An Economic History of Film

The economics of the movie industry has been curiously neglected by scholars, especially given the material circumstances in which film has been produced, distributed and exhibited in capitalist economies and its central importance in the lives of the huge numbers attracted to it as a commodity.

This book provides an economic framework for understanding developments in film history. Film is a peculiar commodity with a unique set of characteristics. The topic hence is interesting and covered with aplomb by the contributors to the volume. The book includes sections on:

• long-term trends in the film industry
• the transformation of film from a primitive commodity to a heavily branded product
• the operation of the studio system
• the end of the studio system in post-war America
• the role and payment of stars
• Hollywood’s approach to risk during the 1990s.

Experts from the UK and North America have come together in these pages and the result is a readable, insightful and enlightening book that will gain many fans amongst those with an interest in the economics of film, economic historians, film historians and aficionados of the movie industry generally.

Michael Pokorny, John Sedgwick