The motion picture industry emerged as a powerful social and economic institution in the United States from the early 1900s to the mid-20th century. Movies became a popular weekly leisure activity for most Americans, resembling a social institution like church or clubs. The industry grew from Edison's early one-person kinetoscope exhibits to massive movie palaces that hundreds of thousands flocked to for entertainment and escape from daily life. Technological innovations, the rise of the star system, and focus on complex narratives transformed movies into a mainstream form of mass media.