New box office records lose luster with inflated dollars

The Big Three films are out, the cash is pouring in, and industry executives are waiting to see who gets to claim the crown as king of summer.

Just one problem: None of them holds a candle to the summer hits of the 1980s and ‘90s.

You wouldn’t know it to hear executives gushing over the debuts of “Spider-Man 3,” “Shrek the Third” and “Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End.” All are expected to eclipse $300 million, the first time that has happened for three films released in the same month.

But a USA Today analysis of films going back 25 years finds the summer hits of 2007 – as well as those for the past seven years – are relative wimps.

When adjusted for inflation, the biggest film of summer is 1982’s “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial”, which took in $925.6 million in today’s dollars.

Among the all-time hits of summer, only one film since 2000 – 2004’s “Shrek 2” – cracks the top 5, coming in fifth with $474.8 million when adjusted for inflation.

Also ahead of it, along with “E.T.,” are 1983’s “Stars Wars, Episode VI: Return of the Jedi” ($637.5 million); 1999’s “Star Wars, Episode I: The Phantom Menace” ($531.4 million); and 1993’s “Jurassic Park” ($507.4 million).

Box Office Mojo finds that 1939’s “Gone With the Wind” is the all-time box-office champ, taking in an astounding $198.7 million back then – or $1.329 billion in today’s dollars.

The 1977 “Star Wars” is second with $1.2 billion, followed by 1965’s “The Sound of Music” with $937 million.

“Some records are still meaningful,” says Box Office Mojo’s Brandon Gray. “But most of these new ones are records of the moment.”

That’s because films are one of the few forms of entertainment measured in dollars. If movies were measured in tickets sold, Gray says, “you’d have a lot better perspective.”

And with the average cost of a ticket now at $6.58, he says, “you’re going to see more records broken. Of course, the studios don’t mention inflation.”