The times couldn't be tougher, with all the talk now of a consumer recession looming before us as Americans cut and cut and cut their nonessential spending in the face of a teetering global economy.
They're cutting everything, or nearly everything: vacations, shopping binges, unnecessary trips in the car, even movies, long considered the poor man's affordable flight from reality during hard times.
But here's what they say they're not cutting: Broadband.
If broadband was considered a luxury a few years back, it's now a necessity alongside water, electricity, heat and food.
Just 2 percent of Americans with broadband say they will chop the service during this downturn, according to a new report from JupiterResearch.
“It is noteworthy that broadband has reached this core status, joining the list of utility services along with electricity, phone and cable that consumers consider vital to the household,” says the report. “The richness of entertainment options available on the internet may even surpass cable’s all-you-can-eat channel lineup.”
The study, based on a survey of 3,730 people, asked folks how they expected the current economic conditions to impact their spending habits in specific categories. These categories included movies, cable TV, broadband and DVRs, as well as more general categories of driving, shopping and vacations.
Top of the list for cutbacks was driving. Some 63 percent said that they intended to drive less. Next came shopping, which 60 percent planned to do less of, and 44 percent said they planned to take fewer vacations.
Within entertainment, most likely to be cut were trips to the movie house, with 32 percent saying that they intended to go to the movies less often.
Next was cable, at 12 percent. Four percent said they expected to switch to a cheaper broadband provider. Just 2 percent planned to axe broadband altogether.
But there's a caveat here: The study only reports consumers' stated intentions, and consumers are notoriously prone to say what they think survey takers want to hear. Just how many actually will cut back is anyone's guess, certainly as it applies to movies.
Ticket sales have typically held up during downturns, going back to the Great Depression, in fact, with movies long seen as a relatively cheap form of entertainment.
So far at least, movie-going has held up quite well. Ticket sale revenues are just a tad below last year at this point, about 1 percent, and 2007 was itself a record year even as the economy went through a dramatic slowdown. Just recently, “The Dark Knight” had the biggest opening weekend of all time.
But there are signs of trouble.
Ticket sales are down more than 4 percent, according to Exhibitor Relations, which tracks movie attendance, and the box office has been struggling. Until the weekend of Sept. 12, the box office had been down for seven consecutive weekends compared to the year before, notes Paul Dergarabedian, analyst at Media By Numbers, an Encino, Calif., firm that also tracks box office sales.
“You could lay that on the door of the recession, or you could say that the movies weren’t as appealing as a year ago. It’s difficult to know,” says Dergarabedian. Big movies, he believes, will still draw the big crowds.
The study also looked at which age groups were most likely to reduce their TV and filmed entertainment spending. It found that while cuts were likely across all age demographics, they are most likely among younger adults.
Some 36 percent of the 25-34 age bracket said they would go to the movies less, while 15 percent said they would cancel pay TV channels. Not surprisingly, income is also a factor--the bracket most likely to cut back on trips to the movies is those with an income of $35,000 to $44,000 a year.
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Meanwhile, elsewhere in popcult, the new release “Beverly Hills Chihuahua” was No. 1 at the box office over the weekend, bringing in $29.0 million. Last week’s No. 1, “Eagle Eye,” fell to No. 2 with $17.7 million in ticket sales.
In DVD rentals for the week ended Sept. 28, according to IMDb.com, new releases “Sex and the City” and “Leatherheads” finished Nos. 1 and 2, respectively, with last week’s No. 1, “Made of Honor,” slipping to No. 4.
On iTunes this morning “Live Your Life” by T.I. with Rihanna was No. 1, followed by Pink’s “So What.”
And in books, Oprah book club selection “The Story of Edgar Sawtelle” by David Wroblewski was No. 1 on The New York Times’ hardcover fiction best-sellers list for the week ended Sept. 27, its second straight week on top, while it jumped to No. 2 on USA Today’s book chart for the week ended Sept. 28.
|
TOP MOVIES
Weekend Box Office Estimates
Weekend of Oct. 3-5, 2008
|
|
Rank
|
MOVIE
|
Engagements
|
Box office (millions)
|
|
1
|
Beverly Hills
Chihuahua (
Buena Vista)
|
3,215
|
$29.00
|
|
2
|
Eagle Eye (
Paramount)
|
3,516
|
$17.70
|
|
3
|
Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist (Sony)
|
2,421
|
$12.00
|
|
4
|
Nights in Rodanthe (Warner Bros.)
|
2,702
|
$7.36
|
|
5
|
Appaloosa (Warner Bros.)
