Film Exhibition Research

Exhibition is the retail branch of the film industry which is usually located in movie theatres. This stage is at the end of the process after the film has been produced and distributed. The makers of the films earn the money back through paying customers in the movie theatre or when the film gets released as a DVD in shops. The exhibitor is the company who owns the movie theatre and therefore sells the experience to customers while providing the option of concessions like soft drinks and popcorn.

There has been a significant development in non-theatrical film exhibition in recent years due to advancements in internet technology. Home exhibition has been an option ever since the 1920s when portable 16mm equipment came to the market. However, it was not until the late 1980s that the home became a major site for film exhibition which was reinforced by digital ciema. A few years ago, to home view a film you would most likely buy a DVD and fifteen years ago you would be buying videocassettes. Now DVDs are being purchased far less than before and the main method of home viewing is through online services. These applications and services are available on many devices such as a mobile phone or a smart TV.

In the early years of cinema films were all silent; by the 1920s some grand cinemas had an orchestra. Fully synchronised sound arrived in the late 1920s which made cinema very popular. By the 1930s half the population of Britain went to cinema at least once a week. By 1939 there are 5500 cinemas in Britain and by 1946 cinema attendance in Britain was the highest to this day. Television sets in homes soon ruined the cinema craze when the amount in Britain rose from 15,000 sets in 1945 to 11 million in 1961. This caused cinema admissions to fall by 75%; cinema admissions did not change much until the 80s.

In 1985 cinema had its lowest point where less than 1000 cinemas were open in Britain. This was mainly due to the introduction of video hire. In the late 1980s cinema admissions started to improve with the rise of 'multiplex' cinemas. These were larger sites based out of town that could be accessed by car. The difference being that there were a huge choice of films with up to twelve different screens, and there was an improvement in technology as they had surround sound, digital film and the choice of 3D. These new technology improvements justified the raised price per a ticket.