The truth behind record blockbusters

Tuesday, July 27, 2004

News in the entertainment industry often focuses on how much money a film has grossed, how much money it has made in its first week, how much it has made all together and whether the movie has made the most money of all time.

Such an approach enforces the blockbuster mentality, according to Ted Hovet, professor of English and director of the minor in film studies at Western Kentucky University.

Consider what is currently in theaters.

Fahrenheit 9/11 hauled in a total of $103.35 million since its opening in June, with a gain of more than $5 million last weekend.

Spider-Man 2 has taken $317.3 million into its web so far, putting it in the top 20 highest-grossing films, according to the Web site Movieweb.com.

But those numbers leave out some vital information as an accurate yard stick of the success of a film. Moviegoers need to consider inflation when they hear those reports, according to WKU Economics professor Thomas Wisley.

Its like comparing apples to oranges when you dont (take into account) the change in prices, he said.

For example, the movie Titanic, which came out in 1997, earned the most money of all time, with a lifetime gross of $600.8 million, according to Movieweb. Gone With the Wind, which came out in 1939 and had at least one re-release, only brought in $198.5 million. But when inflation is taken into account, (based on 2001 average-ticket price of $5.60) it earned $1.1 billion, according to the Web site Box Office Report.

In 1939 at the Princess Theater in Bowling Green, it only cost 22 cents for an adult to attend a weekday movie, according to Jonathan Jeffrey, special collections librarian at the Kentucky Library and Museum in Bowling Green.

Admission cost 16 cents for an adult on weekends, and childrens admission cost a dime the whole week, Jeffrey said.

Thus 1,000 adults attending Gone With the Wind at the Princess theater on the weekday would have grossed $220, whereas 1,000 people attending a movie in 2001 at the average ticket cost of $5.60 would gross $5,600.

Financial totals alone dont necessarily speak to the quality of the film, but more to its popularity to its target audience, according to Hovet.

Most successful movies have a broader appeal, Hovet said. It reinforces the mentality of not doing something controversial unless it already is a financial success.

But two recent movies, Michael Moores Fahrenheit 9/11 and Mel Gibsons The Passion of the Christ dont fit that mentality, Hovet said.

One theory why they were so successful was they were trying to buck the trend, he said. Both movies tried to make a strong point.

He pointed out that Hollywood is very trendy, and the industry might follow these two films with more non-mainstream movies.

But Hovet admits Hollywood is a business, with a goal turning a profit. In terms of local offerings, he wishes local theaters would offer offbeat foreign films.

Its disappointing to me that they dont have a wider offering, he said.

But that may soon change.

Steve Menschell, vice president of operations at Aliance Management in New Albany, Ind., the owner of Great Escape 12 in Bowling Green, described the process of choosing what movie is shown in the companys theaters.

Everybody pretty much knows ahead of time which are the big blockbusters and which ones are good (but) need word of mouth, Menschell said. Those build as it goes along.

Expected successes like Spider-Man 2 can be put in numerous theaters, while other films that might not be successes are put in smaller theaters. If response is favorable, they can be put in a larger theater or multiple theaters.

With the companys addition of another Great Escape theater at Greenwood Mall to its 12-screen arsenal, there is an increased chance of showing movies like Fahrenheit 9/11, documentaries and art films.

Itll give us wider selections well have 22 screens in Bowling Green, Menschell said. Thats what you really need in Bowling Green, just about a film for everybody and you can take a chance on a Fahrenheit 9/11.

And Menschell also sees that with the popularity of Moores film, Hollywood will take the chance with more controversial films.

(It) gives Holly wood an incentive to fund other small films, he said.

Especially with the college student body, he predicts the art films and foreign films will be a success.

Menschell also predicts another blockbuster, at a minimum like Titanic and maybe even a Gone With the Wind, will come out again in a few years.

There are more movies being made each year, he said, and with that higher chances of having blockbusters.

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