Real versus Nominal Values: Let’s Go to the Movies! (Updated 2020)
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Handout 1: Let’s Go to the Movies! Activity (Answer Key)
(Note: All answers are correct as of April 2020. Please verify all information before grading the activity.)
1. Star Wars: The Force Awakens is number one in all-time unadjusted domestic grosses. Where does it fall on
the adjusted list? 11
2. Gone with the Wind is the number one lm in domestic grosses (adjusted for ticket price inflation) of all time,
but where does it fall on the unadjusted list? 214
3. How many of the top 25 domestic grosses (unadjusted for ticket price inflation) movies were produced after
the year 2000? How do you explain this? More recent movies will be on the unadjusted list because inflation
is not accounted for and movie tickets cost more now.
4. How many of the top 25 domestic grosses (adjusted for ticket price inflation) movies were produced after
2000? How do you explain this? Answers will vary, as new movies are being added to the list each year. When
ticket sales are adjusted for inflation, you can see how many tickets were actually sold; older movies often
have more releases than newer movies.
5. Is the worldwide list different from the list for the United States? What factors might influence international
box ofce sales? (Note: The worldwide list is not adjusted for movie ticket price inflation.) While the list is
similar, there are some differences. Movies may not have been in wide release yet overseas, and tastes may
differ among international audiences.
6. Many of the older movies on the list get their total from multiple releases. Click on Gone with the Wind.
How many releases has it had? From which release was the majority of its box ofce gross total? Four, with
the majority of its earnings derived from the rst release.
7. What was happening in the United States when Gone with the Wind was released? Do economic factors
affect movie attendance? In what way? The United States was still recovering from the Great Depression.
Economic factors do influence movie attendance, since economic factors influence spending, particularly
disposable spending. If people have lower incomes, they would tend to spend less, although there is some
evidence that movie attendance rises during tough economic times, as movies provide an “escape” from the
realities of life. (An article on this theory and recent movie attendance can be found here
https://bit.ly/movie-attendance.)
8. What demand factors might be the cause of such a large number of lms in the top 100 all-time list being
produced after the year 2000? Answers will vary, but may include a larger population; movie attendance
continues to be popular; incomes have risen in the United States, allowing more people to go to the movies;
more movies are being released; the relative price of a movie ticket is lower compared to other forms of
entertainment; there are more ways to advertise movies these days; ticket prices are higher than they
were in the past.
9. Star Wars: The Force Awakens and Titanic are the only two movies to appear in the top 10 on both lists. What
is a possible explanation for this? Is there any trend you see to the movies in the top 10 of the unadjusted
list? Answers will vary, but may include both movies were very popular, Titanic won 11 Academy Awards, and
Star Wars was groundbreaking due to its special effects. Most movies in the top 10 unadjusted list are action
adventure flicks.