2008 may be a year of economic turmoil, but for Mike Campbell, CEO for the largest theater chain in the U.S., business is still booming. Rueters reported today that Campell, CEO for Regal Entertainment Group, said that the movie industry is "having a very good fourth quarter this year compared to last year as an industry."
Campell reported that movie theaters were experiencing revenue growth in the double digits and attendance growth in the high single digits. Campell stated that the movie industry has been successful during the various recessions of the past fifty years.
It is a curious fact that even when the economy is reeling and worry about finances is in the air, people will still go in droves to the movie theater. Though the U.S. saw recession during the first three quarters of 2001, for example, the year still saw a 4.7 percent rise in the amount of movie tickets sold compared to the previous year, as reported by boxofficemojo.com, and during the recession of 1981 and 1982 movie theaters saw continual growth in revenue and theater attendance. The highest grossing movie of all time, when adjusted for inflation, is "Gone With the Wind," which premiered during the Great Depression.
In this blogger's opinion, the movie industry often stays afloat during hard economic times simply because there are few escapist experiences as easily accessible as seeing a movie at a theater. People are able to leave the stress of their lives for a couple of hours in a dimly lit room and have their ears, eyes, and mind engaged by entertaining stories. As long as Hollywood produces good, escapist entertainment, the audience will come.
The Reuters story does mention one way in which the entertainment industry has been touched by the current economic crisis. While Regal Entertainment Group has been doing well, it's main competitor, the National Amusements theater chain, is struggling. When asked if Regal Entertainment would purchase National Amusements, Campbell said that such an action would be difficult due to the reduced access to credit in today's financial climate.
Links:
http://movies.yahoo.com/news/movies.reuters.com-recessionhit-americans-flocking-movies-reuters
http://boxofficemojo.com/yearly/
http://money.cnn.com/2001/11/26/economy/recession/
http://www.fiendbear.com/bear1981.htm
http://www.boxofficemojo.com/alltime/adjusted.htm
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