American Film

American film

The origins and development of the American industry were between 1895 and 1930. During this time the emerging industry developed into an important popular medium, organised into clearly defined exhibition, and distribution elements.

 Studio era

130-1949 in American film is known as the studio era, by 1930 there was 5 major film companies, RKO Pictures, MGM, 20^TH century fox, Warner bros. and Paramount.

RKO no longer are making films but are known as a legendary film company, making films like King Kong and Citizen Kane, and even Top Hat, which are now cult films that any film buff must watch.

Vertical Integration

Where a company is organised so that it oversees a product from the planning/Development stage, through production marketing, and distribution, through to the consumer.

During the studio era the big 5 owned the production studios, the distribution companies and most the cinemas in the US.

The end of the studio era

In 1949 the major studies were forced to sell of the cinema chains they owned by the US government, after a court ruling that their practices were monopolistic.

The American film industry declined further in the 1950s due to the rise of television.

It wasn’t until the late 1890s that Hollywood studies fully recovered.

The contempory American film industry

The American film industry is now dominated by six major film companies, the contempory Big Six account for nearly 90% of the North American film market. All of these companies are subsidiaries of major media conglomerates.

• Warner bros
• 20^th century fox
•  Paramount
•  Columbia Pictures
• Walt Disney/Touchstone pictures
•   Universal

Conglomerate	Parent Division	Major Studio Subsidiary
Time Warner	Warner bros. entertainment	Warner Bros. Pictures
News corporation	Fox Filmed entertainment	20th century Fox
Sony corporation of America	Sony Pictures Entertainment	Columbia Pictures
Walt Disney Company	Walt Disney motion pictures group	Walt Disney pictures/ Touchstone pictures
General Electric/ Vivendi	NBC universal	Universal Studios
Viacom	Paramount motion pictures group	Paramount Pictures

            Other divisions

Time warner- New line, HBO films, warner bros animation

News corporation- Fox faith

Disney- Marvel studios, Lucas Film, Hollywood records, avalanche software

Viacom - Sony animation, PlayStation, triumph Films, stage 8, tristar

General Electric- Illumination

American Film Case study Ideas and Domestic gross

Jurrassic Park $650,831,971 (USA) (2 October 2015)

Age Of Ultron $458,991,599 (USA) (2 October 2015) 

Inside out $353,852,556 (USA) (2 October 2015)

Terminator Genisys$89,732,035 (USA) (11 September 2015)

Mad Max$153,629,485 (USA) (18 September 2015)