In this issue of Math in the News we look at box office data from 2013. We look for patterns in the data and analyze the data using different data displays, including bar graphs, line graphs, scatterplot, and tables. This provides an excellent opportunity for data analysis.

1. 2013 Movies: A Year in Review
Math in the News
Issue 85

2. A Summary of 2013
Here is how Hollywood did in 2013:
Total Box Office Gross: $10,814,534,491
Tickets Sold: 1,325,315,470
Average Ticket Price: $8.16
Source: http://www.the-numbers.com
How does this compare to 2012?

3. Box Office Comparison: 2012–2013
12
10
8
2012
6
2013
4
2
0
Box Office ($Billion)
Tickets Sold (Billions)
Average Ticket Price ($)
A Comparison of 2012 and 2013.
As you can see, 2013 was relatively flat
compared to 2012.

4. Average ticket price
2012
$7.96
Average ticket price
2013
$8.16
Percent Increase in
Price
2.5%
A Comparison of 2012 and 2013
There was a small increase in the
average price of a ticket. A price
increase can result in more revenue.

5. Tickets Sold 2012
1,360,033,954
Tickets Sold 2013
1,325,315,470
Percent Decrease in
Tickets Sold
-2.55%
A Comparison of 2012 and 2013
However, the price increase was more
than offset by a decrease in the
number of tickets sold.

6. Price
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
Tickets Sold
$7.18
$7.50
$7.89
$7.93
$7.96
$8.13
1,385,217,349
1,419,832,506
1,336,346,999
1,284,600,973
1,360,033,954
1,325,315,470
Changes in Ticket Prices
This continues a trend that shows as
the price increases, the number of
tickets sold decreases.

7. 1,440,000,000
1,420,000,000
1,400,000,000
Tickets Sold
1,380,000,000
1,360,000,000
1,340,000,000
1,320,000,000
1,300,000,000
1,280,000,000
1,260,000,000
$7.00
$7.20
$7.40
$7.60
Average Ticket Price
$7.80
$8.00
Changes in Ticket Prices
Here is a scatterplot of the data set.
$8.20

8. Rank Movie
1 Iron Man 3
The Hunger Games: Catching
2 Fire
3 Despicable Me 2
4 Man of Steel
5 Monsters University
6 Frozen
7 Gravity
8 Fast and Furious 6
9 Oz the Great and Powerful
10 Star Trek Into Darkness
2013 Gross
$408,992,272
Tickets Sold
50,121,601
$395,526,705
$367,793,270
$291,045,518
$268,488,329
$263,092,648
$254,861,229
$238,679,850
$234,770,996
$228,778,661
48,471,409
45,072,704
35,667,342
32,902,981
32,241,746
31,232,993
29,249,981
28,770,955
28,036,600
A Summary of 2013
We can see how the price increase
affects the top-grossing movies. Here
are the top 10 movies for 2013.

9. Rank
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Movie
Marvel's The Avengers
The Dark Knight Rises
The Hunger Games
Skyfall
The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn,
Part 2
The Amazing Spider-Man
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Brave
Ted
Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted
2012 Gross
$623,279,547
$448,139,099
$408,010,692
$293,729,570
Tickets Sold
78,301,450
56,298,881
51,257,624
36,900,699
$287,756,286
$262,030,663
$246,289,507
$237,236,938
$218,665,740
$216,391,482
36,150,287
32,918,425
30,940,892
29,803,635
27,470,570
27,184,859
A Summary of 2012
Here are the top 10 movies for 2012.

10. Comparison of 2012 and 2013: Top 10 Movies
90,000,000
80,000,000
70,000,000
60,000,000
50,000,000
2012
40,000,000
2013
30,000,000
20,000,000
10,000,000
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Comparison of 2012 and 2013
Here is a double bar graph comparison
of the data sets.

11. A Summary of 2013
There are other factors that may
affect movie attendance other
than price. Here are some
factors:
• Video Streaming services like
NetFlix make it more
convenient to watch movies
at home.
• Mobile technologies. iPads
and other mobile devices
provide alternatives to movie
watching.
• Hollywood’s Blockbuster-itis:
Marketing heavily the big
movies, while spending less
on others.