Box Office Isn't As Bad As It Seems
Inflation can make us look even dumber than we are. I'm talking about the movie box office. As The Dark Knight passed the $300 million mark over the weekend, and could conceivably become the second highest-grossing film of all time before it's done, I was heartened to find box office rankings adjusted for inflation.
On the non-adjusted list, Titanic is at the top, and the top 10 includes Shrek 2, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, the first two Spider-Man movies, and -- most alarmingly to me -- Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (that was the last of the "prequels" to come out, meaning audiences had already absorbed the awfulness of the first two before launching Sith into the top 10).
On the adjusted list, Gone With the Wind is the champ, and the top 10 includes Jaws, Doctor Zhivago, and The Exorcist.
It's a little deeper on the lists, though, where the benefits to our image of adjusting really become clear. Movies like The Sting, The Graduate, and The Godfather are buried on the all-time list (150, 357, and 213, respectively), but jump to 15, 18, and 21 when inflation is taken into account.
On the non-adjusted list, Titanic is at the top, and the top 10 includes Shrek 2, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, the first two Spider-Man movies, and -- most alarmingly to me -- Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (that was the last of the "prequels" to come out, meaning audiences had already absorbed the awfulness of the first two before launching Sith into the top 10).
On the adjusted list, Gone With the Wind is the champ, and the top 10 includes Jaws, Doctor Zhivago, and The Exorcist.
It's a little deeper on the lists, though, where the benefits to our image of adjusting really become clear. Movies like The Sting, The Graduate, and The Godfather are buried on the all-time list (150, 357, and 213, respectively), but jump to 15, 18, and 21 when inflation is taken into account.
posted by JMW at 3:10 PM
1 Comments:
Coincidence: "Mrs. White" and I watched The Graduate last night for the first time in a while. A great film but especially when considering the cinema landscape at the time.
If folks haven't seen it, or seen it in a while, Netflix it.
And I've had "The Sound of Silence" spinning in my head for 24 hours. I'd be remise if I said I didn't mind.
Post a Comment
<< Home