In 1930 (the earliest year from which accurate and credible data exists), weekly cinema attendance was 80 million people, approximately 65% of the resident U.S. population (Koszarski 25, Finler 288, U.S. Statistical Abstract).

How many Americans attended movies in 1930?

In fact, the years of the 1930s are considered the golden era of Hollywood cinema. Eighty-five million people a week crowded movie theaters across America to escape their sometimes desperate financial situations.

Did people go to the movies in the 1930s?

The American people in the 1930s and 1940s were no exception. They enjoyed many forms of entertainment, particularly if they could do so inexpensively. With the addition of sound, movies became increasingly popular. Comedies, gangster movies, and musicals helped people forget their troubles.

How often did Americans go to the movies in the 1920s?

Cinema in the 1920s

People of all ages attended the movies with far more regularity than today, often going more than once per week. By the end of the decade, weekly movie attendance swelled to 90 million people. The silent movies of the early 1920s gave rise to the first generation of movie stars.

How often did many Americans go to the movies by 1929?

During the 1920s, movie attendance soared. By the middle of the decade, 50 million people a week went to the movies - the equivalent of half the nation's population. In Chicago, in 1929, theaters had enough seats for half the city's population to attend a movie each day.

What Was It like to Live during the Great Depression in the US?

How often did people go to the movies in the 1930s?

Even at the Depression's depths 60 to 80 million Americans attended the movies each week, and, in the face of doubt and despair, films helped sustain national morale. Although the movie industry considered itself Depression- proof, Hollywood was no more immune from the Depression's effects than any other industry.

How many people were going to the cinema by 1930?

In 1930 (the earliest year from which accurate and credible data exists), weekly cinema attendance was 80 million people, approximately 65% of the resident U.S. population (Koszarski 25, Finler 288, U.S. Statistical Abstract).

How often were Americans going to the movies in the 1940s?

Back in the Golden Age of the cinema (1930-1945), most Americans went to the movie theater every week. In the early 1940s households averaged over two trips to the movie theater per week. Things have changed drastically since then.

Why did many people go to the movies in the late 1920s into the 1930s?

Movies had become a cultural institution as well as a cultural necessity. No other form of entertainment had come to play as important a role in American's everyday life, not even radio. Sixty million to 75 million people still faithfully attended even if the price of a seat was too much for them to pay.

What percentage of Americans attended the movies in the 1920's?

In just eight years, from 1922 to 1930, weekly U.S. movie attendance soared from about forty percent to over ninety percent of the population.

Why did people go to the movies in 1930?

At an average price of $. 27 a ticket, movies offered a relatively inexpensive way to vacation from reality. Always popular, this sort of diversion was especially sought-after during the Great Depression. Audiences gloried in spectacular fantasies of high society and easy living that they would never know.

Why were films so popular in America in the 1930s?

While the country was consumed in a sullen attempt to rebuild society, films offered an accessible escape for restless minds in tough times. During the 1930s, the entire film industry transformed and “Hollywood” became synonymous with big studio pictures and became the standard for movies around the world.

How much did movie tickets cost in the 1930s?

During the Great Depression, the financially bruised and battered everyman could temporarily escape his woes by paying 25 cents to go to the movies. Ironically, some of the most popular movies depicted the superrich, clothed in satin gowns, and top hats and tails.

How many people went to the cinema in 1920?

Cinema became the main form of popular entertainment. Ticket sales went from 40 million per week in 1920 to 100 million in 1930. People went several times a week, and long queues outside were normal.

How many people went to the movies during the Depression?

60-90 million people went to the movies every week during the Depression, making in one of America's greatest past times. The average movie ticket price during this period was 25 cents, but Americans were willing to spend the money.

How many people did go to the movies a week in 1940?

The association made sure the good guys always won, sexuality was suggested rather than mentioned openly, and social issues were not debated. The strict censorship in Hollywood was meant to protect the nearly eighty million Americans who went to the movies each week.

When did movies become popular in America?

However, it wasn't until the Lumière brothers released the cinématographe in 1895 that motion pictures were projected for audience viewing. In the United States, film established itself as a popular form of entertainment with the nickelodeon theater in the 1910s.

Why did people enjoy movies and radio so much during the 1930's?

Radio programs, music, dancing and dance marathons, and cinema were popular forms of entertainment during the Great Depression. Many people suffering from the effects of the economic downturn looked for inexpensive ways to pass the time and distract themselves from the challenging circumstances.

What did they call movie theaters in the 1930s?

A movie palace (or picture palace in the United Kingdom) is any of the large, elaborately decorated movie theaters built between the 1910s and the 1940s. The late 1920s saw the peak of the movie palace, with hundreds opening every year between 1925 and 1930.

When was the golden age in Hollywood?

1927–1969: Sound era and the Golden Age of Hollywood

The primary changes in American filmmaking came from the film industry itself, with the height of the studio system.

What ended golden era of Hollywood?

Hollywood's Golden Age finally came to an end due to two main factors: antitrust actions, and the invention of television. The iconic Hollywood sign. Reprinted from Hollywood 1940 – 2008 by Marc Wanamaker (pg. 19, Arcadia Publishing, 2009).

How many movies has the average American seen?

The Average American Sees Five Thousand Movies in a Lifetime.

How long was the average movie in 1930?

It's true that in the first decades of cinema movies were shorter, they were on average 90 minutes long in early 1930s and reached 100–110 minutes in mid-'50s.

How many people attended the movies per week in the 1920s?

Cinema was a very popular form of entertainment during this period and audiences continued to grow through the 1920s. In 1927 60 million people a week went to the cinema, but by 1929 it was 110 million people a week.