Hollywood has said that it's recession proof, because in hard times people will seek escape from their worries by going to the movies. The Wall Street Journal (subscription required) reports a new study that found just the opposite–when time are tough, people skip the movie-popcorn-soda expense. Perhaps they watch a movie on broadcast television, or rent a DVD for a couple of bucks. So far this year, box office sales are down 3.27% from last year.
The business planning implication for us outside of Hollywood is to be skeptical of the received wisdom that Industry X is recession proof. Your industry might possibly be recession-proof, or at least recession-resistant, but check the data before accepting that conclusion.