Check out the NYTimes graphical recontextualization of the last 20 years of box office revenue. It’s interesting to see what obscure dinosaur bones are buried beneath the strata (Howard the Duck is less of a big deal than I remember).
Perhaps more interesting is the increasing trend of feast or famine that marks the blockbuster summers of late. Observe below Summer of 1987 side-by-side with Summer of 2007 (ignore the obvious issues of box office inflation). While the hits of ‘87 – Beverly Hills Cop II, The Witches of Eastwick, and The Untouchables – earned their gross generally over runs of several months, the hits of ‘07 – there were too many to count – peaked opening weekend and troughed immediately after. ‘07 sees films staking an obvious claim on their opening weekend and squeezing all other films into obliteration, while ’87’s blockbusters appear more charitable to fellow, perhaps more obscure films.
1987
2007
To blame for the trend – blockbuster films now open to a wider release with higher ad budgets and more hype. Studios have more to compete with now – bootleg DVDs and other forms of mass or personal entertainment (the web and satellite TV, not to mention laser tag), and a larger number of other expected Blockbusters.
In the 80’s studios made fewer prints of films and spread them to multiplexes progressively. The result was less risk and more stability.But quality may not be a factor. While blockbusters of questionable quality are vulnerable to volatility most story-centered independent films still pace themselves the way all films did in the 80’s – look at “There Will Be Blood” and “No Country for Old Men.” This year’s big critical hits and Oscar winners hit screens several months ago and are just now making their way to a large number of theaters.
We can’t forget to praise the statistical presentation skills of the NYTimes. This interactive contextualization is true Web 2.0. Here are some ideas to make future iterations of this graph even more useful:
•Incorporate visual adjustments for economic inflation, box office inflation, and comparison to film’s budget
•Include comparison to home video release and sales
•Include comparisons to film’s critical response using aggregators like Rotten Tomatoes
•Include data on concession stand sales relative to film openings
•Include stats on cocaine sales in Burbank prior to and during production of Michael Bay films.
