Few things unite Americans of all backgrounds like good cinema, with trips to the local movie theater (or streaming service) bringing in film lovers of all backgrounds each year.
Over the last three decades, few directors have tapped into that segment of Americana quite like M. Night Shyamalan, who has made films ranging from box office success stories like “The Sixth Sense” and “Signs," along with a host of other, less remembered bits of cinematic lore.
This week, Shyamalan’s latest film – “Trap” – will be released in theaters. At BetCarolina.com (your home for all things related to NC sports betting), we’re excited to head to our local movie theater to watch the thriller. We also wanted to know what Shyamalan movies are favorites amongst North Carolina locals. We used Google Trends to rank the top 5 movies based on search interest score. The search was conducted between July 30, 2023 – July 30, 2024.
Rank | Film | Search Volume |
1 | Split | 13 |
2 | The Sixth Sense | 11 |
3 | Unbreakable | 10 |
4 | The Visit | 8 |
5 | Signs | 7 |
Based on the digital tea leaves that are search interest scores, we can determine that North Carolina residents appear to dig through Google the most for Shyamalan’s 2016 film, “Split,” which netted him a box office haul of $278.5 million on a $9 million budget. That 2016 film had a search interest total of 13, beating out Shyamalan’s breakthrough 1999 film “The Sixth Sense,” which finished with a search interest score of 11, while 2000’s “Unbreakable” was third, at 10.
Throw in “The Visit” from 2015 (eight search interest score) and “Signs” (seven search interest score) and you have the full rundown of the Shyamalan films that North Carolina residents are searching for the most right now.
While we don’t know whether “Trap” will be a box office success story or a flop, we can say with some certainty that a solid segment of the Tar Heel State’s residents will hit their local theater to take in Shyamalan’s latest summer blockbuster when it hits the big screen on Friday.
Also of interest: What Are The Top Ten Most Nostalgic Cartoon Shows In North Carolina?
USA Today photo by Bill Streicher.
Author
Christopher Boan is a lead writer at BetCarolina.com specializing in covering state issues. He has covered sports and sports betting in Arizona for more than seven years, including stops at ArizonaSports.com, the Tucson Weekly and the Green Valley News.
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