British Cinema Attendance

By BrianMcSavage
  • Period: to

    1920s

    1920s

  • Advent of the 'Talkies'

    the genesis of sound film came about at this time with the release of 'The Jazz Singer' in America. Came to the UK late 1928.
  • Period: to

    1930s

  • 'The 39 Steps'

    the first film directed by Alfred Hitchcock, a master of his field who would produce many masterpieces to come.

  • world war 2

    the second world war caused many problems for the film industry: +
    more interested in news morale boosting national service
    less money
    civilian casulties
    low british supplies (u-boats blowing up boats bound fom the US carrying the latest hollywood releases)
  • Period: to

    1940s

  • Citizen Kane

    Another famous, highly-popular film

  • Highest ever attendance recorded in British Cinema

  • Period: to

    the great decline

  • TV

    popularity of the TV rose alarmingly because of the coronation of elizabeth II; film industries goes to quietly cry in the corner as a result.

  • 'Ben Hur'

    Release of the highest grossing film of the decade, and still one of the most famous films of the era

  • Alfred Hitchcock's 'Psycho'

    The slasher genre is born in this timeless classic

  • The death of Maylin Monroe

    Commited suicide soon after her 3rd divorce, after winning 2 BAFTAs and 4 Golden Globes

  • Dr. No

    Sean Connery stars in the first James Bond film, although it does nothing to slow the steady decline of cinema attendance.

  • Walt Disney dies

    Creator of Disney dies, although it did little to affect attendance either way, as Walt Disney Studios kept on going.

  • The Excorcist

    Scariest film of the age released- film attendances rocket as horrified cinema-goers see it just to see how horrific it was.

  • VHS

    this was the year the UK received its first VHS.
    An import from Japan, this allowed people to watch what they would in cinema at home.

  • lowest year of cinema attendance

    about 54,000,000 people attended the cinema in this year, making it the lowest year for attendance in the entire history of film

  • Terminator 2: Judgement Day

    The film's Ground-Breaking visual effects helps to rekindle an interest in big-screen entertainment

  • Attendances begin to rise

    Mediocre, but high-grossing and highly-popular 'Independence Day' released, James Cameron begins writing and planning future record-breaker 'Avatar.' Because of the rise in good films, cinema attendance figures begin to go up again.
  • Period: to

    NOW!!!!!!!

  • IMAX

    First feature filmreleased, to use IMAX facilities in the cinema.

  • DCI

    Digital cinema projection systems first appeared in the UK. Awesome.

  • REAL-D & Blu-Ray

    the first polarized 3D system released to a UK market, but the next-gen home entertainment device, Blu-Ray discs, proved too expensive for the general public. Film attendances remained high.

  • first concert streamed live

    it sucked

  • James Cameron's 'Avatar'

    the highest grossing film of all time was released, directed by James Cameron. It was also one of the most expensive and time-consuming films to produce.