Press association give out awards to those working in film and television. It is the

third most-watched awards show, after the Oscars and the Grammys. In fact, the US entertainment

industry is the biggest in the world, so we wanted to take a look at just one, incredibly

successful part. Just how powerful is Hollywood?

Well, even though “Hollywood” is the name of a Los Angeles neighborhood, it actually

refers to the entirety of American cinema production. Moving pictures were born around

the late 19th century, but their success was stifled. Thomas Edison owned all the patents

on movie-making equipment, and charged a fortune for their use. Out in Los Angeles, there was

little Edison could do to enforce his patents, and so Hollywood bloomed.

Since it’s foundation, filmmaking has spread around the world. In 2014 the global film

industry was worth more than $35 billion dollars in box office figures alone. Of that, roughly

11 billion comes from the US and Canada. Yet despite making the most money, they don’t

make the most movies. In 2012, the US released roughly 500 films, while in China, that number

was about 750. But the Indian cinema Industry, also called “Bollywood”, came out with

more than 1,600 movies. That year, India’s movies made an average of about one million

dollars each in box office revenue, while US movies made about $22 million dollars.

Hollywood is incredibly rich, largely because going to the movies is a longstanding American

tradition. Despite movie attendance dropping due to on demand streaming, more than 1.3

billion movie tickets were purchased in 2013 in the US. Attendance peaked a decade earlier

in 2003 with 1.7 billion tickets sold.

But while movies are able to influence the public, it is often their stars and creators

who have the real power. Popular actors and actresses have been known to use their fame

and exposure to promote social causes. Angelina Jolie has been well known for her charitable

work with the refugee crisis, and Emma Watson was named as the UN Goodwill Ambassador for

her efforts to promote education among girls. Others donate huge amounts of money. In 2012,

80s film star Jami Gertz and her husband donated over 10 million dollars to charity, the most

of any media celebrity that year.

Hollywood makes a ton of money, influences filmmakers in other countries, and even helps

charitable causes and human rights situations around the world. The cinema industry is ubiquitous

and successful, and at its heart lies the incredibly powerful: Hollywood.

Another industry with a sizable amount of influence is the U.S. meat industry. Learn

more about it in our video. Thanks for watching TestTube News! Don’t forget to like and

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