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Movies and TV shows can be pretty influential. We often end up desiring what we see on our screens. Here are 15 things that became super popular/unpopular due to movies:
Everyone started craving shawarma after the release ofThe Avengers. A lot of people who were unfamiliar with the Arab dish were suddenly interested in it. The man who owns ‘Shawarma Place’ in Queens said, “The first four or five weeks. I was running out of shawarma by 3 or 4 o’clock”
The Big Lebowskibrought back the White Russian cocktail. The cocktail that was once looked down upon was shot to fame after the film’s success.
After the release ofTop Gun, U.S. Navy recruitment figures saw a major spike. Perhaps expecting to replicate in real life the movie’s sexy, high-energy thrills, many people enlisted as soon as they walked out of the theater. The enrollments were so high that U.S Navy set up recruiting stations to catch psyched-up moviegoers.
Many people decided to get owls as pets after they watchedHarry Potter.However, most people who adopted them ended up abandoning them. The situation got so bad that at some bird sanctuaries, 90% of all owls were “captive-bred.”
People started eating Reese’s Pieces way too much after they saw it in E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. Steven Spielberg initially requested Mars to use M&M’s as alien bait but the company denied it. Hershey took the opportunity and within 2 weeks of the film’s release, sales of Reese’s Pieces tripled.
After the release ofBugs Bunny, people started to refrain from eating rabbits. Demand for rabbit meat went down after World War II-and Bugs Bunny is partly to blame for it.
Back when she changed her hairstyle in one of the seasons ofFriends, hair salons started to get requests for Rachel’s haircut. This happened during the height of the show’s popularity in the ’90s. More recently, during the 2021 Friends reunion, demand for that haircut went up by 179%.
People started using iPods again after the success ofBaby Driver. After audiences took a look at Baby’s collection of stolen iPods, eBay witnessed a spike in sales of the vintage player.
The village in Maryland called Burkittsville started getting tourist invasions after the release ofThe Blair Witch Project.The Maryland village isn’t even a haunted place but the tourists who flouted it didn’t even care that the movie wasn’t actually shot there.
The sale of Chardonnay declined after the release ofBridget Jones’s Diary. The world’s greatest winemakers struggled to make a good sale after viewers saw Bridget Jones pouring herself a huge glass whenever her life was a mess inBridget Jones’s Diary.
Carriecaused fewer Carries to be born. In the 1970s, “Carrie” as a name for girls was in an upwards swing in popularity but it took a sudden dive just after Brian De Palma’s horror movie came out.
People started to eat spinach afterPopeyebecame a hit. The cartoon wasn’t created by the spinach industry to boost sales. In the 1930s, the United States consumed 33% more spinach after seeing the sailor’s fondness for his performance-enhancing vegetable.
After the release ofSidewaysPinot Noir, red wine became a top seller. The production nearly doubled and the California wine industry gave all credit toSideways. And because Paul Giamatti’s character refused to drink Merlot, their sales got tampered with.
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Timeboosted demand for real ocarinas. Not only was the game a top seller, but it also caused a small boom in the little, flute-like musical instruments. Some artisanal makers saw their business more than double due to fan demand.
Lost in Translationcaused a spike in the sales of Japanese whisky. Most people weren’t even aware that Japanese whisky was a thing before Bill Murray did that fictional ad. The demand grew so big that brewing company Suntory had to discontinue some of their whiskies as they were unable to meet demand.
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Muneer is an Indian writer at FandomWire who plans to visit all countries in this world to eat the food on their streets. Obsessed with joggers, he sings and plays the strings too.
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Baby DriverBridget Jones’s DiaryBugs BunnyE.T. the Extra-TerrestrialFriendsHarry PotterLost in TranslationPopeyeSidewaysThe AvengersThe Big LebowskiThe Blair Witch ProjectTop Gun
