Dark Knight would have made virtually no money in 1939. The public would not have enjoyed the subject matter.

^ [sarcasm] Yea, crime films weren't much of a draw in those days... [/sarcasm]

No, I'm not kidding. That is my opinion. Of course, since we don't have a flux capacitor-equipped Delorean available, no one will know either way, will we .

But I also think it is a bit disingenuous to assume that the films success is due to its technological innovations, or to assume that it could have been released with such innovations in 1939. What I meant (which should have been obvious) is that a superhero story as told in The Dark Knight would have had nowhere near the broad appeal in 1939 that it has today.

Oh, not at all. But it's the way adjusted numbers are used is all I was trying to say. What it made back in those days was extremely impressive.

Oh, they drew audiences, but NO crime film from the 30's ever made anything even close to what Gone with the Wind made, so I'm not sure what you are trying to say.

I do agree with that.

BTW, what kind of box office run would Gone with the Wind had? Reading up about the history of television, the first TV set debuted in '39 so the only form of entertainment was the radio, thus a motion picture of the magnitude and scope of Gone with the Wind would've been vastly appealing. And in that sense people were fascinated with technology.

Today, the number of households with at least one TV (as of 2003) was 98.2%. How many of those do you think own DVD players? Times are different so it's dumb to make the comparisons in that way. So back then you had touch econmic times but today there's so much more competition for the dollar...

That would be true if the adjusted gross was only for its initial theatrical run, but it includes all of the theatrical re-releases of the movie throughout the last 70 years as well.

I know we're starting to get somewhat far off topic here, but FWIW, radio was insanely popular in the 30's, easily as popular as TV was in the first few decades following its introduction. Families would gather around the radio every evening for the latest installment of their favorite radio serials (including many crime shows), and during the depression that was a huge competition to the "cinema".

You are right that there are more media that compete with theaters today, yet there are more theater auditoriums operating today per capita than there were then. What's it all mean? I don't know. I guess there is still an innate desire for the community experience that a theater offers. Why else would any theater chains still be in operation?

Well, you will note that nowhere did I mention 'in 1939' . Your point is valid, nonetheless. Does any site have a breakdown of the various releases of GWTW over the years? Box Office Mojo lists the "1939" release as having a gross of $189 million, but I kind of suspect that it is lumping a decade's worth of releases together.

GWTW was shown "road show" style through 1939 and 1940, it was released in "theaters" in the normal sense in 1941. I'm not sure how long it played in general release but in London, for example, it played consecutively from 1940 - 1944.

In the US it was re-released in 1947, 1954, 1961, 1967, 1971, 1989, 1998 and didn't debut on TV until it showed on HBO in June 1976 (and then NBC the following year).

The Gross on BOM considers its overall gross including re-releases (there is a ^ next to the year which denotes this). However, they didn't seem to break down the individual releases so, potentially unfairly, it could be getting all its grosses combined and the "inflation" may be held against the average cost of movie tickets in 1939 (who knows how much that was). Though maybe they have an actual list of admissions.

Considering the extra cost of the roadshow showings and seven re-releases, you can't really get a good feel for how many tickets were sold.

I saw this in another forum and I thought it might be useful here. I think this is a better representation of how popular a film really is.


By the end of this weekend, TDK will become one of the 50 best ticket-sellers in history, moving more than 62 million admissions after only 24 days in theaters.

