The 8 Majors
In the 1930s-1940s, the studio system
was dominated by 8 studios. These were
divide into the big 5 and the little 3.
Block Booking, Blind Bidding
and Run Zones and Clearances
Big 5
The 8 majors were able controlled and ensured their profit with a series of distribution practices
Little 3
- Block Booking = If exhibitors wanted to rent films to show in their theatres they had to rent that studio’s whole yearly output of films
- Blind Bidding = This was done without having seen the films they were purchasing.
- Run Zones and Clearance = The studios protected their own exhibitors (theatres) from independent competitors.
Classical Hollywood System
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Divorcement. The fall out
The Collapse of the Studio Era
Vertical Integration
- Majors. No assurance of exhibition
- Every film had to be marketed
- Every film had to survive on its own merit
- Move away from mass production
- Quality rather than quantity.
- Rise of the producer and Star power.
- The breakdown started just before World War II, when the US Antitrust Division filed suit against the 8 majors accusing them of monopolistic practises
- The Paramount Case was settled in May 1948 with a ruling against the studios