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PAHT IV: EXHIBITION
Chapter I. The Nature of the Division
History and Description of Division
/The Development of Motion picture Theatres, The exibition division of the i.lotion Picture Industry corresponds to the retail "branch of manufacturing industries. It started with the "store-room" shoTT, composed of short-reel entertainment with 5 cents as an admission charge. The seating capacit3r of these "store-rooms" was anywhere from 100 to 200. At a later date the seating capacity at "store-room" shows was enlarged from 200 to 300, and the entertainment program was lengthened. The -orice of admission was then raised to 10 cents.
Construction of buildings in great numbers, for the exclusive purpose of showing moving pictures soon followed. The seating capacities of these movie houses ranged from 300 to 600, and again the entertainment was lengthened and the price of admission increased, this tine to 20 cents.
At this point, promoters entered into the business and adopted various methods of obtaining capital with which to build lavish theatres, some of which had seating capacities ranging up to 5,000 seats. The "building of these large "de luxe" theatres on a grand scale required substantial public financing, which meant that the promoters had to turn to bond issues and eventually to "Tall Street for the necessary financing.
The Development of the^Entertainment Program. The construction of de luxe theatres required more lavish motion pictures in order to operate the picture hous^ s prof it ably , and it thus "became necessary for theatre owners from different parts of the country to combine into operating units so as to obtain high-class entertainment to which they hoped to attract capacity audiences. As the size of the theatres was increased, programs were expanded to include additional entertainment, such as "presentations" consisting of symphony orchestras, ballets, and headline vaudeville acts. At the same time, the price of admission was increased to offset the added expense involved.
Entrance of Producers into the Exhibition Division. The motion picture theatre owners almost from the beginning, formed cooperative buying groups in order to buy picture films for their theatres and to control if possible, prices and playing time,. The producers were sometimes required to sell at prices which these groups were willing to pay or else not sell at all. Finally to meet this situation, producers of motion pictures entered into the exhibition field, while the great majority of the theatres are operated by individuals and by independent chains a large proportion of the most important theatres is controlled by the producer-distributors.
Classes of Exhibitors^ The exhibition division of the Industry today is composed of three classes of exhibitors; namely affiliated, unaffiliated, and independent. Affilitated exhibitors include those operating a number of theatres, commonly called circuits, which are owned or controlled by the producer-distributors. Unaffiliated exhibitors include those who operate a circuit of theatres but have no connection with producer-distributors. The remaining exhibitors are called independents, (See Table XXXI, below.)
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