Inflation?? Thoughts?

[ToiletBug]

My look on inflation has changed over time. When I first got into movies I used to drool over how much things like Star Wars, Gone with the Wind, Zhivago, and the Sting all grossed so much money. And todays films dont come close. Oh and lets be honest....dont...come...close.

But then I looked at the list and you see that besides for Titanic..Nothing in the last ten years have come close to the list. AND. Every decade is represented on the list except from 95 to now like I said besides for titanic. ( in the top 30 or so I mean)

But the last ten years has had such successes as LOTR ( which many feel is the most successful trilogy ever made) SpiderMan..POTC..Shrek etc Why dont these films come close? If SpiderMan was released in 1977 would its inflation gross crush todays gross of 400 million?

ABSOLUTELY!

If LOTR Came out in 1980 would if gross adjusted for inflation beat 377 million?? ABSOLUTELY. The Fucking Sting has just about DOUBLE ROTK's gross!!!! COME ON! (The Sting is in my top ten and Newman is my hero...im not complaining about the film itself).

DVDs have come out along with event TV and have changed the way people go about entertainment. I also talked to my dad about ticket prices and he said yes no doubt back in the day tickets were "cheaper" but now a days they are a lot more expensive to the point where taking a family to the movies is like 30-40 bucks!!!

Im not yelling but you guys know I get passionate. Im curious to see what guys on here like Brandosassfat thinks because to me this seems very easy. Even if you did just look at ticket sales it still isnt good AT ALL because of the changes in the buisness. Remember back in 1977 when Star wars was being promoted as the "great science fiction blockbuster of the summer!!" Remember the preview that said those exact words I think.
Now previews would say...."Go see Shrek 3 the big blockbuster of the summer!! Well I mean besides for Spiderman 3 die hard 4 bourne 3 Potc 3 Ratotuilileilielie or whatever Transformers Harry Potter 13"

Its just not the same and it drives me nuts when fans of some of the older classics brag about their gross. I DARE Dr Zhivago or the Sting to come out today in al alternate universe...it wouldnt do HALF of what it did.

Oh and lastly...isnt it interesting in most inflation lists..the older numbers always crush the new ones...hmmm?

[teenkiller]

Dude with inflation included The Exorcist is in the top ten films of all time. THE TOP TEN!? R rated The Exorcist would have more than $700 million. But yeah, today's grosses don't impress me so much because I think of how Gone With the Wind's equivalent to today would be $1.2 BILLION! Well thats all for now GOoD JOURNEY my fellow schmoes.

[ToiletBug]

Hahaha I know. Its ridiculous. Im not about not giving respect to the success of older films BUT i do think its unfair to compare grosses. I honestly HONESTLY think its just as unfair as comparing Bonds on steroids to Hank Aaron.

[Brando @$$ Fat]

Keep in mind that Gone With the Wind has been rereleased numerous times since its initial release. Although its initial gross was nothing short of phenomenal, I think that's the reason why it hasn't been knocked off the list of highest grossing movies.

Of course, the thing we always have to remember is that the box office is not as predictable as we think it is. If we were to look at a list of the films that were #1 at the box office each week for the past year, we'd learn nothing because the moviegoing audience is so erratic. Of course, there are always those movies which we know will make it to #1 like any of the Pirates, Harry Potter, or Spider-Man movies. Why? Because, collectively, there is an audience. The reason Little Man was #1 at the box office for a brief while is because there weren't any other movies at that time which could catch box office fire. No Harry Potters, no Spider-Mans, no Pirates. This is when the box office, and the moviegoing public, become vulnerable to these terrible movies. Also, let's not forget that even the biggest movies eventually fall, it's an inevitable fact of Hollywood and life. Titanic lost its #1 spot to fucking Lost in Space.

I'm sure if The Sting had been released today it could do just as well, but it's never certain. If you could get two very popular modern actors like Edward Norton and Christian Bale and get a talented but still rising director like, say, Wes Anderson to direct it then I'm sure you could get enough people to see it. You also need an advertising campaign which will give the movie exposure, but not too much because overexposure will usually result in a film being #1 for like a week and then completely disappearing off the charts. I believe anyone involved with Snakes on a Plane will agree with me there.

