michaelk@tekmdp.UUCP (06/09/83)
How well a movie does in terms of first-week gross is probably more a function of expectations than actual "goodness". Even if ROTJ was the most terrible movie around, it would still have grossed an enormous amount for at least the first week until the word got out in enough quantity for people to believe. And even then, even with the "word" out, people would still go to "prove" to themselves that it was rotten. Prejudice in favor of the movie predisposed it to financial success. This is also a strong condition that exists for the Star Trek movies (previous record holder before rotj), Superman series, and for a few others of the blockbusters of late. The comparisons aren't so much apples and oranges, but as tangerines and oranges. If I made $10K per year ten years ago, and $15K per year now, am I 50% better off now? The answer is nope, and so it goes with movie statistics that are very far apart in time. If one thinks that quantity of viewers means quality of product, then television must be solid gold, lined with diamonds. Even a cancelled, crummy, rotten TV program has more viewer-hours than most ANY movie. Mike Kersenbrock Tektronix Microcomputer Development Products Aloha, Oregon