The "image hunger" was enormous in the post-war years. The Finnish film industry joined forces in the autumn of 1949 and held the first Finnish film week in both large cities and smaller towns. During the week, 20 premieres were shown. The interaction between the film industry and the film audience was emphasized with many stunts. The grand opening was held at the Kino-Palats in Helsinki. In 1949, there were 470 cinemas and 40 film rental companies in Finland. That year, Finns went to the cinema 26 million times.