High oil prices may be good for boxoffice

July 10, 2008 [...] for the industry as a whole, economists say that, despite some mixed signals, there is some evidence to support the truism that higher gas prices boost boxoffice by prompting consumers to opt for the local multiplex over longer trips. For instance, Ingo Volkammer's Leomax Entertainment, a Los Angeles- and Berlin-based hedge-fund with an oil-industry investor base that has a first-look deal with Overture, has found that the jump in oil prices has opened up its financing options. Basically, that's because tax laws in some European countries require that windfall profits are taxed heavily unless the money is quickly invested in an intangible asset like film.

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