math in the news: issue 106

A Box Office Monster!

Math in the News: Issue 106

Box Office Analysis: Jurassic World

Within a very short period of time, Jurassic World has become one of the highest-grossing films of all time worldwide.

Source: http://www.the-numbers.com/movie/records/#world

1 Avatar

2 Titanic

3 Furious 7

4 The Avengers

5 The Avengers: Age of Ultron

6 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II

7 Jurassic World

8 Frozen

9 Iron Man 3

10 The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King


Among the North American box office top 10, Jurassic World has roared to number 5 after only a few weeks!

1 Avatar

2 Titanic

3 The Avengers

4 The Dark Knight

5 Jurassic World

6 Star Wars Ep. I: The Phantom Menace

7 Star Wars Ep. IV: A New Hope

8 The Avengers: Age of Ultron

9 The Dark Knight Rises

10 Shrek 2


Let’s look a the numbers.


The data table on the next slide shows the breakdown of domestic sales and international sales for the top 10 movies of all time.(Note: The Slide Show Creator version of this presentation includes access to a GoogleDoc version of the data set that you can copy and paste into your spreadsheet.)


Domestic International Worldwide

Box Office Box Office Box Office

1 2009 Avatar $760,507,625 $2,023,411,357 $2,783,918,982

2 1997 Titanic $658,672,302 $1,548,943,366 $2,207,615,668

3 2015 Furious 7 $351,032,910 $1,169,543,321 $1,520,576,231

4 2012 The Avengers $623,279,547 $896,200,000 $1,519,479,547

5 2015The Avengers: Age of Ultron

$453,126,252 $927,468,526 $1,380,594,778

6 2011Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II

$381,011,219 $960,500,000 $1,341,511,219

7 2015 Jurassic World $520,362,305 $770,435,627 $1,290,797,932

8 2013 Frozen $400,738,009 $873,496,971 $1,274,234,980

9 2013 Iron Man 3 $408,992,272 $806,400,000 $1,215,392,272

10 2003

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

$377,845,905 $763,562,762 $1,141,408,667


1.What do you notice about the domestic revenue vs. the international revenue for each movie?

2.Are there other recently released movies that also appear in the top 10? If so, what are they?

3.How many films released in 2015 are in the top 10?


The data table on the next slide shows the same data, but in percent form for the domestic and international revenue.


Domestic International WorldwideBox Office Box Office Box Office

1 2009 Avatar 27% 73% $2,783,918,982

2 1997 Titanic 30% 70% $2,207,615,668

3 2015 Furious 7 23% 77% $1,520,576,231

4 2012 The Avengers 41% 59% $1,519,479,547

5 2015The Avengers: Age of Ultron 33% 67% $1,380,594,778

6 2011Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II

28% 72% $1,341,511,219

7 2015 Jurassic World 40% 60% $1,290,797,932

8 2013 Frozen 31% 69% $1,274,234,980

9 2013 Iron Man 3 34% 66% $1,215,392,272

10 2003

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

33% 67% $1,141,408,667


1.What is the minimum percent of international sales for a movie in the top 10?

2.How does the percent of international sales change in going from 10th to 1st on the list?

3.What is the percent of movies in the top 10 that have been released since 2012?


Suppose you want to develop a linear equation in standard form to model box office sales worldwide.

Let x represent the number of tickets sold domestically and let y represent the number sold internationally. Let A represent the price of tickets domestically and B the price internationally. Finally, let C equal the total worldwide domestic sales.

1.Model different equations using different value for A and B using the data in the table.2.Graph the equations and estimate how many tickets have been sold worldwide.

math in the news: issue 106

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