1896 in film
| Years in film: | 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 |
| Centuries: | 18th century · 19th century · 20th century |
| Decades: | 1860s 1870s 1880s 1890s 1900s 1910s 1920s |
| Years: | 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 |
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.
- Pathé Frères film company founded
- April - Thomas Edison and Thomas Armat's Vitascope is used to project motion pictures in public screenings in New York City
- May 14 - Tsar Nicholas II of Russia crowned in Moscow, in the first coronation ever recorded in film.
- French magician and filmmaker Georges Méliès begins 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 works on a 60 mm format, first known as Biographe (unperforated), then Chronophotographe (perforated).
- Casimir Sivan and E. Dalphin create a 38 mm format.
Films released in 1896
- Arrival of a Train at La Ciotat
- La fee aux choux
- The Horse Trough
- The Kiss
- Rip Van Winkle (series)
- The Vanishing Lady
Births
- June 28 - Constance Binney, actress, singer, dancer (d. 1989)
- July 16 - Evelyn Preer, pioneering African-American actress, singer (d. 1932)
- August 18 - Jack Pickford, actor, Hollywood's first "bad boy", (d. 1933)
- August 30 - Raymond Massey, actor (d. 1983)