1896 in film

Events

January - In Britain, Birt Acres and Robert W. Paul developed their own film projector, the Theatrograph (later known as the Animatograph).
January - In the United States, a projector called the Vitascope was designed by Charles Francis Jenkins and Thomas Armat. Armat began working with Thomas Edison to manufacture the Vitascope, which projected motion pictures.
The Pathé Frères film company was founded.
April - Thomas Edison and Thomas Armat's Vitascope was used to project motion pictures in public screenings in New York City.
May 14 - Tsar Nicholas II of Russia was crowned in Moscow, in the first coronation ever recorded in film.
French magician and filmmaker Georges Méliès began experimenting with the new motion picture technology, developing early special effects techniques, including stop-motion photography.
William Selig founded the Selig Polyscope Company in Chicago.
Demeny-Gaumont worked on a 60 mm format, first known as Biographe (unperforated), then Chronophotographe (perforated).
Casimir Sivan and E. Dalphin created a 38 mm format.