India’s film industry, commonly referred to as Bollywood, releases more than 1,000 films per year. That is more than double the number of films released by its American counterpart, Hollywood. Bollywood, which is based in Mumbai, began in 1913 and spread in popularity in India and nearby countries, such as Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Indian films also are popular in countries that have large Indian or Pakistani communities, such as the United Kingdom. Although Bollywood makes more films than Hollywood, Bollywood's ticket prices and audience sizes are smaller, so its annual profit is less than 10% of Hollywood's, on average.
More about Bollywood:
- Since 1954, Bollywood movies generally have not featured kissing, because of protests by women who claim that it would corrupt viewing audiences.
- The average Bollywood film costs $1.5 million US Dollars (USD) to produce — a fraction of the average Hollywood film budget of more than $45 million USD.
- Only about 4% of the estimated 1.2 billion people in India actually go to the movies on a regular basis.