Movies, commonly known as films or motion pictures, are series of images run through a projector and shown on a screen in a cinema. Here's how the filmmaking process works:
- A studio creates ideas for the upcoming film and/or buys the rights for other people's ideas.
- The screenplay for that upcoming film is written.
- Preparations for the film are made, such as hiring cast and crew members, selecting the locations for the film, and building the sets.
- Raw elements of the film are recorded.
- The studio will then edit the recorded parts of the film, and include special effects if necessary.
- Sound effects and the score (music you hear) are added.
- When the film is finished, it will be shown in cinemas, air on television, or get released directly to home video.
Usually during steps 5-6 of the filmmaking process, the public will get to see posters and theatrical trailers advertising the film as a coming attraction. Such advertisements appear about 2-4 months before the film is released. Sometimes, a film can also have a teaser version of those things, which often appear around one year before the film's release date.
The Silent Era (1894-1929)[]
Before the 1930s, many films released in cinemas back then were silent films, most of them also in black and white, while all others were in Sepia Tone. Films like these would just have music playing in the background, and the characters' voices cannot be heard. However, after the character is finished speaking, his/her dialogue may appear as a title card.
Some notable silent films include Ben-Hur (1925), The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923), and The Wizard of Oz (1925).
The Sound Era (1929-1950s)[]
During this era, all films were still presented in a 4:3 aspect ratio and with monaural sound, but now contained hearable dialogue from the characters, thus removing the dialogue's title cards. Within this era, Walt Disney's first feature film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, released on December 21, 1937, became a huge success, and Disney made more films since then.
CinemaScope Era (1953-1967)[]
Created by 20th Century Fox, the CinemaScope format, allowed films to have an image aspect ratio of up to 2.66:1. One example is Ben-Hur (1959), which was actually made by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios.
Simultaneously, a "Golden Age" for films outside of North America began, mostly in Asian countries.
First Hollywood Era (1968-1984)[]
In this era, films gradually began to contain more explicit content, such as violence, sex, nudity, language, etc., and at that time, a rating system was established by the Motion Picture Association of America. Some films also began moving the credits from the beginning to the end of themselves, thus renaming them as "end credits".
Second Hollywood era (1985-2005)[]
During this era, newer films were released with stereophonic or Dolby Surround sound, and on few occasions, older films were re-released in theaters with remastered video and audio. When the 2000s decade began, select films were upgraded into IMAX format, then later to 3D. Until 1989, films designed for family audiences were almost always rated G by the MPAA, when by then, PG-rated movies also gained popularity for families, and due to that rise, since 2009, only one or no G rated films were released in theaters.
3D era (2005-present)[]
In this era, more films gradually began being released in both 2D and 3D formats. For example, Disney films were shown as "Disney Digital 3D" since 2005, starting with Chicken Little.
List of films by release date[]
Worldwide[]
| Title of film | First release | VHS | DVD | Blu-ray Disc |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs | December 21, 1937 | |||
