In the novel Water for Elephants, we learn about the story of the Benzini Brothers Circus during the 1930’s depression in the U.S. In the story we learn that the circus’s ultimate demise is due to the financial collapse in 1931. During the story, we learn that the purchase of Rosie the elephant severely drained their cash reserves when they paid $2,000 for her with her own boxcar. Ultimately Benzini collapsed from cash flow problems due to lack of ticket sales and high expenses. Which had us wondering how much money did it take to have a traveling circus back then? How does that compare to today’s circuses like Cirque de Soliel and Ringling Bros? Considering all these companies are private, exact revenue numbers are not available. So we’ll do some extrapolation and hope to paint a picture of the business of circuses. Continue reading →

Tags: Christoph Waltz, Movies, Reese Witherspoon, Robert Pattinson, Water for Elephants