Film History

First successful photography of motion

Jan 1, 1878

British photographer Eadweard Muybridge takes the first successful photographs of motion, showing how people and animals move.

New camera makes filming things easier

Jan 1, 1882

Etienne Marey in France develops a camera, shaped like a gun, that can take twelve pictures per second.

Dickson Greeting

May 1, 1891

FIrst American film shown to a public audience.

First film rental store

Jan 1, 1902

Henry Miles sets up the first film exchange, allowing exhibitors to rent films instead of buying them.

Los Angeles & Hollywood

Jan 1, 1910

Los Angeles annexes Hollywood.

Credits

Jan 1, 1911

Credits begin to appear at the beginning of motion pictures.

FOX

Jan 1, 1915

William Fox founds the Fox Film Corporation, combining motion picture production, distribution, and theaters.

First sound in film

Jan 1, 1927

Warner Bros.'s The Jazz Singer, presents the movie's first spoken words: "Wait a minute, wait a minute, you ain't heard nothin' yet." The Vitaphone method that the studio uses involves recording sound on discs.

Drive-in Theaters

Sep 26, 1934

The first drive-in movie theater opens in New Jersey.

Dreamworks

Jan 1, 1994

Steven Spielberg, Jeffrey Katzenberg, and David Geffen form the film studio DreamWorks.

Highest Grossing Film

Jan 1, 1997

Titanic, which premiered in 1997, becomes the highest grossing film in Hollywood history, earning $580 million domestically.

Most Profitable Movie

Jan 1, 1999

The Blair Witch Project, which cost $30,000 to make, grosses $125 million, making it the most profitable film in Hollywood history.