[11] Indonesian cinema began dominating most movie theaters in big cities in the 1980s and started to compete in international film festivals.

In the wake of the Indonesian financial crisis and political movements, the industry struggled to raise public interest in attending movie theaters, and most films stuck to teenage dramas, horror, and adult genres.

[14][1] The first showing of films in the Dutch East Indies was in 1900,[6] and over the next twenty years, foreign productions—which were mostly from the United States—were imported and shown throughout the country.

[8] The following year, George Krugers—who had served as a technician and cinematographer for Loetoeng Kasaroeng[18]—released his directorial debut (the second film in the Indies), Eulis Atjih.

The Dutch East Indies government collected higher taxes and cinemas sold tickets at lower prices, ensuring that there was a meagre profit margin for local films.

[25] The Teng Chun, who had made his debut in 1931 with Boenga Roos dari Tjikembang, was the only producer able to release films during 1934 and early 1935; his low-budget but popular films were mainly inspired by Chinese mythology or martial arts, and although aimed at ethnic Chinese, proved popular among native audiences because of their action sequences.

Though the film, costing 20 times as much as most contemporary productions, was an ultimate failure, it affected The Teng Chun's directorial style; the latter took less traditional stories.

Unlike Pareh, Terang Boelan was a marked commercial success, earning 200,000 Straits dollars (then equivalent to US$114,470[29]) in two months.

[32] Four new production houses were established in 1940,[33] and actors and actresses previously attached to theatrical troupes entered the film industry, which was reaching new audiences.

[37] After its genesis during the Dutch colonial era, the Indonesian film industry was co-opted by Japanese occupiers during the Second World War as a propaganda tool.

Then, the Office of Cultural Enlightenment (啓民文化指導所), which was headed by Ishimoto Tokichi, appropriated facilities from all filmmaking organisations, consolidating them into a single studio which became the Jakarta branch of Nippon Eigasha (日本映画社), or Nichi'ei.

The Jakarta branch was strategically placed at the extreme southern end of Japan's empire and soon became a centre of newsreel production.

[39] Local Japanese-sponsored film production (other than newsreels) remained essentially negligible, and the domestic exhibition market was too underdeveloped to be financially viable.

However, Nichi'ei's occupation of the Indonesian film industry was a strategic victory over the West, demonstrating that a non-Western Asian nation could displace Hollywood and the Dutch.

[39] Korean director Hae Yeong (or Hinatsu Eitaro) migrated to Java from Korea in 1945, where he made the controversial documentary Calling Australia (豪州の呼び声, 1944).

[39] After the war, Hae changed his name to Dr. Huyung, married an Indonesian woman with whom he had two sons, and directed three films before his death in 1952: Between Sky and Earth (1951), Gladis Olah Raga (1951), and Bunga Rumar Makan (1952).

[40] Usmar Ismail, a director from West Sumatra, made a major impact in Indonesian film in the 1950s and 1960s through his company Perfini.

[43] This film was directed by Tan Sing Hwat, and starred Turino Djunaedy and Mimi Mariani as Sri Asih.

Actors during this era included Deddy Mizwar, Eva Arnaz, Lidya Kandou, Onky Alexander, Meriam Bellina, Rano Karno, and Paramitha Rusady.

The majority of films produced were exploitaive, adult-themed B-movies shown in budget cinemas, outdoor screenings, direct-to-video, or on television.

Ayat-Ayat Cinta (2008), directed by Hanung Bramantyo, was notable in that it attracted Muslim audiences like never before in Indonesian film history, thanks to its narrative crossover between Islam and modern romance.

[citation needed] In 2011, the minimum cost to view a foreign film not screened locally was IDR 1,000,000, equivalent to US$100, as it included a plane ticket to Singapore.

[49] The Indonesian film market is in the C, D, and E classes,[clarification needed] and due to this, foreign porn stars such as Sasha Grey, Vicky Vette, Maria Ozawa, Sora Aoi, and Rin Sakuragi were invited to play a part in movies.

This was attested by the international release of films such as The Raid (2011)[51] and its 2014 sequel,[52] Modus Anomali (2012), Dilema (2012), Lovely Man (2012), Java Heat (2013), and Pengabdi Setan (2017).

[53] Indonesian horror films, particularly the work of director Joko Anwar, attracted international attention in the 2010s, aided by streaming services.

The Queen of Black Magic, Satan's Slaves, and Impetigore have been perceived as part of a new wave of folk horror films from Southeast Asia.

These adaptations paralleled the rise in popularity of online streaming services, and encouraged local industries to improve the quality of their platforms and cooperate with national television channels to avoid the economic crisis caused by the pandemic.

From Netflix streaming as well, The Big 4 directed by Timo Tjahjanto also received widespread international public recognition by topping the global movie chart for several weeks.

Other old cinema halls in Jakarta were the Astoria, Grand, Metropole, Rex, Capitol, Rivoli, Central, and Orion.

In the regulation of the Minister of Education and Culture of the Republic of Indonesia Number 34 of 2019 concerning the Circulation, Performance, Export and Import of Films, Article 17 explains the need for monthly notification of the number of viewers of a film through a data collection system in order to carry out functions in the field of cinema development.