FX.co ★ Movies and concerts propel US economic growth in Q 2023

According to Business Insider, box office sales revenue from concerts and movies in the US gave a fresh impetus to the domestic economy. Analysts refer to the box office revenue from the Barbie movie as well as concerts of pop stars such as Taylor Swift and Beyonce.

The immense interest in cultural events boosted box office receipts and unexpectedly encouraged a surge in the US economic growth this summer. Experts at Morgan Stanley estimated that the overall revenue from concerts and blockbusters amounts to almost $8.5 billion the July – September quarter of 2023.

Amid robust economic growth, analysts are worried that concert tours of popular American musicians and rollouts of new movies are coming to an end. As a result, personal spending is set to go down sharply in the final quarter of 2023. In turn, the US economy will lose momentum, analysts warn.

To sum up, consumer spending picked up in Q3 2023 on the back of mass entertainment events such as watching new movies, Oppenheimer and Barbie, and visiting concert tours of Taylor Swift and Beyonce. Interestingly, analysts equate movie and concert tickets to huge payments. Once these events are over, consumption activity will inevitably dwindle.

Bearing this trend in mind, the PCE (personal consumption expenditures) price index is expected to drop by 1.4% in Q4 2023 as consumers will cut spending, having no reasons for costly one-time payments.