| The Wizard of Oz | August 25, 1939 | |||
| Pinocchio | February 7, 1940 | |||
| Dumbo | October 23, 1941 | |||
| Bambi | August 13, 1942 | |||
| Cinderella | February 15, 1950 | |||
| Alice in Wonderland | July 28, 1951 | |||
| Peter Pan | February 5, 1953 | |||
| Lady and the Tramp | June 22, 1955 | |||
| Sleeping Beauty | January 29, 1959 | |||
| 101 Dalmatians | January 25, 1961 | |||
| Mary Poppins | August 27, 1964 | |||
| The Jungle Book | October 18, 1967 | |||
| The Aristocats | December 11, 1970 | |||
| Robin Hood | November 8, 1973 | |||
| Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope | May 25, 1977 | |||
| Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back | May 21, 1980 | |||
| Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi | May 25, 1983 | |||
| Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind | March 11, 1984 | |||
| Ghostbusters | June 8, 1984 | |||
| The Goonies | June 7, 1985 | |||
| My Little Pony: The Movie (1986) | June 6, 1986 | |||
| Castle in the Sky | August 2, 1986 | |||
| My Neighbor Totoro | April 16, 1988 | |||
| Ghostbusters II | June 16, 1989 | |||
| Kiki's Delivery Service | July 29, 1989 | |||
| The Little Mermaid | November 17, 1989 | |||
| Home Alone | November 16, 1990 | |||
| Only Yesterday | July 20, 1991 | |||
| Beauty and the Beast | November 22, 1991 | |||
| Hook | December 11, 1991 | |||
| Porco Rosso | July 18, 1992 | |||
| Home Alone 2: Lost in New York | November 20, 1992 | |||
| Aladdin | November 25, 1992 | |||
| The Nightmare Before Christmas | October 29, 1993 | |||
| The Lion King | June 24, 1994 | |||
| Pom Poko | July 16, 1994 | |||
| The Mask | July 29, 1994 | |||
| Pocahontas | June 23, 1995 | |||
| Whisper of the Heart | July 15, 1995 | |||
| Toy Story | November 22, 1995 | |||
| The Hunchback of Notre Dame | June 21, 1996 | |||
| Matilda | August 2, 1996 | |||
| Hercules | June 27, 1997 | |||
| Mulan | June 19, 1998 | |||
| The Lion King II: Simba's Pride | October 27, 1998 | October 27, 1998 | ||
| A Bug's Life | November 25, 1998 | |||
| Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace | May 19, 1999 | |||
| My Neighbors, the Yamadas | July 17, 1999 | |||
| Toy Story 2 | November 24, 1999 | |||
| How the Grinch Stole Christmas | November 17, 2000 | |||
| Shrek | May 18, 2001 | |||
| Monsters, Inc. | November 2, 2001 | |||
| Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone | November 16, 2001 | |||
| Ice Age | March 15, 2002 | |||
| Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones | May 16, 2002 | |||
| Spirited Away | July 20, 2001 | |||
| The Cat Returns | July 19, 2002 | |||
| Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets | November 15, 2002 | April 11, 2003 | April 11, 2003 | |
| Finding Nemo | May 30, 2003 | November 4, 2003 | November 4, 2003 | |
| The Cat in the Hat | November 21, 2003 | March 16, 2004 | March 16, 2004 | |
| The Lion King 1½ | February 10, 2004 | February 10, 2004 | February 10, 2004 | |
| Shrek 2 | May 19, 2004 | November 1, 2004 | November 1, 2004 | |
| Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban | May 31, 2004 | November 19, 2004 | November 19, 2004 | |
| The Incredibles | November 5, 2004 | March 15, 2005 | March 15, 2005 | |
| Howl's Moving Castle | November 20, 2004 | November 16, 2005 | November 16, 2005 | |
| Robots | March 11, 2005 | September 27, 2005 | ||
| Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith | May 19, 2005 | N/A | ||
| Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire | November 18, 2005 | N/A | ||
| Ice Age: The Meltdown | March 31, 2006 | N/A | ||
| Cars | June 9, 2006 | N/A | ||
| Open Season | September 29, 2006 | N/A | ||
| Happy Feet | November 17, 2006 | N/A | ||
| Shrek the Third | May 18, 2007 | N/A | ||
