With high movie attendance and movies like Avatar and Shutter Island being released, the movie industry seems like one of the few things not being hindered by the economy. During the Great Depression, for example, movie attendance hit record high. People want a break from their real life and they can afford a movie here and there (a ticket is cheap compared to sporting events and concerts). For instance, Avatar grossed $714,464,000, and is officially the highest grossing film in the US, right before Titanic. Of course, highest grossing doesn’t necessarily mean good quality. Even more so during economic recessions, movies that will let the viewer escape do better than real life, non-mainstream movies. A cheap, easy, mainstream movie that will reach a wide-spread audience will be made before a small indie film with no big stars. So, the movies coming out during a recession, some might argue, tend to be worse quality than during a boom (for example: Valentine’s Day).
An outsider might not be able to tell, but the behind the scenes of the movie industry is actually being affected. Directors are offering less for big name actors, it is harder for producers to get loans (and the loans tend to have higher interest rates), and investors are pulling out of the film business. Despite these downturns that affect actors, directors, producers, and, slightly, the product they make, the movie industry is booming now, and will be for a long time.
http://www.film.com/features/story/people-skip-movies-down-economy/20274376
http://www.movieweb.com/box-office/alltime
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