Top 10 Film Industries in the World 2024: Bollywood, Nollywood, Cinema of China, Hollywood & Others

Films are not only a source of entertainment but also plays important role in shaping the society and the world as a whole. For decades and decades, cinemas have influenced our lifestyle and are considered as powerful tools shaping the world. There are some top film industries from all over the world that we owe the production of these high-quality cinemas for our entertainment. Let us check out the top 10 top film industries in the world 2024.

World’s Top 10 Largest Film Industries 2024

Below is the list of top 10 largest and biggest film industries in the world, known for giving the world some of the best movies of all time.

Note: The list of top 10 largest and biggest film industries in the world is prepared by the number of film productions.

1. Hindi Cinema (Bollywood) (India)

Hindi cinema is Mumbai-based Indian film industry more commonly referred to as Bollywood (a mix of Bombay with Hollywood). The industry is known for producing Hindi language movies which are being acclaimed not just within the country but has audience all over the world. Their most popular genre has been the masala film, which freely mixes action, comedy, romance, drama and melodrama along with musical numbers. Along with other Indian film industries, Bollywood makes the most number of movies all over the world.

2. Cinema of Nigeria

The cinema of Nigeria, otherwise known as Nollywood, is one of the biggest film industries in the world by the number of film productions. The overall development of Nigerian motion picture industry can be categorized into four major units and they are Colonial era, Golden Age era, Video film era and the emerging New Nigerian cinema. King of Thieves, Omo Ghetto: The Saga, Chief Daddy, The Wedding Party, and Christmas in Miami are few highest-grossing Nigerian films.

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3. Cinema of China

China is known for the largest movie and drama production complex and film studios in the world. Oriental Movie Metropolis and Hengdian World Studios both are based in China thus marking the domain of Chinese-language cinema on international scale. China was once the third largest film industry by number of feature films produced annually and second-largest by box office receipts. Not only this, since 2016, the country also had the largest number of screens in the world. China has become a major hub of business for Hollywood studios as well.

4. Nihon Eiga (Japan)

Japan has one of the oldest and largest film industries in the world spanning for more than 100 years. Known locally as Nihon Eiga, the Japanese film industry is the fourth largest by number of feature films produced. It is also a billion dollar industry that has produced some of the best movies of all time. Japan has won the Academy Award for the Best International Feature Film four times, which is more than any other Asian country.

5. Cinema of the United States (Hollywood)

Known popularly as Hollywood, the cinema of the United States has been dominating the world of cinema since the early 20th century. The classical Hollywood cinema developed from 1913 to 1969 and still has a large effect on the global film industry. Some of the oldest film studios and production companies have emerged from Hollywood only, making it the oldest film industry in that sense. Hollywood is considered as the birthplace of various genres of cinema, including comedy, drama, action, the musical, romance, horror, science fiction, and the war epic. There are many other film industries that follow on the footsteps of Hollywood in producing some top class cinema.

6. Cinema of South Korea

Cinema of South Korea has existed since 1945 and their movies are mostly influenced by events and forces like the Korean War, Japanese occupation of Korea, the Korean War, government censorship, etc. The industry has received globalization at a large scale and many Korean actors have been seen working in top American movies. Major film studios of America have also set up subsidiaries like Warner Bros. Korea and 20th Century Fox Korea to finance Korean films and the Busan International Film Festival has now become Asia’s largest and most important film festival.

7. French Cinema

The French cinema includes both the movies made in the country and by the French film production companies set abroad. The French cinema is considered as is the oldest and largest precursor of national cinemas in Europe and has also had its influence on the movie-making process in Asian sub-continent.After the United States, France was the second largest exporter of films in the world in 2013 and also French movies were the second-most appreciated by global audiences after American movies. According to a study the French cinema still maintains a positive influence around the world.

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8. Cinema of the United Kingdom

For over a century, the United Kingdom has had a significant film industry and has enjoyed its golden age back since the 1940s. Some well-known directors David Lean, Michael Powell and Carol Reed have produced their most critically acclaimed works while working in the UK cinema. Since last decade, the film industry has achieved a market share of around seven percent globally and reached the billion dollar market in 2012. The third and sixth highest-grossing film franchises (Harry Potter and James Bond) both have been made in the United Kingdom.

9. Spain

Cinema of Spain or Spanish Cinema has indeed achieved an exceptional recognition in the recent years, though it holds a long history. Luis Buñuel was the first Spanish-Mexican filmmaker who got global recognition followed by Pedro Almodóvar. Later, directors like Segundo de Chomón,  Luis García Berlanga, Florián Rey, Juan Antonio Bardem, Julio Médem, Carlos Saura, and Alejandro Amenábar gave few amazing films that witnessed international success.

10. Cinema of Germany

German cinema is known for its technical and artistic contributions to early film and its history can be traced back to the late 19^thcentury. Before Hollywood came and took over, Babelsberg was the synonym for film industry in early 20th century. Other than Babelsberg Studio, Bavaria Film, Constantin Film and UFA are some of the biggest German production studios.One of the world’s most acclaimed producers of movie scores, Hans Zimmer is also a German, changing the face of Hollywood cinema worldwide.

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