Movie studios previously charged low rents to exhibitors because they were owned by the studio. When the studios were forced to sell their theaters, the result was higher rental rates charged to exhibitors (rising from an average of approximately 35% to its current level of approximately 50%), so the studios could recoup their expenses.[citation needed] The inability to block-book an entire year's worth of movies caused studios to be more selective in the movies they made, resulting in higher production costs and dramatically fewer movies made. This also caused studios to raise the rates they charged theaters, since the volume of movies fell.
The Paramount Decrees of 1948, breaking the vertical integration of the old studio system in Hollywood: not allowed any more to own their movie theaters...
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