The previous chapters showed how, in less than half a century, moving pictures grew from an emerging, fragmented business into a concentrated, large-scale industry. In 1900, film viewing was an inexpensive, brief, and haphazard activity; viewers saw many short films in borrowed venues like fairground tents, music halls, and theatres. By the 1930s, cinema-going had become a regular pastime, with audiences viewing one or two feature films per programme in purpose-built cinemas. In 1900, showmen and producers sold each other a supply of copies varying in quality and quantity through local or regional networks. By 1939, specialised distribution organisations rented films to cinemas and carefully co-ordinated logistical and promotional operations through international networks. In 1900, film production was low-cost and eclectic, involving many movies of different types and lengths. Forty years later, production concentrated on relatively few long, high-cost feature films, which were carefully budgeted and heavily promoted.

The preceding two chapters focused on the essential feature of this transformation: the multiplication of production costs. The figures below, in constant currency, may serve as a reminder of the scale of the increase: in the United States in 1909, the cost of making a movie ranged between $550 and $1,100; by 1914, the average cost of a Fox feature was already $23,000, and it rose to $186,000 in 1927, shortly before sound became widespread. In 1929, Fox's sound films cost $308,000 on average.