The Motion Picture Industry –
Potential Profit from Public Demand

First Movie Theater
The first theater designed exclusively for cinema opened in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1905. Thousands of such theaters were built or converted from existing facilities within a few years. In the United States, these theaters came to be known as nickelodeons, because admission typically cost a nickel (5 cents).

Movies: The Largest Entertainment Industry
The popularity of the cinema has made motion pictures the largest industry in entertainment. The visual element of cinema needs no translation, giving the motion picture a universal power of communication. As a result, popular movies can become worldwide attractions, especially with the addition of dubbing or translated subtitles to communicate the dialogue. Motion picture actors can become major celebrities and command huge fees for their performances. Already by 1917, Charlie Chaplin had a contract that called for an annual salary of 1 million dollars.

Movie Studios and Hollywood
The cost of hiring star performers, along with expenses related to technological advancements, has led cinema production to concentrate under the auspices of movie studios. In the United States, much of the industry is centered around Hollywood. Other regional centers exist in many parts of the world. In addition, advances in affordable film making equipment have led to numerous independent film productions with far lower production costs than previously possible.

With modern technology, digital recording techniques have been applied to both the video and audio aspects of motion pictures. This has begun a gradual movement away from the medium of film.