| Surf's Up | June 8, 2007 | N/A | ||
| Ratatouille | June 29, 2007 | N/A | ||
| Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix | July 11, 2007 | N/A | ||
| Horton Hears a Who! | March 14, 2008 | N/A | ||
| WALL-E | June 27, 2008 | N/A | ||
| Ponyo | July 19, 2008 | N/A | ||
| Up | May 29, 2009 | N/A | ||
| Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs | July 1, 2009 | N/A | ||
| Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince | July 15, 2009 | N/A | ||
| Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs | September 18, 2009 | N/A | ||
| The Princess and the Frog | November 25, 2009 | N/A | ||
| Shrek Forever After | May 21, 2010 | N/A | ||
| Toy Story 3 | June 18, 2010 | N/A | ||
| Despicable Me | July 9, 2010 | N/A | ||
| Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 | November 19, 2010 | N/A | ||
| Tangled | November 24, 2010 | N/A | ||
| Rango | March 4, 2011 | N/A | ||
| Hop | April 1, 2011 | N/A | ||
| Rio | April 8, 2011 | N/A | ||
| Cars 2 | June 24, 2011 | N/A | ||
| The Smurfs | July 29, 2011 | N/A | ||
| Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 | July 15, 2011 | N/A | ||
| Happy Feet Two | November 18, 2011 | N/A | ||
| Arthur Christmas | November 11, 2011 | N/A | ||
| The Lorax | March 2, 2012 | N/A | ||
| The Pirates: Band of Misfits | March 28, 2012 | N/A | ||
| Brave | June 22, 2012 | N/A | ||
| Ice Age: Continental Drift | July 13, 2012 | N/A | ||
| Hotel Transylvania | September 28, 2012 | N/A | ||
| Wreck-It Ralph | November 2, 2012 | N/A | ||
| Epic | May 1, 2013 | N/A | ||
| Monsters University | June 21, 2013 | N/A | ||
| Despicable Me 2 | June 28, 2013 | N/A | ||
| The Smurfs 2 | July 31, 2013 | N/A | ||
| Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 | September 27, 2013 | N/A | ||
| Frozen | November 27, 2013 | N/A | ||
| The Lego Movie | February 7, 2014 | N/A | ||
| Rio 2 | April 4, 2014 | N/A | ||
| Big Hero 6 | November 7, 2014 | N/A | ||
| Inside Out | June 19, 2015 | N/A | ||
| Minions | June 26, 2015 | N/A | ||
| Hotel Transylvania 2 | September 25, 2015 | N/A | ||
| The Peanuts Movie | November 6, 2015 | N/A | ||
| The Good Dinosaur | November 25, 2015 | N/A | ||
| Zootopia | March 4, 2016 | N/A | ||
| The Angry Birds Movie | May 13, 2016 | N/A | ||
| Finding Dory | June 17, 2016 | N/A | ||
| The Secret Life of Pets | June 24, 2016 | N/A | ||
| Ice Age: Collision Course | July 15, 2016 | N/A | ||
| Storks | September 23, 2016 | N/A | ||
| Moana | November 23, 2016 | N/A | ||
| Sing | December 21, 2016 | N/A | ||
| Monster Trucks | December 26, 2016 | N/A | ||
| The Lego Batman Movie | February 10, 2017 | N/A | ||
| Smurfs: The Lost Village | March 31, 2017 | N/A | ||
| Cars 3 | June 16, 2017 | N/A | ||
| Despicable Me 3 | June 30, 2017 | N/A | ||
| The Emoji Movie | July 28, 2017 | N/A | ||
| The Lego Ninjago Movie | September 22, 2017 | N/A | ||
| My Little Pony: The Movie (2017) | October 6, 2017 | N/A | ||
| The Star | November 17, 2017 | N/A | ||
| Coco | November 22, 2017 | N/A | ||
| Ferdinand | December 9, 2017 | N/A | ||
| Sherlock Gnomes | March 23, 2018 | N/A | ||
| Incredibles 2 | June 15, 2018 | N/A | ||
| Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation | July 13, 2018 | N/A | ||
| Smallfoot | September 28, 2018 | N/A | ||
| The Grinch | November 9, 2018 | N/A | ||
| Ralph Breaks the Internet | November 21, 2018 | N/A | ||
| Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse | December 12, 2018 | N/A | ||
| The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part | February 8, 2019 | N/A | ||
| Wonder Park | March 15, 2019 | N/A | ||
| The Secret Life of Pets 2 | May 24, 2019 | N/A | ||
| Toy Story 4 | June 21, 2019 | N/A | ||
| The Angry Birds Movie 2 | August 2, 2019 | N/A | ||
| Frozen II | November 22, 2019 | N/A |
