Question 21.115

image 4. Based on ticket sales and current dollars, the top-grossing domestic film of all time was Avatar, which earned $761 million since release in 2009. But adjusted for inflation of ticket prices, Gone with the Wind (1939, plus re-releases) comes out on top at $1,608 million in 2014 dollars (see boxofficemojo.com/alltime/adjusted.htm).

  1. Use a spreadsheet to analyze how movie ticket prices have risen since 1913 compared with the CPI. The CPI data from Table 21.5 (page 892) can be downloaded from data.bls.gov/cgi-bin/surveymost?cu. (Check the first box, click “Retrieve data,” then in the next screen adjust the year “From” to 1913.) Find the data on movie ticket prices at boxofficemojo.com/about/adjuster.htm. Prepare a short report with a graph. (Thanks to Martin Campbell for the idea.)
  2. The comparison of ticket sales adjusts to the estimated average ticket price in 2014 ($7.96); and since it considers proceeds rather than audience share, it does not take into account the larger population today compared with the past. Examine the full details of the adjustment at boxofficemojo.com/about/adjuster.htm. What do you think of the methodology used? How would you do the adjustment?