Taylor Swift, Barbie star Margot Robbie and Oppenheimer star Cillian Murphy. insider
- The entertainment industry has been a boon to the US economy amid recession fears.
- Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour and “Barbenheimer” were key drivers of consumer spending this year.
- The Super Mario Bros. Movie has also given a boost to cinemas still struggling with the pandemic.
AI isn’t the biggest story of 2023 — it’s Hollywood that’s in the spotlight.
From Taylor Swift’s big tour to the release of much-anticipated Hollywood films, music and films have also had a positive impact on the US economy.
Wall Street banks and even the Federal Reserve have taken note of the impact of the entertainment sector, helping to allay fears of a looming recession.
With the Fed raising interest rates at the fastest pace in history — by 500 basis points last year — to curb 40-year high inflation, investors have long feared an economic downturn.
However, the recession that market experts predicted is still not here. If anything, the U.S. economy appears to be holding up — and that’s thanks in part to Swift and blockbuster movies like Barbie, Oppenheimer, and The Super Mario Bros. Movie.
Taylor Swift on stage in Cincinnati, Ohio. Taylor Hill/Getty Images
Taylor Swift
The “Anti-Hero” singer has caused quite a stir with her debut Eras Tour, which has spanned dozens of shows across 17 states.
“Swifties” who saw the concerts helped boost hotel revenues and could generate $4.6 billion in total consumer spending, the Common Sense Institute said. That’s more than the GDP of 35 countries.
Swift also gave away a $100,000 bounty to truckers on her tour. In total, she distributed over $55 million in awards to employees, including dancers, crew and caterers, which is not only a win for those employees but also for the economy.
The significant economic impact of Swift’s shows was evident in Philadelphia and caught the attention of the Fed.
“Despite the slowing recovery in tourism in the region overall, one contact stressed that May was the strongest month for hotel revenue in Philadelphia since the pandemic began, due in large part to the influx of guests for the Taylor Swift concerts in the city city,” the Fed said in its recent Beige Book.
Consumer spending is a key driver of economic growth — and some Swift fans are shelling out as much as $20,000 to see the 33-year-old superstar.
“The only thing rarer this year than a seat at the Taylor Swift concert is a slowdown in US consumption,” Jamie Cox, managing partner of Harris Financial Group, told Insider.
“Revenge trips are the return to normal life that Covid has taken from us all. Now people have a completely different attitude towards money and procrastination as the ‘fear of missing out’ is quite high. The phenomenon shows the brutality.” “The power that the US consumer can use to fuel the economy – give them money and they will spend,” added Cox.
“Barbenheimer”
Another promising sign for the economy is the “Barbenheimer” phenomenon. The release of “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” on the same day last month has not only breathed new life into post-pandemic theaters, but also prompted higher consumer spending on entertainment, Bank of America found.
The Wall Street Bank said in a statement that its cardholders spent 23.7% more on entertainment in the week ended July 29 than in the same period last year. “‘Barbenheimer’ may have been the continued year-over-year increase in entertainment spending,” analysts Shruti Mishra and Aditya Bhave wrote in a note.
Meanwhile, between July 21 and July 27, when “Barbenheimer” finally hit theaters after months of promotion, AMC Theaters posted record box office earnings in its 103-year history.
In two weeks, “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” have each grossed hundreds of millions of dollars, with Greta Gerwig’s film “Life in Plastic” set to gross at least $1 billion at the global box office.
The Super Mario Bros. Movie has grossed $1.3 billion worldwide. Nintendo/Universal
“The Super Mario Bros. Movie.”
The Super Mario Bros. Movie – an animated adaptation of the Nintendo video game – brings a little more optimism to the global economy.
It’s the first film to surpass $1 billion worldwide this year, eclipsing Marvel’s Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.
The monumental success of “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” boosted Nintendo’s revenue for the fiscal first quarter by 50% to $3.2 billion, while net income rose 52%.
“In the first quarter of this fiscal year, both sales and profit were remarkably strong for a first quarter, primarily due to the simultaneous releases of ‘The Super Mario Bros. Movie’ and ‘The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.'” We made steady progress on our full-year earnings guidance,” Nintendo said in a earnings release on Thursday.
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