The Curious Case of Dallas, TX

Have you seen the new NYTimes tool that allows you to examine Netflix rental patterns, neighborhood by neighborhood? If not, click here.

Go ahead, I'll wait...

To pique your curiosity further, here's how the #1 movie in Dallas, TX (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button) broke down by zipcode:


Two things struck me as odd about this. First off, Benjamin Button? Seriously?

[quick rant]: Why are movies deemed to be "best picture worthy" overwhelming > 2 hours? This phenomenon alone has single-handedly ruined pretty much every Steven Spielberg movie from the last decade. The run time on Benjamin Button is 165 minutes, so naturally I waited to see what the reviews were before committing 3 hours of my life to a film. When the slightly above average (though not overly fantastic) reviews came back for the film, I knew I'd never see it. 3 hours for only a "good" film? I think not.

Now Avatar on the other hand... [end rant]

Secondly, what's going on in South Dallas?

Just to clarify, Benjamin Button finished in the top 5 in virtually every other zipcode and was the overwhelming #1. In the two outliers clearly depicted above however, it failed to even finish in the top 50 in 75210 (#1 Movie: Traitor) and came in at #14 in 75241 (#1 Movie: Tyler Perry's The Family That Preys).

Anyways, for those of you who are a bit curious as to what your neighbors have been watching lately and have a few minutes to kill, I strongly suggest clicking here. And just for the record, which movie finished higher in my zipcode (Uptown) than in any other?

You guessed it, Milk.