The Monopolization Of Hollywood

The studio system is known today as a time when Hollywood produced their films at their own studios. During this time film companies held the market for all films, held workers into contracts and monopolized the industry. During this time period eight studios; Columbia, MGM, Paramount, RKO, 20th Century Fox, United Artists, Universal and Warner Bros. produced 75 percent of the films made in the United States. Seven of the eight studios released an average of 45 films per year. The time in history was a “golden age” for filmmakers as well, as they had all of the financial resources and labor needed to make some of the best movies of all time. The period started around the end of the “silent era” in the late 1920s and came to a halt around the early 1940s. (Lewis 147) …show more content…
In 1948 the decline of the studio system came due to the antitrust case, United States vs. Paramount Pictures, Inc. Block booking, which is the licensing the entire slate of films in order to get one or more hit titles, was outlawed and forced the studios to sell their theater chains. Monopolization of the film industry was considered unlawful, creating a second form of Hollywood. A re-invented Hollywood that had gains in the overseas networks, seeing a 39 percent gross revenue in 1949. Scenes and sets that were completed off-site, instead of the traditional Hollywood Studio sets. This new form of Hollywood would be what we still see today, from the black and white films, into the emergence of the color films. The new Hollywood would emerge from the falling of the studio