Do Movies Predict Republican Victory in 2012?
As Republicans gathered for their convention in Tampa, Fla., liberals in Hollywood were stunned this weekend by the success of conservative pundit Dinesh D’Souza’s documentary, 2016: Obama’s America attacking the leftist roots of Democrat President Obama’s anti–American political ideology.
Obama’s America came in No. 8 at the box office this weekend, but led the way among the Top 20 Movies with a per–screen average of $5,718.
“The success of Dinesh’s movie doesn’t surprise Movieguide,” says Ted Baehr, publisher Movieguide. “Each year we do a study of the political content in the major movies released, and every year, conservative movies with strong pro–American, patriotic, conservative, anti–socialist, and pro–capitalist content and values earn far more money than liberal movies with strong anti–American, pro–socialist, anti–capitalist content.”
For example, in 2011 Movieguide counted 91 instances of strong conservative content in movies and 105 instances of strong liberal content. The conservative content averaged $59 million in the United States and Canada, but the liberal content averaged less than $10.7 million.
“Dinesh’s movie also is one of the most entertaining, insightful conservative documentaries ever produced,” Baehr adds, “which makes its success even more assured.”
Baehr pointed out that people shouldn’t be surprised at these box office figures because, according to Gallup last November, 42 percent of Americans consider themselves conservative but only 21 percent of Americans consider themselves liberal.
For its 2011 survey, Movieguide counted such movies as Captain America, Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, Battle: Los Angeles, Hugo, Coriolanus, Real Steel, Mars Needs Moms and Atlas Shrugged as having at least some strong Pro– American, patriotic or other conservative content. Movies like X– Men: First Class, Super 8, The Ides of March, Red State, Beginners, Bad Teacher, and Happy Feet Two were deemed to have at least some strong Anti–American, anti–patriotic or liberal content.
Baehr noted that the two top blockbuster movies at the box office this year, The Avengers and The Dark Knight Rises, had strong conservative, patriotic, anti–socialist, and/or pro–capitalist content.
