Why Roman numerals for movie dates?

Have you ever wondered why the date often appears in Roman numerals during the end credits of films and TV programmes? I got to wondering about that recently, and on my exploratory way through this field, I discovered that we have both opening and closing credits (or end credits, or end-titles, or post-credits), and that these are also known as prefaces and postfaces, after Genette (1997, as cited by Davidson, 2014).

So I went looking for the "why", and found that David Lewis had asked just this question of other Guardian readers way back in 2011. Readers responded by suggesting that if was in the vain hope that none of us will remember our time learning Roman numerals in school, so will not realise how dated a movie or TV series is (Lewis, 2011; also Rome, 2018); that viewers would have "to be very good at classics [in order] to translate the date" (Lewis, 2011; also Rome, 2018); or that filmmakers think using a 2000 year old dating system was somehow "classier" (Lewis, 2011).

The first two ideas don't really make sense to me. In my opinion, using a Roman numerals date to avoid showing the age is a spurious reason, as we only see the flaming Roman numerals AFTER we have watched something; and few of us learn Latin today so as a learning exercise, the point is...? But the idea that using Roman numerals is somehow classier does sound possible (Lewis, 2011), particularly when we are talking about film people.

However, I found three more theories:

• That of film fading: "Movies and TV were shot with film and film [which] can deteriorate, making it hard to read numbers. A '6' can fade to look like a '5' or an '8' to a '3' while Roman numerals are still easier to read as they age on film" (Rome, 2018). Yep, fair enough, that too sounds possible. 
• In the US, Roman numerals are still used to designate different actors, same named movies, and sequels (Naun & Elhard, 2005; Seçmen, 2023). Early films were made in both the US and France. France remains a strongly Catholic nation, so perhaps that may be why Roman numerals were initially used, becoming the industry standard globally...?
• Roman numerals were used for publishing volume numbers when printing, also being used for journal volumes. So instead of the journal Science being volume 88, it was numbered LXXXVlll, because that was what printers customarily did (Yerkes, 1904).

While I think the film fading thing (Rome, 2018) could be a possibility, apparently title credits have used on films since the 1910s (May, 2010). I assume - so dangerous! - that Roman numerals for dating in the end credits will have been used since roughly the same time (I have no proof of when film end credits or end credit dating began, so take this with plenty of salt!). Judging by the use in the US where most films are made, produced and marketed, the continued use (Naun & Elhard, 2005) thing seems embedded... but does not explain why it was used in the first place. 

What seems more likely to me is that it may have been thought that there was some level of gravitas conveyed in publishing and journals by the use of Roman numerals, so it was adopted by the fledgling film industry. This also relates tangentially to the idea of Roman numerals being 'classier'. So perhaps it then simply became customary?

But I still don't really know WHY. If any of you can enlighten me, I would love to satisfy my curiosity!

Sam

References:

Davison, A. (2014). The end is nigh: Music postfaces and end-credit sequences in contemporary television serials. Music, Sound, and the Moving Image, 8(2), 195-215. https://doi.org/10.3828/msmi.2014.12

Lewis, D. A. (2011). Notes and Queries: Why are copyright dates on films and tv programmes always given in Roman numerals?. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/notesandqueries/query/0,,-199590,00.html

May, J. (2010, October 4). The Art Of Film Title Design Throughout Cinema History. Smashing Magazine. https://www.smashingmagazine.com/2010/10/the-art-of-the-film-title-throughout-cinema-history/

Naun, C. C., & Elhard, K. C. (2005). Cataloguing, lies, and videotape: Comparing the IMDb and the library catalogue. Cataloging & Classification Quarterly, 41(1), 23-43. https://doi.org/10.1300/J104v41n01_03

Rome, L. (2018, October 19). Nugget of Knowledge: Roman numerals in movie credits. WYTV. https://www.wytv.com/news/daybreak/nugget-of-knowledge-roman-numerals-in-movie-credits/#:~:text=One%20more%20%E2%80%94%20the%20%E2%80%9Cfade%20away,as%20they%20age%20on%20film.

Seçmen, E. A. (Ed.). (2023). Examinations and Analysis of Sequels and Serials in the Film Industry. IGI Global.

Yerkes, R. M. (1904). Discussion and Correspondence: The Use of Roman Numerals. Science, 10(505), 309-310. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.20.505.309.b