A CENTURY OF INNOVATION AN ABRIDGED TIMELINE OF THE

Winter 2020

When BOXOFFICE PRO was founded

in 1920, cinema had already evolved

from an obscure technology into a full-

ﬂedged entertainment industry. Silent

pictures had matured as an art form

throughout the ﬁrst two decades of the

20th century, creating national hubs for

production, distribution, and exhibition

in countries like France, Germany, the

Soviet Union, and the United States.

As production technology improved,

audiences grew, paving the way for a

booming ﬁlm and exhibition industry.

While this timeline is by no means

exhaustive, it highlights some of the

notable technological innovations in

motion picture presentation over the

last 100 years of our history.

PRESENTED BY

A CENTURY OF

INNOVATION

AN ABRIDGED

TIMELINE OF THE LAST

100 YEARS OF CINEMA

PRESENTATION

Winter 2020

THEATER A CENTURY OF INNOVATION

Left: A Vitaphone

projection setup at a

1926 demonstration.

Engineer E.B. Craft is

holding a soundtrack

disc

Below: Moviegoers

outside the theater for

the premiere of Warner

Bros.’ Don Juan.

1927

Warner Bros. releases The

Jazz Singer, the ﬁrst American

feature ﬁlm to use sound

technology to reproduce

dialogue. The Jazz Singer only

featured sound in selected

scenes, and the studio would

go on to debut its ﬁrst “all-

talkie” feature, The Lights of

New York, in 1928.

1927

Abel Gance’s Napoleon

includes a sequence meant

to be exhibited on a triptych

screen, employing multiple

projectors. The title is the

ﬁrst major ﬁlm to pioneer the

panoramic screen concept and

inspires later innovations in

wide-screen formats.

1923

Lee de Forest unveils Phonoﬁlm,

an optical sound-on-ﬁlm format

that converts sound into light

waves and reproduces

them on

a photographic strip running

alongside a reel of 35 mm ﬁlm.

More than 200 short ﬁlms are

made in Phonoﬁlm, but deForest

never seriously interests

Hollywood in his invention.

1926

Warner Bros.’ Don Juan

becomes the ﬁrst ﬁlm to use

VitaPhone synchronized-sound

technology. Although it does

not feature spoken dialogue,

the ﬁlm does include a musical

score and sound eﬀects.

1927

Western Electric introduces

its sound-on-ﬁlm technology,

subsequently adopted by Fox

Film Corporation and the

“Big Five” leading production

companies of the era: MGM,

Universal, First National,

Paramount, and Producers

Distributing Corporation.

Winter 2020

1929

After a series of mergers, German

ﬁrm Tobis-Klangﬁlm ramps

up production of its sound

technology—scooping up most

of Europe’s most inﬂuential

markets in the process.

Tobis-Klangﬁlm’s Tri-Ergon

format emerges as the biggest

competitor of the Western

Electric sound system embraced

by Hollywood, setting oﬀ a global

competition in the growing

global sound cinema market.

1933

Warner Bros. releases 42nd

Street, a commercial hit that

inspires a wave of studio

musicals. 42nd Street is the

culmination of some of its

era’s most advanced ﬁlm

technologies, including

musical numbers with

synchronized sound and

intricately choreographed

sequences using crane and

dolly shots.

1940

Disney’s Fantasia becomes the

ﬁrst commercial feature ﬁlm

to be released in stereo sound.

During the title’s roadshow

release, the technology, called

Fantasound, proves expensive

and time consuming to install.

It would take over a decade

to be widely adopted by the

industry.

1929

Alfred Hitchcock’s Blackmail,

released in both sound and

silent formats, is a breakout

box oﬃce hit in the United

Kingdom.

1939

The commercial and critical

success of MGM’s The Wizard

of Oz paves a golden-brick road

for the future adoption of color

ﬁlm in Hollywood.

Winter 2020

THEATER A CENTURY OF INNOVATION

1952

Competition from television

helps drive color ﬁlms and

wide-screen formats in

Hollywood. Cinerama, which

employs the use of three

projectors to create a triptych

presentation on a panoramic

screen, becomes a pioneer in

premium large-format (PLF)

exhibition.

