Hollywood Nights

Hollywood is king. They put out around 800 films a year, which are then shown on around 40,000 movie screens across the United States. Billions of dollars are involved in film production every year, and the American film industry, largely based in Hollywood, CA, has been the dominant force in the world's cinema since the 1920s. 

The dominance of Hollywood is staggering. The 10 highest grossing movies ever (adjusted for inflation) are Gone With The Wind, Avatar, Star Wars, Titanic, The Sound of Music, E.T, The Ten Commandments, Dr. Zhivago, Jaws, and Snow White. All classic, timeless movies.

All American. 

The United States isn't even the country that produces the most films; that honor goes to India, which produces around twice as many films as the United States every year. India's films, however, are primarily viewed in, well... India.

But no matter where you go in the world, the Hollywood influence is apparent. In the past five years, every movie that made the top-20 box office for the year was backed by an American company or its partners (1). The Hollywood studios have a near monopoly in the United States, and their influence around the world is very strong as well. With blockbuster movies, the American box office may be the tip of the iceberg. Hollywood films now make over 60 percent of their money outside the US (2), and demand for Hollywood films is insatiable around the world. For instance, protests ensued when China tried to remove the Hollywood film Avatar from theaters. Around the world, Hollywood films pull in 63 percent of all box office revenue (3).

1 - http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/04/business/media/hollywood-works-to-maintain-its-world-dominance.html?_r=0

2 - http://foreignpolicy.com/2012/02/24/how-hollywood-conquered-the-world-all-over-again/

3 - http://www.theguardian.com/film/filmblog/2013/apr/02/hollywood-hold-global-box-office