King Tut Returns as Blockbuster Shows Flourish

http://tinyurl.com/29npt4 (bloomberg.com)

As three high profile exhibitions line up to come to London, this article looks at the success of blockbuster exhibitions:

"London will see not one but two extraordinary blockbusters this fall. The British Museum is mounting ``The First Emperor: China's Terracotta Army.'' It is the museum's most ambitious show since 1972, when 1.7 million visitors saw Tutankhamen's treasures. . . . Simultaneously, the so-far ill-fated Millennium Dome -- now rechristened the O2 thanks to an agreement with mobile network O2 Plc -- will host a Tutankhamen exhibition. It has 150 items from the youthful Pharaoh's tomb and is billed to be bigger than the 1972 edition. The organizers expect the display to be visited by more than 2 million people over a 9 1/2 month run.
The show has already toured the U.S. and is currently at the Franklin Institute Science Museum, Philadelphia, where it will continue through Sept. 30.
What do these events tell us about the health of the blockbuster? Evidently, this much-reviled phenomenon is flourishing. Indeed, it is becoming more and more central to global cultural life."

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