It is indisputable that ongoing technological progress has changed the course of history by completely transforming our daily lives with devices such as mobile phones, electric scooters, and drones. It is impossible to imagine a world without these technologies now, but the reality is that we have existed without them for decades. Surprisingly, random sci-fi movies have been prophesied to be some of the most futuristic products on the market today. Find out which Hollywood movie technological advances are worth billions of dollars.
Airport Body Scanners – Airplane II, 1982
Nobody could have predicted that an American parody film sequel would eventually predict one of the most significant technology developments now under development, as dishonest as Airplane II may have been for certain moviegoers. In one scene from the 1982 film, passengers waiting to board a lunar shuttle must pass through a body scanner, which was completely unrealistic at the time. Who knew that body scanners would become the norm at airports by 2009 and would eventually be valued at 328,2 million dollars in the tech industry?
Digital Billboards – Blade Runner, 1982
Another film published in 1982 predicted a technological breakthrough that would start more than 20 years later and ultimately become a major part of the advertising industry: interactive panels. Although Blade Runner was released in 1982, the film was made in 2019, and in some respects, it was ahead of time. One was the notion of a modern billboard, which was totally unachievable back in the 1980s. Today, automated billboards with a tech worth of $ 31.71 billion can be seen in every big city in the world.
Earbuds – Fahrenheit 451, 1966
The development of earphones was tremendous and the main element started as voluminous. Back in 1966 the movie Fahrenheit 451, which was far from becoming a fact, presented the idea of earbuds as the most horrendous, yet highly useful element. Although earbuds have improved in productivity in the last few decades, Apple introduced the now popular EarPods in 2016, which is on the road to hit a $15.8 billion market size by 2025.
Video Calling – A Space Odyssey, 1968
Video conferencing are becoming more important than ever in how we engage with and work with our family and friends. However, while video calls are today almost as common as regular phone conversations, they were not conceivable in the 1960s. While the concept of video calling was still being explored during the decade, the relevance of video calls was underlined several times in the 1968 film A Space Odyssey. The technology was introduced in the same year.
3D Printing – Weird Science, 1983
Nobody could have predicted 3D printing as it is now decades ago, and a film shockingly foresaw the technology in its plot. While it may not have been the exact type of 3D printing that we have now, the principle was surely present. In the 1983 film Weird Science, two males “printed” a lady using photographs and data sent into a computer. 3D printing is currently valued $35.6 billion.
Military Drones – The Terminator, 1984
Because the picture is so far removed from reality, there is a lot about The Terminator that is also incredibly predictive. But there was one item the film ultimately predicted for the future, something worth roughly $26.8 billion in today’s innovative industry: weaponized drones. Although drones have been around for decades, the usage of commercial and armed drones only became commonplace in the early 2000s.
Smart Homes – Demon Seed, 1977
Demon Seed introduced us to the concept of the intelligent house in 1977, and how the technology revolution in our homes may completely revolutionise our way of life. Surprisingly, smart homes were introduced to the market around the end of the 1990s and began to produce equipment that were necessary for a comfortable and uncomplicated living. Smart home systems now have a $23 billion IT market capitalization.