|
1,045
|
$5.02
|
|
6
|
Lakeview Terrace (Sony)
|
2,574
|
$4.50
|
|
7
|
Burn After Reading (Focus Features)
|
2,397
|
$4.09
|
|
8
|
Fireproof (Goldwyn)
|
852
|
$4.07
|
|
9
|
An American Carol (Vivendi)
|
1,639
|
$3.81
|
|
10
|
Religulous (Lionsgate)
|
502
|
$3.50
|
|
Source: Yahoo Movies
|
|
IMDb TOP DVD RENTALS
Week ending September 28, 2008
|
|
Rank
|
TITLE
|
Last week
|
|
1
|
Sex and the City
|
-
|
|
2
|
Leatherheads
|
-
|
|
3
|
Baby Mama
|
3
|
|
4
|
Made of Honor
|
1
|
|
5
|
Deception
|
-
|
|
6
|
88 Minutes
|
4
|
|
7
|
Speed Racer
|
2
|
|
8
|
The Forbidden Kingdom
|
5
|
|
9
|
The Love Guru
|
6
|
|
10
|
What Happens in Vegas
|
7
|
|
Source: IMDB
|
|
ITUNES TOP 10 SONG DOWNLOADS
for week ended Monday, Oct. 6, 2008
|
|
Rank
|
TITLE
|
|
1
|
Live Your Life, T.I. feat. Rihanna
|
|
2
|
So What, Pink
|
|
3
|
Keeps Getting’ Better, Christina Aguilera
|
|
4
|
Gotta Be Somebody, Nickelback
|
|
5
|
Whatever You Like, T.I.
|
|
6
|
Let It Rock, Kevin Rudolf
|
|
7
|
Hot N Cold, Katy Perry
|
|
8
|
Light On, David Cook
|
|
9
|
Love Story, Taylor Swift
|
|
10
|
Disturbia, Rihanna
|
|
Source: iTunes
|
|
NEW YORK
TIMES BESTSELLING BOOKS
Week ending September 27, 2008
|
|
Fiction (hardback)
|
|
Rank
|
TITLE
|
Last week
|
Weeks on chart
|
|
1
|
The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski
|
1
|
16
|
|
2
|
Heat Lightning by John Sanford
|
-
|
1
|
|
3
|
The Given Day by Dennis Lehane
|
-
|
1
|
|
4
|
Hot Mahogany by Stuart Woods
|
-
|
1
|
|
5
|
One Fifth Avenue
by Candace Bushnell
|
-
|
1
|
|
Nonfiction (hardback)
|
|
1
|
Hot, Flat, and Crowded by Thomas L. Friedman
|
1
|
3
|
|
2
|
A Bold Fresh piece of Humanity by Bill O’Reilly
|
-
|
1
|
|
3
|
Pieces of My Heart by Robert J. Wagner with Scott Eyman
|
-
|
1
|
|
4
|
The War Within by Bob Woodward
|
2
|
3
|
|
5
|
Dewy by Vicki Myron with Bret Wittner
|
13
|
2
|
|
Fiction (paperback)
|
|
1
|
The Shack by William P. Young
|
1
|
19
|
|
2
|
Sunset by Karen Kingsbury
|
-
|
1
|
|
3
|
The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz
|
2
|
4
|
|
4
|
Nights in Rodanthe by Nicholas Sparks
|
5
|
8
|
|
5
|
The Choice by Nicholas Sparks
|
-
|
6
|
|
Nonfiction (paperback)
|
|
1
|
Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin
|
1
|
87
|
|
2
|
Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert
|
2
|
88
|
|
3
|
Sarah by Kaylene Johnson
|
3
|
4
|
|
4
|
The Audacity of Hope by Barack Obama
|
5
|
40
|
|
5
|
Change Your Brain, Change Your Life by Daniel G. Amen
|
4
|
16
|
|
Source: New York Times
|
|
USA
TODAY BESTSELLING BOOKS
Week ending September 28, 2008
|
|
Rank
|
TITLE
|
Last week
|
|
1
|
Brisingr by Christopher Paolini
|
1
|
|
2
|
The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski
|
7
|
|
3
|
Twilight by Stephanie Meyer
|
2
|
|
4
|
New Moon by Stephanie Meyer
|
3
|
|
5
|
The Shack by William P. Young
|
4
|
|
6
|
Eclipse by Stephanie Meyer
|
6
|
|
7
|
Breaking Dawn by Stephanie Meyer
|
5
|
|
8
|
Nights in Rodanthe by Nicholas Sparks
|
8
|
|
9
|
The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch and Jeffrey Zazlow
|
9
|
|
10
|
Untamed by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast
|
-
|
|
Source:
USA Today
|