TOP TICKET SELLERS
(50 million-plus admissions)
#1 “Gone with the Wind” (MGM) 202.0 million (1939)
#2 “Star Wars” (Lucasfilm/Fox) 178.1 million (1977)
#3 “The Sound of Music” (Fox) 142.4 million (1965)
#4 “E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial” (Universal) 141.85 million (1982)
#5 “The Ten Commandments” (Paramount) 131.0 million (1956)
#6 “Titanic” (Fox/Paramount) 128.3 million (1997)
#7 “Jaws” (Universal) 128.1 million (1975)
#8 “Doctor Zhivago” (MGM) 124.1 million (1965)
#9 “The Exorcist” (WB) 110.6 million (1973)
#10 “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” (Disney) 108.9 million (1937)
#11 “101 Dalmatians” (Disney) 99.9 million (1961)
#12 “The Empire Strikes Back” (Lucasfilm/Fox) 98.2 million (1980)
#13 “Ben-Hur” (MGM) 98.0 million (1959)
#14 “Return of the Jedi” (Lucasfilm/Fox) 94.05 million (1983)
#15 “The Sting” (Universal) 89.1 million (1973)
#16 “Raiders of the Lost Ark” (Lucasfilm/Paramount) 88.1 million (1981)
#17 “Jurassic Park” (Universal) 86.2 million (1993)
#18 “The Graduate” (AVCO) 85.6 million (1967)
#19 “Star Wars: Episode I- The Phantom Menace” (Lucasfilm/Fox) 84.8 million (1999)
#20 “Fantasia” (Disney) 83.0 million (1941)
#21 “The Godfather” (Paramount) 78.9 million (1972)
#22 “Forrest Gump” (Paramount) 78.5 million (1994)
#23 “Mary Poppins” (Disney) 78.2 million (1964)
#24 “The Lion King” (Disney) 77.2 million (1994)
#25 “Grease” (Paramount) 76.9 million (1978)
#26 “Thunderball” (UA) 74.8 million (1965)
#27 “The Jungle Book” (Disney) 73.7 million (1967)
#28 “Sleeping Beauty” (Disney) 72.7 million (1959)
#29 “Shrek 2” (DreamWorks) 71.0 million (2004)
#30 “Ghostbusters” (Sony) 70.7 million (1984)
#31 “Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid” (Fox) 70.55 million (1969)
#32 “Love Story” (Fox) 70.0 million (1970)
#33 “Spider-Man” (Sony) 69.5 million (2002)
#34 “Independence Day” (Fox) 69.3 million (1996)
#35 “Home Alone” (Fox) 67.7 million (1990)
#36 “Pinocchio” (Disney) 67.4 million (1940)
#37 “Cleopatra” (Fox) 67.2 million (1963)
#38 “Beverly Hills Cop” (Paramount) 67.1 million (1984)
#39 “Goldfinger” (UA) 66.3 million (1964)
#40 “Airport” (Universal) 66.1 million (1970)
#41 “American Graffiti” (Universal) 65.7 million (1973)
#42 “The Robe” (Fox) 65.45 million (1953)
#43 “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest” (Disney) 64.63 million (2006)
#44 “Around the World in 80 Days” (UA) 64.62 (1956)
#45 “Bambi” (RKO) 63.7 million (1942)
#46 “Blazing Saddles” (WB) 63.2 million (1974)
#47 “Batman” (WB) 62.95 million (1989)
#48 “The Bells of St. Mary’s” (RKO) 62.7 million (1945)
#49 “The Dark Knight” (WB) 62.2 million (2008) projectd total after this weekend
#50 “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King” (New Line) 61.5 million (2003)
#51 “The Towering Inferno” (Fox) 61.4 million (1974)
#52 “Spider-Man 2” (Sony) 60.15 million (2004)
#53 “My Fair Lady” (WB) 60.0 million (1964)
#54 “The Greatest Show on Earth” (Paramount) 60.0 million (1952)
#55 “National Lampoon’s Animal House” (Universal) 59.9 million (1978)
#56 “The Passion of the Christ” (NewMarket) 59.7 million (2004)
#57 “Star Wars: Episode III- Revenge of the Sith” (Lucasfilm/Fox) 59.3 million (2005)
#58 “Back to the Future” (Universal) 59.05 million (1985)
#59 “The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers” (New Line) 57.63 million (2002)
#60 “The Sixth Sense” (Disney) 57.60 million (1999)
#61 “Superman: The Movie” (WB) 57.4 million (1978)
#62 “Tootsie” (Sony) 56.9 million (1982)
#63 “Smokey & the Bandit” (Universal) 56.8 million (1977)
#64 “Finding Nemo” (Disney/Pixar) 56.3 million (2003)
#65 “West Side Story” (MGM) 56.0 million (1961)
#66 “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” (WB) 55.9 million (2001)
#67 “Lady & the Tramp” (Disney) 55.7 million (1955)
#68 “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” (Sony) 55.6 million (1977)
#69 “Lawrence of Arabia” (Sony) 55.4 million (1962)
#70 “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” (Fox) 55.1 million (1975)
#71 “Rocky” (UA) 55.04 million (1976)
#72 “The Best Years of Our Lives” (RKO) 55.00 million (1946)
#73 “The Poseidon Adventure” (Fox) 54.9 million (1972)
#74 “The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring” (New Line) 54.703 million (2001)
#75 “Twister” (WB) 54.700 million (1996)
#76 “Men in Black” (Sony) 54.6 million (1997)
#77 “The Bridge on the River Kwai” (Sony) 54.4 million (1957)
#78 “It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World” (MGM) 53.9 million (1963)
#79 “Swiss Family Robinson” (Disney) 53.8 million (1960)
#80 “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” (UA) 53.7 million (1975)
#81 “M*A*S*H” (Fox) 53.7 million (1970)
#82 “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom” (Lucasfilm/Paramount) 53.5 million (1984)
#83 “Star Wars: Episode II- Attack of the Clones” (Lucasfilm/Fox) 53.50 million (2002)
#84 “Mrs. Doubtfire” (Fox) 52.7 million (1993)
#85 “Aladdin”(Disney) 52.4 million (1992)
#86 “Ghost” (Paramount) 51.5 million (1990)
#87 “Duel in the Sun” (Selznick Releasing) 51.0 million (1946)
#88 “Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl” (Disney) 50.6 million (2003)
#89 “House of Wax” (WB) 50.5 million (1953)
#90 “Rear Window” (Paramount) 50.35 million (1954)