North America[]
| Title of film | First release | VHS | DVD | Blu-ray Disc |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs | December 21, 1937 | |||
| The Wizard of Oz | August 25, 1939 | |||
| Pinocchio | February 7, 1940 | |||
| Dumbo | October 23, 1941 | |||
| Bambi | August 13, 1942 | |||
| Cinderella | February 15, 1950 | |||
| Alice in Wonderland | July 28, 1951 | |||
| Peter Pan | February 5, 1953 | |||
| Lady and the Tramp | June 22, 1955 | |||
| Sleeping Beauty | January 29, 1959 | |||
| 101 Dalmatians | January 25, 1961 | |||
| Mary Poppins | August 27, 1964 | |||
| The Jungle Book | October 18, 1967 | |||
| The Aristocats | December 11, 1970 | |||
| Robin Hood | November 8, 1973 | |||
| Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope | May 25, 1977 | |||
| Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back | May 21, 1980 | |||
| Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi | May 25, 1983 | |||
| Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind | June 13, 1985 | |||
| Ghostbusters | June 8, 1984 | |||
| The Goonies | June 7, 1985 | |||
| My Little Pony: The Movie (1986) | June 6, 1986 | |||
| Castle in the Sky | April 15, 2003 | |||
| My Neighbor Totoro | May 7, 1993 | |||
| Ghostbusters II | June 16, 1989 | |||
| Kiki's Delivery Service | May 23, 1998 | |||
| The Little Mermaid | November 17, 1989 | |||
| Home Alone | November 16, 1990 | |||
| Only Yesterday | January 1, 2016 | |||
| Beauty and the Beast | November 22, 1991 | |||
| Hook | December 11, 1991 | |||
| Porco Rosso | February 22, 2005 | |||
| Home Alone 2: Lost in New York | November 20, 1992 | |||
| Aladdin | November 25, 1992 | |||
| The Nightmare Before Christmas | October 29, 1993 | |||
| The Lion King | June 24, 1994 | |||
| Pom Poko | August 16, 2005 | |||
| The Mask | July 29, 1994 | |||
| Pocahontas | June 23, 1995 | |||
| Whisper of the Heart | March 7, 2006 | |||
| Toy Story | November 22, 1995 | |||
| The Hunchback of Notre Dame | June 21, 1996 | |||
| Matilda | August 2, 1996 | |||
| Hercules | June 27, 1997 | |||
| Mulan | June 19, 1998 | |||
| The Lion King II: Simba's Pride | October 27, 1998 | October 27, 1998 | ||
| A Bug's Life | November 25, 1998 | |||
| Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace | May 19, 1999 | |||
| My Neighbors, the Yamadas | August 16, 2005 | |||
| Toy Story 2 | November 24, 1999 | |||
| How the Grinch Stole Christmas | November 17, 2000 | |||
| Shrek | May 18, 2001 | |||
| Monsters, Inc. | November 2, 2001 | |||
| Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone | November 16, 2001 | |||
| Ice Age | March 15, 2002 | |||
| Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones | May 16, 2002 | |||
| Spirited Away | September 20, 2002 | |||
| The Cat Returns | February 22, 2005 | |||
| Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets | November 15, 2002 | |||
| Finding Nemo | May 30, 2003 | |||
| The Cat in the Hat | November 21, 2003 | |||
| The Lion King 1½ | February 10, 2004 | February 10, 2004 | ||
| Shrek 2 | May 19, 2004 | |||
| Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban | June 4, 2004 | |||
| The Incredibles | November 5, 2004 | |||
| Howl's Moving Castle | June 10, 2005 | N/A | March 7, 2006 | |
| Robots | March 11, 2005 | September 27, 2005 | September 27, 2005 | March 22, 2011 |
| Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith | May 19, 2005 | N/A | ||
| Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire | November 18, 2005 | N/A | ||
| Ice Age: The Meltdown | March 31, 2006 | N/A | ||
| Cars | June 9, 2006 | N/A | ||
| Open Season | September 29, 2006 | N/A | ||
| Happy Feet | November 17, 2006 | N/A | ||
| Shrek the Third | May 18, 2007 | N/A | ||
| Surf's Up | June 8, 2007 | N/A | ||
