A film distributor secures the rights to distribute a film in a particular territory. They are responsible for marketing the film to identify the largest possible audience, which involves spending money on activities like advertising, trailers, and posters. The marketing budget for large blockbuster films can be over half the film's production costs. Independent filmmakers rely on film agents to help sell their films to individual distributors and assist with marketing materials. Distributors strategically plan marketing campaigns far in advance to target specific audiences.

1. Distribution and film audiences

2. What is a film distributor and what
role do they play apart in?
• A film distributor is an independent is a film company
that secures producers film
• Distribution companies are trying identify the largest
possible audience for a film.
• A distributor will spend a certain amount of money on
marketing the film in its territory based on their
agreement with the producer or sales management.
This is known as the Print & Advertising costs.
• Film distributors also look at films that can sell on
different digital media like DVDs or can they sell it on
TV?

3. Print and Advertising costs
• The print and advertising cost of a film can be
incredibly high. In terms of promoting the
film, the budget can cost more then the
production costs. For example: If a film cost
$35million dollars to make then the print &
advertising cost would likely be half of that.
The price would be even higher if the film is a
big Hollywood blockbuster.

4. Film sales and Film agents
• Independent filmmakers would require a film
agent to sell their film to individual
distributors. They help market your film by
creating international posters, teasers, trailers
etc.

5. Marketing
• Distributors play the main role in marketing. They promote
the film by handing out information through forms of
digital media this could be: trailers, teasers or posters.
• Distributors will plan a marketing campaign several months
before the release. In that time they decide what goes in
posters, websites, trailers and other material.
• Trailers are used to encourage the audience to see the film,
where as posters are used to catch the eye and give
information in one still image.
• Distributors target specific audiences to put key elements
that they would enjoy. So if a target audience is aged 15 –
24 they would look at previous films that sold well and take
out elements of those films.