film industry

1. DISTRIBUTION IN THE FILM
INDUSTRY
BY PIP ENGLEFIELD
Photo by Grant Crabtree / Public domain

2. WHAT IS DISTRIBUTION
A film distributor is responsible for the marketing of a film.
The distribution company is usually different from the
production company. Distribution deals are an important
part of financing a film.
The distributor may set the release date of a film and the
method by which a film is to be exhibited or made available
for viewing; for example, directly to the public either
theatrically or for home viewing (DVD, video-on-demand,
download, television programs through broadcast
syndication etc.). A distributor may do this directly, if the
distributor owns the theatres or film distribution networks,
or through theatrical exhibitors and other sub-distributors.
DEFINITION: The way in
which a film is shared out
among a group or spread
over an area.

3. THE TYPES AND ROLES OF A DISTRIBUTOR
Theatrical distributors
• If a distributor is working with a theatrical
exhibitor, the distributor secures a written
contract stipulating the amount of the gross
ticket sales the exhibitor will be allowed to
retain (usually a percentage of the gross). The
distributor collects the amount due, audits the
exhibitor's ticket sales as necessary to ensure
the gross reported by the exhibitor is accurate,
secures the distributor's share of these
proceeds, surrenders the exhibitor's portion to
it, and transmits the remainder to the
production company
Non-theatrical distribution
• This term, used mainly in the British film
industry, describes the distribution of feature
films for screening to a gathered audience, but
not in theatres at which individual tickets are
sold to members of the public. The defining
distinctions between a theatrical and a non-
theatrical screening are that the latter has to be
to a closed audience in some way, e.g. pupils of
a school, members of a social club or
passengers on an airline, and that there can be
no individual admission charge. Most non-
theatrical screening contracts also specify that
the screening must not be advertised, except
within the group that is eligible to attend (e.g.
in a membership organisation's newsletter or an
in-flight magazine).

4. Home distribution
• If a distributor is going to distribute a movie
on a physical format such as DVD, they must
arrange for the creation of the artwork for
case and the face of the DVD and arrange
with a DVD replicator to create a glass
to press quantities of the DVD. Some movie
producers use a process called "DVD-on-
demand." In DVD-on-demand, a company
will burn a DVD-R (a process called
"duplication") when a copy of the DVD is
ordered, and then ship it to the customer. A
distributor may also maintain contact with
wholesalers who sell and ship DVDs to retail
outlets as well as online stores, and arrange
for them to carry the DVD. The distributor
may also place ads in magazines and online
and send copies of the DVD to reviewers.
International distribution
• If the distributor is handling an imported or
foreign film, it may also be responsible for
securing dubbing or subtitling for the film,
and securing censorship or other legal or
organizational "approval" for the exhibition
of the film in the country/territory in which it
does business, prior to approaching the
exhibitors for booking.
Other jobs of a distributer:
- That all film prints are set to get to the exhibitors
on the contract-based opening day
- Monitor exhibition to make sure the film is being
shown
- That all prints are sent back to the distributor also
on a contract-based date set
- Plus all of the advertising a full line of material for
the film, to help attract the largest possible
audience.

5. WHAT IS A
DISTRIBUTION
PLAN?
• A plan created by the
management of the distributors
that specifies how the firm
intends to transfer its products
to intermediaries, retailers and
end consumers. Larger
companies involved in making
products will usually also put
together a detailed production
distribution strategy to guide its
entry into its intended market.

6. P + A BUDGET
This is the money that is used for the print and advertising of a film. The prints are the actual physical film
that are shown in theatres and are quite expensive to make and distribute. Each theatre needs at least one
print and possibly more depending on how many screens the film is playing on. The advertising part of the
budget is the amount spent on advertising.
Most of the money is spent on TV, but radio, newspapers and
magazines, the Internet and in-theatre advertising are also
very important. The average P&A budget for a major studio
release was $34.5 million the last time the MPAA reported the
figure in 2006.

7. DISTRIBUTION COSTS
Film distributors spend between $3.5
billion and $4.0 billion a year in the
United States alone on direct buys of
advertising such as TV commercials,
billboards, online banner ads, radio
commercials and the like. That
distributor-spending figure doesn't
include additional costs for publicity, film
trailers and promotions, which aren’t
classified as advertising but also market
films to audiences.
A marketing budget will typically include all promotional costs, including
marketing communications like website development, advertising and public
relations, as well as the costs of employing marketing staff and utilizing office
space.
The marketing and distribution budget can
be around half of the overall budget for the
film, and within mainstreams film
productions this s a lot of money…
All marketing costs including
press, interviews and billboard
campaigns and the cost of
distributing the film to
cinemas.

8. What is simultaneous
release?
Distribution companies
A simultaneous release is
when film's release to an
audience across all platforms.
For example instead of being
showed in cinemas, then to
DVD or Sky store etc, the film
is released to cinemas and
other channels such as DVD,
internet and television, on or
around the same date.
• Warner bros
• Sony pictures
• Walt Disney
• Paramount pictures
• Lionsgate
• 20th century fox
• Universal
• New line
• Miramax
• Dreamworks SKG

9. DEFINE TARGET MARKET AUDIENCE? WHAT'S AUDIENCE
POSITIONING?
• Target market audience = the intended audience or readership of a publication,
advertisement, or other message. In marketing and advertising, it is a particular group
of consumers within the predetermined target market, identified as the targets or
recipients for a particular advertisement or message.
• Audience Positioning = the relationship between the audience and the responses that
the audience will have to the film. A film will be encoded with messages and signs that
the audience will have to decode. Different audiences will decode these messages in
different ways. Camera shots and angles are used to position the audience; a close
up shot of a character's facial expression will help the audience to see their emotion
and create an emotional, sympathetic response in the audience.

10. WHY IS THE RELEASE DATE CRUCIAL?
• The release date for a film is crucial because it could determine whether the film is successful or
not. Frozen for instance was released on the 6th of December 2013 just before everyone broke up
for the Christmas holiday. This meant that the families were able to go out and watch the films
together bringing in more viewers. It was released in the USA with limited editions on the 22nd of
November 2013, right before thanks giving. Again this meant that children would be able to go to
the cinema with their parents to watch the film.
This helped frozen get to the $400,738,009
Self distribution = a process by which the
director/producer decides to distribute their
film themselves. This means that they can
retain the rights to their film an the distributors
cut of the sales of their film.