Time Warner’s Warner Bros. has once again hit the jackpot with the mega-movie “Watchmen.” Over the weekend the film produced $55.7 million at the box office in its first opening weekend. Although it was about five million less than expected, these numbers are still extremely impressive considering economic conditions. Films usually perform well during economic downturn however for a number of reasons. “The movie industry often performs well during times of economic downturn, in part because a night out at the movies can cost less than rival forms of entertainment such as concerts or professional sports events” (Schuker). President of the media, Paul Dergarabedian also made a statement regarding the recent success of the movie-going business. "We've been carrying this momentum forward since Christmas of last year and the 'Watchmen' weekend kept it going, Whatever is coming out in the theaters, audiences are lining up to see it. Recession-era moviegoing is in full swing.” Many believe the film would have made more had it not been so long. A film with a run time of two hours and forty minutes means less screenings for more tickets to be sold.
While this is good news for Time Warner I disagree with Schuker’s opinion on the movie industry. While the industry is usually recession proof, I believe it is more successful because of the form of escape. People are able to engulf themselves in film instead of dealing with reality at home. The reality at the theatre is far different from what it used to be. A trip to the movies is about twenty dollars nowadays at the least. Ticket-$11, popcorn-$5, water-$5.
Schuker, Lauren. “'Watchmen' Keeps Ticket Sales On Hot Streak at Movie Houses.” March 9,
2009. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123653679431864173.html?mod=wsjcrmain.
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