Did the Stock Market Crash Cause Your Local Cinema to Close?
When the Great Depression rolled around, many Americans found themselves out of work and without money to spend on luxuries like movie tickets. However, this wasn’t the sole reason that many cinemas closed their doors during this period in history. Let’s take a look at why your local theater might have closed down as part of the nationwide movie theater trend.
Introduction – How the movie industry was shaped in 1918
The First World War was soon followed by a severe economic depression in North America, which drastically reduced moviegoing. The 1920s were shaped by Prohibition and bootlegging, as well as by race movies featuring African-American actors in lead roles. With such obstacles to overcome, how did Hollywood’s business continue to thrive during that period? The answer may be due in part to a silent film about an extramarital affair—what some
might consider an inappropriate topic for family entertainment. But thanks in part to great acting from one of Hollywood’s earliest legends, audiences flocked to theaters during what became known as The Year of Three Marilyn Monroes.
During World War I, Hollywood made propaganda films
newsreels and documentaries about World War I. They also made films for non-American audiences (such as, Hearts of Humanity, which was shown in British and French cinemas). In addition, because of World War I, there were increased taxes on sugar imports into America: many American movie theaters no longer sold sweet drinks, including Coca-Cola. This led to a sharp decline in ticket sales; many theaters closed down.
After World War I, countries passed film protectionism laws
they banned foreign films, restricted release dates and tried to drive Hollywood out of business. Many countries imposed high duties on US imports, and would not allow prints or negatives to be brought in. In 1921 German firms were limited to producing just four films a year; by 1927 that number had fallen to just two. The impact was immediate: American studios made fewer films and bought up European distribution networks instead.
America’s Great Depression (1929–1941) closed down many theatres
People could no longer afford a night out at their local cinema. Jobs were scarce, and many people were losing money as a result of their investments in banks and on Wall Street. It was common for theatres to close within just a few months of one another. For example, five theaters in Portland, Oregon, closed within two years. Five others closed in Springfield, Massachusetts, while four cinemas shut down in Omaha between 1930 and 1931. When one theatre would close its doors, patrons would often spend less money overall at their other local movie house or turn away from watching movies altogether; ultimately cutting into ticket sales and causing even more venues to close as competition dwindled. So did the stock market crash cause your local cinema to close?
World War II (1939–1945) stopped overseas travel and tourism
After World War II, Western Europe was devastated. Travel and tourism is often a major sector of a national economy. In countries such as Germany, France, Italy and Spain that had been occupied by Nazi forces or allied nations during World War II, most buildings had been destroyed or damaged. The lack of investment in these areas caused many cinemas to close. To add insult to injury, in 1945 Germany adopted an even stronger currency called the Deutsche Mark. This made travel between countries more expensive again and encouraged people from other European countries to not travel outside their own borders.
Americans spent their money on TV sets instead of theatre tickets
In 1929, many Americans did not have a radio at home. As a result, when Americans came home from work in the evenings and had some free time, they would go out with friends and family to go see a movie. After 1929 though, more Americans were able to afford home televisions as prices for TV sets dropped dramatically. This caused cinema attendance rates and revenue to fall considerably. In 1930 alone, revenue fell by $60 million dollars compared to just 2 years earlier when people still went out on dates regularly but didn’t have their own TVs yet. Additionally, those with telephones could talk with friends while they watched TV at home!
Technology killed cinema (1968–1977)
The introduction of television in most homes during and after World War II had a major impact on cinema-going. In 1950 there were around 35,000 cinemas in Britain; by 1960, that number had dropped to just over 3,000. Technology also killed cinema (1985–2010): With more people watching films at home than ever before, cinemas have been struggling against increasing numbers of at home movies or movies being streamed via Netflix or cable TV. Between 2003 and 2013, nearly one thousand theaters were closed in Britain alone.
The rise of cable television (1979–1989) Section: Video rental stores (1982-1999) Section: Digitalization killed Cinema’s golden age (2000s-present day)
The rise of Blu-ray, Netflix, and Amazon Prime. Section: Conclusion. The death of cinema and 3 ways it will likely change moving forward.