The majors' comprehensive booking policy, which would become known as the run-zone-clearance system, inadvertently pushed independent theaters toward adopting the double-feature format. As described by historian Thomas Schatz, the system "sent a picture, after playing in the lucrative first-run arena, through the 16,000 'subsequent-run' movie houses; 'clearance' refers to the amount of time between runs, and 'zone' refers to the specific areas in which a film played.
The major studios' comprehensive scheduling plan, which would later be referred to as the run-zone-clearance system, led to independent cinemas adopting the dual-feature format. As explained by historian Thomas Schatz, the system "transmitted a picture from first-run theaters to subsequent-run cinemas; 'clearance' denotes the time between showings, and 'zone' refers to specific geographic areas where a film was shown.