If you want to talk about theaters in the old days, I remember my dad telling me when he was a kid they had to drive two hours to the nearest theater. Now, even in the most rural towns we have movie theaters. Hollywood is definitely expanding, so inflation isn't the only factor. I guess nowadays there aren't many movies worth a two hour drive.

[ToiletBug]

But Brando you have to admitt to compare grosses to each other is stupid. To compare something from 1970 to 2005 doesnt seem logical. Too much change.

[Brando @$$ Fat]

Originally posted by ToiletBug
But Brando you have to admitt to compare grosses to each other is stupid. To compare something from 1970 to 2005 doesnt seem logical. Too much change.


But you were saying that certain movies couldn't do well in certain generations. All I'm saying is that, if you modified them enough, any movie can do well at the box office if you have people who know how to sell the movie to the public and aren't afraid to take a few risks. Inflation never even came up in my earlier post, but since that's the topic, maybe I should talk about it.

I agree with you. It's not logical to compare grosses from 1970 to 2000 because not only is there inflation, but soooooo many more factors come into play. You have more movie theaters, which is a plus because movies are more accessible. You have DVDs, which is a minus because less people flock to the theaters when they can just rent it later, not like in the old days when some movies were never seen again because they were never replayed on television (often the case for R-Rated movies). You have the occasional rerelease, which is a plus for the studios and the public but a minus if you're trying to accurately determine the highest grossing movies of all-time.

[ToiletBug]

I was talking to my parents today and they said that getting to a movie theater was never a problem. And going to the movies even if it was more traveling was even more in style back then. It seemed like something EVERYONE did on a friday or saturday night. Now there is soooo much more to do. Even when I was a kid with like Jrrasic Park and that time period. Going to the movies seemed so "in". Not as much anymore I dont think besides for the obvious movies (POTC,LOTR, SPIDERMAN, BATMAN, SUPERMAN, STAR WARS)

But even those grosses woudlnt be as high. Look at the Phantom Menace. Probably the most long awaited film in film history. It grossed 430 million. THATS AWESOME. But not really compared to the old films. NOW. I know this film wasnt considered to be amazing. But I think it would be somewhat of a fair judge of the amount of Star Wars fans in the country because they HAD TO SEE IT for themselves! Clones had a huge drop in gross but that was because the fans lost a lot of hope in George. With this being said I dont know one Star Wars fan that didnt go see TPM because they HEARD it sucked. They had to see for themselves. You dont wait 20 years for a film and then when it gets bashed you dont see it for that reason. Doesnt happen.

All im saying is I think TPM is a perfect example of this. Im not trying to compare it to the original Star Wars because EVERYONE sw that whether they hated it or liked it because it was an event. But by the time of ESB or ROTJ Star Wars had its fans and also its non supporters. You didnt go to see ROTJ if you didnt like star Wars. Why would you? BUT. These films still grossed like 800 million with inflation COME ON! Thas double TPM!

Anyways good post Brando and I would really like it if you comented on this one too if you have time. Later guys.

Where is Reuter recently? Probably in Vancouver on the set of Smallville trying to get Kreuks autograph. Haha.

[Darth Frodo]

To compare inflation is kind of unfair. as you can see by old films essentially winning every time. Star Wars would no doubt be huge if it came out tomorrow but not 1 billion dollars domestically huge. Not even close unfortunately :(.

[Badbird]

Older films didn't have near as much competition as movies do now. Not only do modern movies have to compete with dozens of other movies at the multiplex, they have to compete with 500 cable channels, DVD and home theaters, the internet and Netflix, etc.

If Star Wars came out now it would be just another movie. And on a technical level, LOTR or Spider Man could not have been made in 1980.

You simply cannot make any comparison in that regard. So in the end, to me, money is money and that's it.

[ToiletBug]

Dtar Wars would not just be any movie. It would be an AWESOME movie. But it would not gross over 1 billion domestically like inflation shows it did by todays values.