Bigger & Better

In Washington the Department of Commerce released the latest astronomical measurements of the cinema industry:

Weekly attendance: 220,000,000 (world); 80,000,000 (U. S.).

Capital: $2,650,000,000 (world); $2,000,000,000 (U. S.).

Theatres: one for every 20.716 persons (world); one for every 6.724 (U. S.).

In the U. S., production costs $125,000,000 a year, of which 64% is for salaries. Producers have $100,000,000 invested in studios and equipment, employ 28,000. Theatre investment is $1,800,000,000. Exhibitors pay $255,000,000 a year in rentals, employ 236,500. Yearly gross for 15,378 theatres in the U. S. is $750,000,000. The industry pays $100,000,000 a year in taxes, $77,000,000 for advertising. In the U. S. between 75% and 85% of adult cinemaddicts buy tickets between 7:30 p. m. and 8:30 p. m. Average daily attendance at U. S. cinemansions is 11,425,000.

Less assiduous in his attendance at but no less diligent in his interest in cinema than the 220,000,000 who attend every week is Pope Pius XI. Over two months ago, Pope Pius manifested his concern by an encyclical commending the U. S. Legion of Decency, stressing the advisability of similar organizations throughout the world (TIME, July 13). Last week he was pleased to receive the report of Giuseppe Cassinis, official Papal representative at last fortnight's International Motion Picture Exposition in Venice. The Cassinis report said that of all the films shown at the Exposition, 60% were "morally good."

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