THE COUNT
(number of 50 million-plus ticket-sellers from each decade)
1930s: 2
1940s: 6
1950s: 10
1960s: 15
1970s: 20
1980s: 10
1990s: 13
2000s: 14 (thru 2008)

I've seen a few of those admission lists, they appear to use a different source than the NATO admission cost averages but also seem to vary greatly.

I know it isn't much help, but BOM does provide the breakout of the last two re-releases. The '89 release earned $2.4M, and the '98 release earned $6.7M. That leaves the $189M figure split between the main release, the road shows, and five other re-releases. While we can't get a completely accurate figure, I would be surprised if the road show + original standard release didn't account for a majority of the revenue.

Screw it, as far as i'm concerned Titanic is king at 600 million and whatever beats that, inflation, year, history or not, will be the new king.

I could give half a shit about Gone With The Wind, that movie was boring and who really cares how many tickets it has sold, that movie is like 70 years old. Lets live in the now, The Dark Knight rules.

The big question is will TDK give up #1 to Tropic Thunder this week?
I say TT does $42 over 5 days.

Olympics are not affecting TDK. Thats what DVR's are for.

Nothing wrong with that, I guess. But prepare to have your fave film be a short-lived 'king'. When Titanic was crowned 'king', it was expected to be there for a long, long time. But the proliferation of theaters, combined with significant increases in ticket prices, pretty much guarantee that something will come along to displace it within a few years.

That's why some of us try to bring the adjusted chart into the discussion. Otherwise, the 'king' is only wearing a paper crown.

Nothing is going to displace Titanic for a long, long, long, long time.

Another classic post.

Titanic has held the title for almost 11 years now. E.T. held the title for more than 15 years. These movies don't come along all that often.

The real question is how much would the Dark Knight make if it stayed in theaters for, like, two years.

Fuck GWTW. It cheated.

WTF are you talking about? Gone With The Wind is a timeless classic. 70 years from now, nobody would give two shits about the Dark Knight but Gone With the Wind will always stand the test of time. Only a person affected with ADD would ever think GWTW is boring. What the hell are teenagers thinking these days?

I know many, many people (mostly in their 50s and 60s) who do not hold Gone With The Wind as a timeless classic. Times change, it happens. Casablanca seems to be better liked and remembered overall.

Of course, that's just a sampling. That said, it will be remembered because movie scholars will make it so. As a piece of popular entertainment? That ship has sailed.

Exactly. Even with inflation and increasing theater numbers, shrinking DVD release windows are working against those factors to prevent another movie from touching the record.

Was Gone With The Wind's box office take affected by the Christmas 1939 DVD sales numbers? I know that would've been the #1 must buy home theater demo disk for me that holiday season.

I wonder how much The Dark Knight would have made if it wasn't playing at over 4,000 theaters and close to 9,000 screens. That is a lot of exposure.

Does anyone have any idea how many screens Gone With the Wind might have played on back in the day? Even with all the re-releases, does it match the exposure of TDK?