1953

The stereoscopic 3-D craze kicks

oﬀ with the release of high-proﬁle

titles from Hollywood studios.

3-D is employed across diverse

genres by nearly every major

studio in Hollywood, including

Columbia (Man in the Dark,

Fort Ti), Warner Bros. (House of

Wax), Fox (Inferno), MGM (Kiss

Me Kate), and Universal (It Came

from Outer Space).

1954

VistaVision joins the wide-

screen wars with the release of

Paramount’s White Christmas.

The format’s inﬂuence would

linger for decades and would

then be retooled to aid in

the special eﬀects–laden

production of the original Star

Wars trilogy.

1955

The Todd-AO non-

anamorphic wide-screen

format makes its debut

with RKO’s musical

Oklahoma!

1953

Wide-screen format

CinemaScope is introduced

with the release of 20th Century

Fox’s The Robe. Competing

technologies, including Hong

Kong’s ShawScope and Japan’s

TohoScope, would also emerge

in major foreign markets

through the second half of

the ’50s.

Winter 2020

1956

Panavision begins introducing

an array of wide-screen

formats. Non-anamorphic

formats like Super Panavision

70 and Ultra Panavision 70

help further the footprint and

appeal of wide-screen cinema

in the ensuing years.

1959

Columbia’s The Tingler

introduces an early experiment

in the ﬁeld of immersive seating

with Percepto, wherein seats in

select theaters were equipped

with a small electronic motor

that would activate at speciﬁc

moments in the ﬁlm. It would

take nearly 50 years for the

concept to be embraced by

mainstream cinema chains.

1965

Dolby Laboratories

(Dolby) is founded in

London by Ray Dolby

(above). One year later,

the company introduces

A-type noise reduction for

music recording.

1958

Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo

becomes the ﬁrst American

feature ﬁlm to use computer

animation. Experimental

animator John Whitney

produced spiral animations for

the opening credits by rigging

up a computerized animation

stand using a WWII antiaircraft-

gun system.

1960

With early experiments

in motion seating and

stereoscopic 3-D already under

way, scented screenings hit the

big screen through the use of

gimmick-driven technologies

like Smell-O-Vision and

AromaRama. Neither format

takes oﬀ with audiences.

Winter 2020

THEATER A CENTURY OF INNOVATION

1976

The ﬁrst batch of ﬁlms using

Steadicam cameras hits U.S.

cinemas. Titles like Bound

for Glory, Marathon Man,

and Rocky are among the

ﬁrst notable ﬁlms to use the

motion-stabilizing technology

in select sequences, allowing

greater tracking and

movement within the frame.

1971

A Clockwork Orange

becomes the ﬁrst ﬁlm

to use Dolby noise

reduction.

1977

Dolby receives acclaim

with the release of Star

Wars and Close Encounters

of the Third Kind, both in

Dolby Stereo.

1975

Dolby introduces Dolby

Stereo, a highly practical

35 mm stereo optical

release print format

with the release of Ken

Russell’s Lisztomania,

the ﬁrst feature ﬁlm for

general release with this

technology.

1979

Dolby Laboratories

receives the Academy

of Motion Picture Arts

and Sciences’ Scientiﬁc

and Engineering Award

for “improved ﬁlm

sound recording and

reproduction system.”

In the same year, Dolby

applies noise-reduction

techniques to the

magnetic soundtracks

on 70 mm ﬁlm, allowing

Apocalypse Now to reap

the full beneﬁts of 5.1

surround sound.

Winter 2020

1982

TRON, featuring an extended

sequence using only computer

graphics imaging (CGI), as well

as several scenes that mix CGI

with live-action performances,

becomes a box oﬃce hit. The

title’s success encourages the

future adoption of CGI by

major studio productions.

1999

Star Wars: Episode I — The

Phantom Menace becomes

the ﬁrst studio feature ﬁlm

to be projected digitally to

a moviegoing audience,

signaling the start of an

industry-wide shift to digital

projection technology.

1995

Pixar’s Toy Story, released

by Disney, becomes the ﬁrst

fully CGI-animated full-length

feature ﬁlm. The title is a box

oﬃce success, changing the

course of animated ﬁlm.

