e theaters, and while there were 15,000 non-affiliated theaters, they collectively took in less revenues than the Big Five. The way the structure had developed changed the way movies were made and what sorts of companies could enter the marketplace:
Gone were the days of easy entry into the movie business. Artificial restraints looked everywhere. Giant companies colluded to keep out the competition. And the products featured unique stars, controlled through contractual servitude to one studio. Structurally, the film industry consisted of a few firms whose conduct only served to remain all who looked closely that they were quite willing to take full advantage of their oligopolistic, vertically integrated power (Gomery 6).
The studio era lasted for twenty years and was dominated by eight major corporations. While there were clear corporate distinctions among the eight in terms of film production, which depended on the stars under contract and the genres favored, there were few corporate differences in terms of di
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