Hollywood Means Business:

1948-1980

Life after Divorcement

Hollywood reinvents itself

Loss of theater chains destabilize the studio economically

Individual films become more crucial Production totals drop with attendance drop

By retaining distribution rights, the majors were able to reassert control over their product and ensure profitability

In time, industry moves to integrate production and distribution into a larger and more diversified entertainment industry—but this takes time

The (temporary) rise of the independent theater

Smaller theaters were intended to benefit from the Paramount decision—and did briefly

Loss of B films and programmers starved independent theaters for movies to attract audiences (impact of changes in studios)

Loss of audience in all theaters in postwar period

1947-1963: 48% of theaters in US closed Drive-ins flourished, especially with teenpix

and exploitation movies

The (temporary) rise of the independent film After WWII, import of European films

generated an audience for “art movies” Auteur theory generated a group of film

school trained American independent filmmakers, the “Hollywood Renaissance”

Studios believed a younger audience demanded more original, artistic, and less formulaic films—they were proved wrong by the late 1960s and early 1970s

The very end of the studios “Roadshows” and “platform release” Financial dependence on blockbusters

spreads in mid-1970s Studios can still force theaters to show

their products through distribution methods like block booking

1971: 14 movie made 50% of total income; fewer than 1/3 of the 185 others even made back their costs

Divorcement gives way to Fragmentation

Film packaging outside the studio; may contract with studio for financing distribution studio space

“Independent” producers—but with studio control of distribution

UA as model for the new studio system

The stars shine bright . . . Value of stars in ensuring profitability rose, as

did their salaries Talent agencies became independent

producers as well, packaging stars, script, director and cast before selling the package

Fewer films flattened release patterns into first release and general release

By 1960, television release was part of the pattern, and studios with production facilities had become major suppliers of programming made for television

For the studio system: Finis While Disney remained solvent, others

faced financial ruin: closure, receiverships, and major retrenchment

New production companies, often headed by people from talent agencies or (ironically) from television production, gained power by producing successful blockbusters and selling them to the studios to distribute . . .

. . . But there was more money to be made in the 1980s . . . through the magic of . . .

Entertainment Industry Consolidation

1980s—Reagan deregulated the industry

Link between production and distribution re-established as media conglomerates formed

Saturation booking replaced clearance Subsidiary markets increased in

importance Willow, for example

International grosses also grew as Hollywood films dominated the world market