"Of course movie now can sometimes double their box office with DVD and television sales. Here we're only looking at box office."
Somehow i missed the 2nd half of the text above.
Of course one can also make the argument that movie makers had a FAR more captive audience back then, when films like gone with the wind were made.
Today a movie has to compete against the INTERNET, theater, and 10,000 channels of cable and satellite TV and blah, blah, blah.
Back when Gone with the Wind was made they were just competing with radio and stage shows. From that perspective, today's films are at a huge disadvantage compared to films of the past.