Film industry

The film industry or motion picture industry comprises the technological and commercial institutions of filmmaking, i.e., film production companies, film studios, cinematography, animation, film production, screenwriting, pre-production, post-production, film festivals, distribution, and actors. Though the expense involved in making film almost immediately led film production to concentrate under the auspices of standing production companies, advances in affordable filmmaking equipment, as well as an expansion of opportunities to acquire investment capital from outside the film industry itself, have allowed independent film production to evolve.

The global box office had an annual revenue of $42.2 billion in 2019, but declined to $33.5 billion in 2025. Including box office and home entertainment revenue, the global film industry had an annual revenue of $136 billion in 2018, but declined to $112.93 billion in 2025. Hollywood is the world's oldest national film industry and the largest in terms of box office gross revenue. The cinema of India is the largest industry in terms of feature films produced and the largest market in terms of ticket sales.