I just read an article from CNN entitled
Putting 'Avatar' in per$pective and it really struck a chord with me economically speaking. The article compared and contrasted the blockbuster "Avatar" with other big names such as "Gone With The Wind" and "Titanic". The number of theaters available to show movies, amount of people in the movie viewing pool, cost of ticket with inflation added, and number of tickets sold were all listed as reason why "Avatar" may not be the big dog after all. The fact that "Avatar" is shown via IMAX and 3-D is also a factor adding to the popularity of the film, as premium prices are added for these two viewing options.
I am very confused by the popularity of not only this movie, but of all the movie attractions. The last time I visited the Joplin movie theater, I paid $9 for one adult ticket. At a minimum wage job, it would take 1.24 hours to earn the pre tax money it would take to buy one ticket. So my initial shock is to wonder why there is so much drama in the news about our broken economy, when all it takes is one cinematic adventure for us to find the money to smash records in the box office. If it is that easy to find the money, why are there so many hungry people in America today? If it is that easy to find the money, why are the unemployment lines so long? And my least favorite, if it is that easy to find the money, why are there so many American's facing foreclosure of their homes?
Although the article does mention how some moviegoers returned to the theater ten or more times back in 1997 when "Titanic" splashed onto the scene, I still think the economical situation we are in should have made some sort of impact on the $558 million dollars "Avatar" has pulled in so far. I was saddened to hear that while there is so much hurt going on in other places in the world, even the writer of this article admits that ""Avatar" is making ridiculous amounts of money".
Ridiculous indeed.
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I have to agree with you. With all the job losses now days; one does have to wonder where did all that money come from? To bad they didn't tell you ages and venues where they sold the most tickets. Great way of thinking, couldn't agree with you more. But, would love to have some of that money.
ReplyDeleteI agree Brandi. In addition to the ridiculous amounts of money that this movie has made, there are other examples of excess amounts of cash in this country. I in no way condemn the relief efforts in Haiti, but how can there be so much money going out of this country in aid when there is so much need IN this country?
ReplyDeleteHere's what I think it is; the media. There was the homeless scare in the early 90's and the AIDS scare of the mid 90's. By now, must of us were supposed to be dead. (Witness Bird Flu, SARS, Mad Cow Disease, Anthrax, Swine Flu, etc.) The media works hand in hand with the government to keep us in a constant state of fear. But when we realize that there is something that we really want, we'll justify the expense and let loose of the cash.
I feel that the economy is a result of manipulation and scare-tactics by this administration, and the government in general. I think it could be argued that if the statistics could be falsified (again) and showed a strengthening economy, people would begin spending again. Companies would start hiring again. Next thing you know, the economy is strong when really nothing changed except our perception. But hey, I'm no Timothy Geithner. (Thank God.)