Harry Potter Proves the American Middle Class Doesn't Matter Anymore

You might have heard the news that the final Harry Potter movie, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2", had the biggest second-weekend decline of all time by a blockbuster movie. When you take a closer look at the numbers, it's easy to see that Harry and his fellow wizards are laughing their way to the bank at the expense of the American middle class. "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2" grossed $169.2 million during its opening weekend in North American theatres but it dropped a stunning 72% to just over $47 million the following weekend. Blockbuster movies usually have a significant drop in ticket sales during their second weekend but Harry Potter's fall was the biggest ever for a blockbuster film in the domestic market. Although "Captain America: The First Avenger", distributed by Viacom

subsidiary Paramount Pictures, is credited with knocking Harry Potter from his lofty perch, it's unlikely that the Marvel superhero will be able to repeat that feat in international markets, where the real money is made. Number one movie in America sounds great but number one movie in the world is much better. The American media loves to report domestic ticket sales but the figure that the studios care most about is the total worldwide sales. Blockbusters now make most of their money overseas and Harry Potter is no exception, with just over two thirds of its total sales coming from foreign markets. Although the movie had the biggest North American one week drop in the history of blockbusters, with worldwide sales approaching $840 million it's also likely to be the first Harry Potter movie to reach $1 billion in worldwide sales. When Harry Potter reaches the $1 billion mark, you can rest assured that the studio executives at Time Warner

subsidiary Warner Bros. Studios aren't going to be too concerned about a one-week drop off in sales. It used to be that American blockbusters like Star Wars and Raiders of the Lost Ark made most of their money in American theatres but times have changed and international movie-goers are now a much more important target audience than Americans. While the U.S. government seems determined to push the value of the American dollar ever lower and the American middle class continues to suffer, American businesses continue to look overseas for growth opportunities. As the economies of countries that used to have 3rd world status continue to grow at rates that Western countries could only dream of, so to does their thirst for first class entertainment. With international consumers' purchasing power rising in comparison to that of Americans and an emerging middle class in Asia, it's no wonder that American companies are making international consumers their priority.