History of Film: Film Distribution
There were many changes in marketing and distribution of films from end of the silent period to the modern digital period. There was a studio system that existed at the end of the silent period and collapsed in 1949 with a court ruling. During this same time a sales era of marketing existed. After the Second World War the sales era was replaced with a new way of thinking and sales and marketing were not synonymous anymore. Marketing after World War II meant finding out what consumers’ needs and wants were and providing them with products to satisfy those needs and wants. Globalization began to occur rapidly in the 90’s and expansion in foreign market meant marketers had to concentrate on this market more than they had in the past. The digital period also meant changes of first runs and second runs for films.
The studio system was a means of film production and distribution dominant in Hollywood from the early 1920s through the early 1950s. The term studio system refers to the practice of large motion picture studios (a) producing movies primarily on their own filmmaking lots with creative personnel under often long-term contract and (b) pursuing vertical integration through ownership or effective control of distributors and movie theaters, guaranteeing additional sales of films through manipulative booking techniques. A 1948 Supreme Court ruling against those distribution and exhibition practices hastened the end of the studio system. In 1954, the last of the operational links between a major production studio and theater chain was broken and the era of the studio system was officially dead. The period lasted from the introduction of sound to the court ruling and the beginning of the studio breakups; about 1927 to 1954, when the studios no longer participated in the theatre business.
During the Golden Age, eight companies comprised the so-called major studios responsible for the studio system. Of these eight, five were fully integrated conglomerates, combining
The studio system was a means of film production and distribution dominant in Hollywood from the early 1920s through the early 1950s. The term studio system refers to the practice of large motion picture studios (a) producing movies primarily on their own filmmaking lots with creative personnel under often long-term contract and (b) pursuing vertical integration through ownership or effective control of distributors and movie theaters, guaranteeing additional sales of films through manipulative booking techniques. A 1948 Supreme Court ruling against those distribution and exhibition practices hastened the end of the studio system. In 1954, the last of the operational links between a major production studio and theater chain was broken and the era of the studio system was officially dead. The period lasted from the introduction of sound to the court ruling and the beginning of the studio breakups; about 1927 to 1954, when the studios no longer participated in the theatre business.
During the Golden Age, eight companies comprised the so-called major studios responsible for the studio system. Of these eight, five were fully integrated conglomerates, combining
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