The Transformation of the Hollywood Studio System

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Starting in the late 1940s, a number of forces began reshaping how people viewed movies and what they expected to see when they watched a film. These forces stemmed from new regulations seeking to break up studios’ hold over the film industry, social developments (for example, massive migrations of city dwellers to the suburbs), and competing mass media (namely, increasing popularity of TV). Together, these changes forced the Hollywood studio system to adapt in an effort to remain viable and profitable, even after national weekly movie attendance peaked in 1946.