Evidence study no. 25 of the motion picture industry (1933)

412 ^> ^> <^ The Motion Picture Industry ters being available for effective exploitation of picture values. Less than 40% operated daily and only 900 had a capacity of 750 seats or over.15 Only 5% or 6% 16 of the French public, as compared with 25% of the American public, were regular patrons of the moving pictures. Total realty investment in theaters in 1927 was estimated at $30,000,000. The reason for the undeveloped status of the exhibition phase of the industry was said to be the relatively exorbitant entertainment tax collected by the government. The total of state, municipal, and poor taxes was estimated at from 17% to 40% of the gross receipts in Parisian theaters and from 15% to 31 % in all other theaters. Under the state entertainment tax, over 120,000,000 francs were collected in 1928, an increase of nearly 15,000,000 francs over similar taxes collected in 1927. It would appear, therefore, that with capable leadership and a favorable attitude on the part of the government, progress might be expected in theater construction, exhibition policies, and profitable operation. Already, American companies had initiated improvements. A theater under American control successfully adopted in 1928 the policy of continuous showings, and another was the first to be wired for the projection of sound and dialogue films. No anti-American feeling was evident and the American film retained great popularity. The yearly consumption capacity of the French feature film market was estimated by the French Motion Picture Chamber of Commerce at 600 films. This permitted a double feature program policy in many theaters. American interests considered this estimate to be too high. The number of feature films distributed in 1929 was only 437, possibly because of the suspension of business by American 15 Ibid. 16 Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce, Trade Bulletin No. 617, 1929.