UAR photo archive

Socialist cinemas in figures

UAR PHOTO ARCHIVE

SOCIALIST CINEMAS IN FIGURES

Images from the UAR Archive: Irina CĂLINESCU

Until the Second World War, cinemas were all privately-owned businesses, but with the nationalization of industrial enterprises and, in particular, of the cinematographic ones (on 11 June 1948 and 2 November 1948 respectively), all cinemas became state-owned units, managed by the Cinexfilm company, later replaced by Romfilm and temporarily by Sovromfilm.
Thus, in 1948, 410 cinemas (64 in Bucharest) were proposed for nationalization, of which 170 (25 in Bucharest) were already managed by Cinexfilm. Alongside the existing cinemas, a large number of new cinemas would be built in the following years, as part of various social-cultural programs specific to the period.
In 1990, there were 4,637 cinemas and cinema installations in Romania (77 in Bucharest). Their number has gradually decreased, so that in 2017 there were only 89 cinemas operating, 16 of them in Bucharest. (Daniela Puia)
Sources:
Vasile Cristian, "Cinematography in the years of Stalinism (1948-1953). Control ideologic și structuri instituționale", Revista istorică, tom XXI, 2010, nr. 1-2, p. 6
"Decree No 303 of 3 November 1948 for the nationalization of the film industry and the regulation of trade in cinematographic products", Official Gazette, No 256 of 3 November 1948;
Excerpt from the minutes of the meeting of the board of directors of the state-owned commercial company Cinexfilm of November 25, 1948, Official Gazette, No 288, Part II of December 10, 1948
National Statistical Institute, Statistical Database - Tempo online, www.insse.ro, accessed March 2019