Film Distribution - Role and Purpose

Film Distribution is the process of launching a film into the marketplace and then sustaining the public’s interest, distribution is very vital to the film industry as a whole as films don’t become well known and successful by accident. Distribution includes marketing films as well as providing the actual film itself to cinemas/TV networks/Digital services.

Tony Angellotti a distributor said, "If you break it down and look at it as a business then the audience has the greatest power. Its the audience that tells you what they like." On the other hand, Toby Miller a Theortist said "In a world where money spent on the budget of a film often sees 50% going on promotion as opposed to what you actually see on screen, the idea that we have a world where the consumer can exercise authority is absurd." Film audiences can't both be right and wrong and in the case of film marketing it's a complex issue. To be financially successful, a film has to be marketed, positioned and publicised. The distributor has to acquire the rights to a particular film. There are three stages that they can do this: 1) invest in a Film’s Production 2) buy the rights to Film after it’s been made 3) If they're already part of the larger organisation, they will automatically distribute. World-wide distribution is dominated by the US-based companies, they will fight for part of the annual $60 billion generated within the global film entertainment business. There are a number of distribution companies in the UK, all with different styles, funding structures, aims and marketing plans, all trying to sell their films in an incredibly competitive environment.

The responsibilities of a Distributor entails deciding on a release dates; deciding how many prints to produce and in which cinemas to screen them (exhibition); advertising campaigns; designing art work for adverts, posters, flyers and billboards; organising premieres and talker screenings; booking the starts or director for press interviews and personal appearances. However positioning is the most important decision made by a distributor, it's the decision of how and when a film should be released. If a film is released at a slow period or against intense competition, this will cause financial disaster. Film positioning is used because films rarely break even just from cinema release, the success of a cinema release will rely on word-of-mouth to secure DVD sales; Distributors will use target audience statistics and test screenings to do this. Circulation and release is also a major concern of the Distributor is to decide how many copies to circulate in the cinemas. They must decide whether to do a ‘saturation release’ (mainstream cinema) or an ‘art-house release’ (art-house cinema).Many things have to be taken into consideration when distributors choose a release date for a movie. School holidays in Easter, half term, summer and Christmas tend to be the time when big family movies are set for release. Big national sporting events, particularly when England are taking part, such as the European Championships and the World Cup can affect audiences, so care is taken about releasing male-orientated, action-type movies at that time. 

Film4 was launched as part of Channel 4 in 1982 under ‘Channel 4 films’, it's aim was to commission low- to-medium budgeted films. It promoted diversity in film and explored contemporary social and political problems, Channel Four films were a major contributor to British films success in America. However, it only accounted for 1% gross at the UK Box Office. Film4 had a re-launch in 1999, with the successes of Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994; gross of $240m), Shallow Grave (1994) & Transposing (1996). Film4 was a unique attempt to bridge distribution and production in Britain. The distribution arm of Film4 came to an end in 2002. It is often claimed that the film Charlotte Gray (2001) is most responsible for this.In trying to make films that appealed to both international and domestic markets Film4 achieved neither. It played an important role in the distribution of films which British audiences were unlikely to have access to otherwise, to cinemas and on Video and DVD. Films are now readily available due to advances in technology.