today’s money. However, there is a reason that the majority of the movies making the top of the adjusted-for-inflation list are older movies. One that particularly stands out is Gone with the Wind, which was released 72 years ago. It managed to gross an astounding $198 million domestically, a figure that is difficult to reach nowadays, unless the movie is a predetermined blockbuster or it ends up performing better than expected. Today, movies are in release for only a few months before the transition from the big screen to your TV. Back in 1939, the proportion of households with a television set was significantly less than it is today. Secondly, movies were not released on television until years after their theatrical releases, meaning that if you wanted to re-watch a film, you would have to go to the nearest cinema and hope the movie the was still showing (or you could wait until 1976, which was the first televised airing of Gone with the Wind). Unlike today, movies back in that time were released for a much longer period and every single ticket counted towards its theatrical gross. Movies were also re-released much more commonly than today’s movies. If televisions were not common in households today and people watched all of their movies at the theatre, Avatar would have grossed an even higher amount than it did, especially because watching it at home cannot be compared to the experience of watching it in the theatre. The increasing number of pirated films and online sites to watch them also contributes to a lower gross by current movies. If times were the same today as they were back in 1939, movie grosses would be a lot different. Will anyone really care what Avatar’s overall gross will be worth in 50 years? The adjusted-for-inflation statistic is said to be more accurate, but it’s irrelevant and pointless. The only thing that matters is how much a movie makes at the time it’s released. Whether that number is worth twice as much in 50 years or ten times as much, it won’t matter. The only category that should be looked at for movie grosses is therefore the gross at the time of release, unadjusted for inflation.
Jovan Atanackovic
@FunSocialJovan on Twitter
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