Film distributor - Citizendia

A film distributor is an independent company, a subsidiary company or occasionally an individual, which acts as the final agent between a film production company or some intermediary agent, and a film exhibitor, to the end of securing placement of the producer's film on the exhibitor's screen. A subsidiary, in business matters is an entity that is controlled by a bigger and more powerful entity For other uses of the word Agent see Agent (disambiguation This is correct An Agent in Commercial Law is a person who is authorised Production company refers to a company responsible for the development and physical production of Performing arts, Film, Radio or a Television program Cinemaaustraliajpg|thumb|A movie theater in Australia ]]A movie theater, movie theatre, picture theatre or cinema is a venue In the film business, the term "distribution" refers to the marketing and circulation of movies in theaters, and for home viewing (DVD, Video-On-Demand, Download, Television etc). In popular usage "marketing" is the promotion of products especially Advertising and Branding However in professional usage the term has a wider meaning of Cinemaaustraliajpg|thumb|A movie theater in Australia ]]A movie theater, movie theatre, picture theatre or cinema is a venue

Film distribution process

The primary agenda of the distributor is to convince the exhibitor to rent, or "book", each film. To this end the distributor usually arranges industry screenings for exhibitors, and uses other marketing techniques that will make the exhibitor believe they will profit financially by showing the film.

Once this is accomplished, the distributor then secures a written contract stipulating the amount of the gross ticket sales to be paid to the distributor (usually a percentage of the gross after first deducting a "floor", which is called a "house allowance"), collect the amount due, audit the exhibitor's ticket sales as necessary to ensure the gross reported by the exhibitor is accurate, secure the distributor's share of these proceeds, and transmit the remainder to the production company (or to any other intermediary, such as a film release agent). A contract is an exchange of promises between two or more parties to do or refrain from doing an act which is enforceable in a court of law In business revenue or revenues is Income that a company receives from its normal business activities usually from the sale of goods and services The most general definition of an audit is an evaluation of a person organization system process project or product For a publishing house associated with the name of Leo Tolstoy see Intermediary (publisher An intermediary is a third party that offers Ordinarily there are standard blanket contracts between a distributor and an exhibitor that apply to all films subsequently booked, although on occasion some of the terms, such as the percentage of the gross to be paid by the exhibitor, may be varied with regard to a particular film.

The distributor must also ensure that enough film prints are struck to service all contracted exhibitors on the contract-based opening day, ensure their physical delivery to the theater by the opening day, monitor exhibitors to make sure the film is in fact shown in the particular theatre with the minimum number of seats and show times, and ensure the prints' return to the distributor's office or other storage resource also on the contract-based return date. A release print is the reel of film that is sent to a movie theater for exhibition Opening Day is warmly regarded in North American tradition as the beginning of a new Major League Baseball season In practical terms, this includes the physical production of film prints and their shipping around the world (a process that is beginning to be replaced by digital distribution) as well as the creation of posters, newspaper and magazine advertisements, television commercials, trailers, and other types of ads. Shipping is physical process of Transporting goods and Cargo. Digital distribution (Also known as digital delivery and Electronic software distribution) is the principle of providing digital information and content A poster is any piece of printed Paper designed to be attached to a wall or vertical surface Advertising is a form of Communication that typically attempts to persuade potential Customers to Purchase or to consume more of a particular Brand

Furthermore, the distributor is responsible for ensuring a full line of film advertising material is available on each film which it believes will help the exhibitor attract the largest possible audience, create such advertising if it is not provided by the production company, and arrange for the physical delivery of the advertising items selected by the exhibitor at intervals prior to the opening day.

If the distributor is handling an imported or foreign-language 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. World cinema is a term used primarily in English language speaking countries to refer to the Films and film industries of non-English speaking countries In filmmaking, dubbing or looping is the process of recording or replacing voices for a Motion picture. Subtitles are textual versions of the dialog in films and television programs usually displayed at the bottom of the screen Censorship is the suppression of speech or deletion of communicative material which may be considered objectionable harmful or sensitive as determined by a censor

Historical distribution approaches

In the days of the classical Hollywood cinema, the studios used the studio system, producing and distributing their own films to theaters that they also owned — a practice known as vertical integration. Classical Hollywood cinema or the classical Hollywood narrative, are terms used in film history which designates both a visual and sound style for making motion pictures A movie studio (aka film studio) is in the established sense of the term a company that distributes films. The studio system was a means of film production and distribution dominant in Hollywood from the early 1920s through the early 1950s In Microeconomics and Management, the term vertical integration describes a style of Management control. The studios' control over distribution was greatly weakened in the U.S. when, in 1948, the court case United States v. Paramount Pictures, Inc. forced the major film studios to sell all their theaters. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Year 1948 ( MCMXLVIII) was a Leap year starting on Thursday (link will display the 1948 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. United States v Paramount Pictures, Inc, 334 US 131 ( 1948) (also known as the Hollywood Antitrust Case of 1948, the Paramount A major film studio is a movie production and distribution company that releases a substantial number of films annually and consistently commands a significant Today, major studios and independent production companies alike compete for screens in theaters. An independent film, or indie film, is a film that is produced outside of the Hollywood Studio system, a series of oligopolistic practices by several

Film distribution process

Historical distribution approaches

See also