In the United States there are 17,500 movie theaters in operation, one for every 8,000 people. Out of a total U.S. population of 130 million, it is estimated that 55–60 million Americans go to the movies every week.
How many people did go to the movies a week in 1940 in the US?
At motion pictures' height of popularity in the mid-1940s, the studios were cranking out a total of about 400 movies a year, seen by an audience of 90 million Americans per week.
After experiencing boom years from 1939 to 1946, the film industry began a long period of decline. Within just seven years, attendance and box receipts fell to half their 1946 levels. Part of the reason was external to the industry.
Did people watch films during The Great Depression? - Going to the Movies - 1930 to 1940
What was the weekly attendance at movies in 1950?
The most widely quoted source, the U.S. Census Bureau, shows that weekly attendance dropped from 80 million in 1940 and 90 million in 1946 to 60 million in 1950 and 40 million in 1960.
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 in a week in the 1930s?
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 people a week went 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.
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.
Comedies, gangster movies, and musicals helped people forget their troubles. In the early 1940s, some of the great dramas of American film reached theaters. Radio was also wildly popular, offering many kinds of programs, from sermons to soap operas.
In an average week in 1947, 90 million Americans, out of a total population of only 151 million, went to a movie, paying on the average forty cents for a ticket. Nor was this massive outpouring, about two thirds of the ambulatory population, the product of expensive national marketing campaigns.
Within U.S. film history, 1946 holds the distinction of being the peak year of movie attendance, impressively claiming more than 90 million weekly admissions (or 60 percent of the population).
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.
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.
The year 1939 in film is widely considered the greatest year in film history. The ten Best Picture-nominated films that year include classics in multiple genres.
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 much did movie attendance go up during the 1920s?
From roughly 1920 to 1926 weekly attendance at the movies increased by 40%. Audiences were being drawn from across the socio-economic spectrum. With feature films and added attractions, show times were running two to three hours long.
According to the 1941 Film Daily Year Book, there were some 17,500 movie theaters in operation in 1940—one for every 8,000 persons in the United States. The total firstrun market in 1940 included 1,360 theaters in the 400 largest cities in the United States and Canada (i.e., those with a population of at least 12,500).
