Splitsville: Independent Exhibitors Court Federal Intervention in the American Film Industry, 1975–1988

On the eve of its decision not to enforce the Paramount consent decrees, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) began to prosecute film exhibitors over the practice of splitting. Exhibitors had used splitting—dividing films among themselves to reduce competition in the bidding process—to ameliorate the film studios’ power. When a group of independent exhibitors alleged collusive behavior between the studios and national theatrical chains, the DOJ acted to end splitting. Ironically, the DOJ’s final antitrust action against the film industry in the consent decree era would be against exhibitors, the class it had previously acted to protect.