| Ratatouille | June 29, 2007 | N/A | ||
| Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix | July 11, 2007 | N/A | ||
| Horton Hears a Who! | March 14, 2008 | N/A | ||
| WALL-E | June 27, 2008 | N/A | ||
| Ponyo | August 14, 2009 | N/A | ||
| Up | May 29, 2009 | N/A | ||
| Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs | July 1, 2009 | N/A | ||
| Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince | July 15, 2009 | N/A | ||
| Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs | September 18, 2009 | N/A | ||
| The Princess and the Frog | November 25, 2009 | N/A | ||
| Shrek Forever After | May 21, 2010 | N/A | ||
| Toy Story 3 | June 18, 2010 | N/A | ||
| Despicable Me | July 9, 2010 | N/A | ||
| Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 | November 19, 2010 | N/A | ||
| Tangled | November 24, 2010 | N/A | ||
| Rango | March 4, 2011 | N/A | ||
| Hop | April 1, 2011 | N/A | ||
| Rio | April 15, 2011 | N/A | ||
| Cars 2 | June 24, 2011 | N/A | ||
| The Smurfs | July 29, 2011 | N/A | ||
| Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 | July 15, 2011 | N/A | ||
| Happy Feet Two | November 18, 2011 | N/A | ||
| Arthur Christmas | November 23, 2011 | N/A | ||
| The Lorax | March 2, 2012 | N/A | ||
| The Pirates: Band of Misfits | April 27, 2012 | N/A | ||
| Brave | June 22, 2012 | N/A | ||
| Ice Age: Continental Drift | July 13, 2012 | N/A | ||
| Hotel Transylvania | September 28, 2012 | N/A | ||
| Wreck-It Ralph | November 2, 2012 | N/A | ||
| Epic | May 24, 2013 | N/A | ||
| Monsters University | June 21, 2013 | N/A | ||
| Despicable Me 2 | July 3, 2013 | N/A | ||
| The Smurfs 2 | July 31, 2013 | N/A | ||
| Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 | September 27, 2013 | N/A | ||
| Frozen | November 27, 2013 | N/A | ||
| The Lego Movie | February 7, 2014 | N/A | ||
| Rio 2 | April 11, 2014 | N/A | ||
| Big Hero 6 | November 7, 2014 | N/A | ||
| Inside Out | June 19, 2015 | N/A | ||
| Minions | July 10, 2015 | N/A | ||
| Hotel Transylvania 2 | September 25, 2015 | N/A | ||
| The Peanuts Movie | November 6, 2015 | N/A | ||
| The Good Dinosaur | November 25, 2015 | N/A | ||
| Zootopia | March 4, 2016 | N/A | ||
| The Angry Birds Movie | May 20, 2016 | N/A | ||
| Finding Dory | June 17, 2016 | N/A | ||
| The Secret Life of Pets | July 8, 2016 | N/A | ||
| Ice Age: Collision Course | July 22, 2016 | N/A | ||
| Storks | September 23, 2016 | N/A | ||
| Moana | November 23, 2016 | N/A | ||
| Sing | December 21, 2016 | N/A | ||
| Monster Trucks | January 13, 2017 | N/A | ||
| The Lego Batman Movie | February 10, 2017 | N/A | ||
| Smurfs: The Lost Village | April 7, 2017 | N/A | ||
| Cars 3 | June 16, 2017 | N/A | ||
| Despicable Me 3 | June 30, 2017 | N/A | ||
| The Emoji Movie | July 28, 2017 | N/A | ||
| The Lego Ninjago Movie | September 22, 2017 | N/A | ||
| My Little Pony: The Movie (2017) | October 6, 2017 | N/A | ||
| The Star | November 17, 2017 | N/A | ||
| Coco | November 22, 2017 | N/A | ||
| Ferdinand | December 15, 2017 | N/A | ||
| Sherlock Gnomes | March 23, 2018 | N/A | ||
| Incredibles 2 | June 15, 2018 | N/A | ||
| Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation | July 13, 2018 | N/A | ||
| Smallfoot | September 28, 2018 | N/A | ||
| The Grinch | November 9, 2018 | N/A | ||
| Ralph Breaks the Internet | November 21, 2018 | N/A | ||
| Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse | December 14, 2018 | N/A | ||
| The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part | February 8, 2019 | N/A | ||
| Wonder Park | March 15, 2019 | N/A | ||
| The Secret Life of Pets 2 | June 7, 2019 | N/A | ||
| Toy Story 4 | June 21, 2019 | N/A | ||
| The Angry Birds Movie 2 | August 13, 2019 | N/A | ||
| Frozen II | November 22, 2019 | N/A |