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Hollywood -- According to U.S. government reports, our economy has officially been in a recession since December 2007. That comes as no surprise to most of us, who have battled the day to day pains due to the crisis. Many industries have collapsed such as the auto and retail sectors. However, one unusual bright spot comes out of Southern California... Hollywood! The film industry is actually reversing its fortunes due to tough times, after years of erosion due to digital technology.

Historically the movie business has an upsurge in bad economic times, as people head to the theaters to escape from the daily headaches. Domestic box-office revenue went up in five of the past seven recession years dating to the 1960s, according to research compiled by the National Association of Theatre Owners.

While budget-conscious consumers in today's economic downturn may hold off buying that 50-inch plasma television, “it seems they can always pull together the money to go to the movies,” film historian and critic Leonard Maltin said. “They're not making a monthly commitment or a down payment. They're just shelling out the 10 bucks.”

Not only is going to the movies a release from the economic downturn, it is also an affordable guilty pleasure. "Most people would believe that offers a very good value. It's certainly much cheaper than a psychiatrist," said Dan Glickman, who heads the Motion Picture Association of America, Hollywood's top trade group. “To go into a darkened room where nobody can find you for two hours is great therapy, particularly when times are bad.”


Amid America's longest and bleakest economic bust in the 1930s, movie attendance tumbled initially as investment money for films dried up. But in the heart of the Depression from the early to late 1930s, attendance shot up. While detailed box-office figures were not released back then as they are today, as many as 4.6 billion movie tickets a year were sold in the 1930s – three times more than in 2002, the best year of modern times. And the U.S. population during the Depression was less than half of today's 300 million.

Some would go as far to say that the movie business is recession proof, however if numbers continue to rise over the next few years, that in fact could be true? Other areas of the entertainment have had a bit of luck as well, such as television and radio. Traditional sources of media will always survive the times, as they offer affordable means of entertainment. Though advertising income for broadcasting is down, TV and radio audiences have grown due to their price factor... pretty much free!

Studio executives note that during the Great Depression, when more than a quarter of the country was out of work, people still scraped together dimes to see the latest motion picture. In subsequent economic slumps, consumers spent freely on new technology, expanded their home video libraries and, most recently, invested $1,000 or more on high-definition, big-screen TVs.

"While Hollywood films have traditionally fared well during economic downturns, this time around may be quite different," said Bobby Tulsiani, an analyst at Forrester Research, which recently examined consumer spending on media.
Blame the Internet. With faster processors, improved technology to compress video and more than 60 million homes in the U.S. with high-speed connections, the computer seamlessly delivers full-length episodes of television shows and movies. As a result, the computer now vies with the TV and cinema as the go-to screen for entertainment.

Although cinema attendance increased during five of the last seven recessions, a closer examination of movie box office receipts during the Great Depression seems at odds with Hollywood's conventional wisdom. Attendance soared in 1929 and 1930, after the advent of "talkies," but the novelty appears to have worn off amid hard times. By 1932, ticket sales had plunged and did not recover until 1940, just before World War II.

"It's not that the cinema business is completely immune to recessions," said John Fithian, chief executive of the National Assn. of Theater Owners. "But the industry appears to be recession-resistant. If there are decent movies, people are going to come out."

Going to the movies is more expensive than previous years, however it is still an affordable means of one last guilty pleasure. Hollywood will squeeze every drop of success it can as audiences deal with the thought of facing a recovery, or a full out depression... hooray for Hollywood!