April/May 2000 By Mohanbir Sawhney In the early 1980s, movie producers got all riled up over the introduction of the videocassette recorder because they feared that rentals would cannibalize theater ticket sales. Yet, U.S. box office sales have grown steadily, increasing nearly 50% between 1991 and 1998. It turns out that the VCR was used primarily by people, such as parents of young children, who would not otherwise have gone to the theater. The VCR bolstered total movie rev