1992

Batman Returns, the ﬁrst

ﬁlm released in Dolby

Digital, premieres in 10

U.S. theaters.

1989

Ray Dolby and Ioan Allen

are awarded Oscars for

“continuing contributions

to motion picture sound

through the research and

development programs of

Dolby Laboratories.”

Winter 2020

THEATER A CENTURY OF INNOVATION

2005

3-D returns to the cinema

as Disney’s Chicken Little

introduces digital 3-D into the

market and opens the door to a

slew of titles—and competing

technologies—to movie

theaters worldwide.

2009

Immersive seating technology

moves beyond its humble

origins as an exhibition

gimmick, with studio support

from titles such as Universal’s

Fast & Furious helping redeﬁne

the role and potential of

motion seating at the movies.

2009

20th Century Fox releases

James Cameron’s Avatar.

Featuring cutting-edge digital

cinema technology—including

digital 3-D—the ﬁlm breaks

box oﬃce records worldwide

and cements the future

dominance of digital cinema.

2002

Universal’s Apollo 13 (1995)

is the ﬁrst studio title to be

digitally remastered and

rereleased in Imax, renewing

consumer demand for premium

large-format Hollywood ﬁlms.

2001

The number of cinemas

equipped with Dolby

Digital totals more than

30,000, surpassing all other

formats in North America

alone and worldwide.

Winter 2020

2014

Panoramic screens make

a comeback in the digital-

cinema era. 20th Century

Fox’s The Maze Runner is the

ﬁrst title from a major studio

to use a three-screen digital

panoramic setup. Competing

formats emerge to stake a

claim in the increasingly

competitive premium large-

format market, with Dolby

Atmos object-based audio as

the preferred choice.

2014

Digital cinema projection

experiences its ﬁrst major

evolution with the advent of

laser projectors.

2010

Dolby Surround 7.1 is

unveiled with the release

of Disney/Pixar’s Toy

Story 3, advancing cinema

audio with eight discrete

channels to establish four

surround zones within an

auditorium.

2015

Dolby launches Dolby

Cinema, a premium

moviegoing oﬀering

combining Dolby Vision

with Dolby Atmos and

a thoughtfully designed

auditorium for an

unparalleled cinematic

experience. Dolby Vision

technology oﬀers a dual

4K laser high dynamic

range (HDR) projector

system boasting a picture

twice as bright with 500

times the contrast ratio,

blacker blacks, and an

unsurpassed color palette.

This move fortiﬁes the

growing PLF market for

the exhibition industry.

Tomorrowland is the ﬁrst

ﬁlm to use both Dolby

Vision and Dolby Atmos.

2012

Dolby launches Dolby Atmos,

a new audio technology that

changes the experience of

sound in entertainment, with

the debut of Disney/Pixar’s

Brave. This new platform

introduces two important

concepts to cinema sound:

audio objects and overhead

speakers.

Winter 2020

THEATER A CENTURY OF INNOVATION

DOLBY

INNOVATIONS

TODAY

Dolby Cinema

260+

Dolby Cinema locations open

across the globe, with over

200 additional locations

committed.

330+

theatrical titles mastered in

Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos

have been released in Dolby

Cinema with participation

from every major studio.

Dolby Atmos

6100+

Dolby Atmos screens installed

or committed in 90+ countries.

1,850+

1,700+ features released or

committed in Dolby Atmos.

2016

Dolby and Wanda

Cinema Line announce

a partnership to bring

the ﬁrst Dolby Cinema

locations to China.

2017

Dolby and Les Cinémas

Gaumont Pathé announce

a partnership to launch

Dolby Cinema locations

in France and the

Netherlands. Dolby opens

the 100th Dolby Cinema

location in the world.

2020

Dolby announces

partnerships with

Megabox, AMC Theatres,

and muvi Cinemas to

expand Dolby Cinema into

Korea and the Kingdom of

Saudi Arabia.

2018

Dolby and Odeon Cinemas

Group announce a

partnership to bring Dolby

Cinema to the U.K. Dolby

is also chosen as exclusive

partner to debut Bradley

Cooper’s directorial debut,

A Star is Born, at Dolby

Cinema locations.