Movie Theaters, History and Economics of

The movie theater, or cinéspace, is a venue for screening and viewing films. Typically, members of the general public purchase a ticket to watch motion pictures projected onto a large screen. This entry reviews the history of the movie theater with a view to unveiling changing trends with regard to economics.

Moviemaking

Moviemaking dates back to the 1890s, when the Edison Company shot the first films in a studio with the Kinetograph motion picture camera. In France, Louis and Auguste Lumière designed a comparatively lightweight, hand-reeled camera and projector, the Cinématographe, which enabled them to film life on the streets. Precursors to this invention had permitted only one viewer at a time to watch scenes recorded on rapidly flipping cards or tortuously spooled film. The Edison technicians ...

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