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Don't underestimate the power of the Force ... or inflation. Box-office analysts predict that in dollar terms, The Force Awakens will be the biggest earning movie with Star Wars in its name. But such measurements almost always fail to account for inflation. In real dollar terms, none of the sequels/prequels have surpassed the original Star Wars (later subtitled Episode IV: A New Hope).
A New Hope was a smash success financially, a bona fide blockbuster in the dawn of the blockbuster era. With cinemas screening the original Star Wars for most of 1977 and 1978, the film garnered $512 million in ticket sales. What's truly incredible about that figure is that movie tickets in 1977 cost just $2.23 on average. That means about 230 million people went to see the film, slightly more than the population of the U.S. at the time.
(Score: 2) by Gravis on Thursday December 17 2015, @10:05PM
why does it cost $20 to see a damn movie now?
(Score: 3, Informative) by ikanreed on Thursday December 17 2015, @10:07PM
Because americans are so fat we can fit fewer of us in a theater.
(Score: 2) by bob_super on Thursday December 17 2015, @10:36PM
Blame Avatar.
Courtesy of Avatar, studios and theaters realized people could flock in and pay well over $10 for a movie.
It also started the 3D craze, which caused theaters to upgrade their equipment for both 3D and DCI, and they jacked up the price to recoup the investment (despite the actual ongoing cost savings).
(Score: 2, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 17 2015, @11:10PM
It doesn't cost me anything. Well nothing over and above what I pay for internet access.
Why do you pay $20 to see a damn movie?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 17 2015, @11:16PM
I largely stopped going to movies back in the 80s when, overnight, all the theaters jacked their ticket prices by a factor of two. It went from, like, $3.50 to $7.00. What am I talking about? Clearly the industry trade group [natoonline.org] proves me wrong. But then why did N.Y.C. Mayor Koch try to organize a boycott when prices jumped to $7 in 1988?
(Score: 2) by fido_dogstoyevsky on Friday December 18 2015, @01:57AM
why does it cost $20 to see a damn movie now?
To recover some of the costs (which are several times the size of the global economy) of armed robbery on the high seas... I mean file sharing.
It's NOT a conspiracy... it's a plot.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday December 18 2015, @03:39AM
(Score: 4, Insightful) by Tork on Friday December 18 2015, @06:50AM
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