Film distribution
Encyclopedia
The distribution of a film (or movie) is the process through which a movie is made available to watch for an audience
by a film distributor
. This task may be accomplished in a variety of ways; for example, with a theatrical
release, a home entertainment release (in which the movie is made available on DVD-video
or Blu-Ray disc
) or a television program
for broadcast syndication and may include digital distribution
.
called "release windows". The release windows system was first conceived in the early '80s
, on the brink of the home entertainment market, as a strategy to keep different instances of a movie from competing with each other,
allowing the movie to take advantage of different markets (cinema, home video, TV, etc.) at different times.
In the standard drill, a movie is first released through movie theaters (theatrical window), then, after approximately 16 and a half weeks,
it is released to DVD
(entering its video window). After an additional number of months it is released to Pay TV
and VOD
services and approximately two years after its theatrical release date, it is made available for free-to-air
TV.
Simultaneous releases bear great advantages to both consumers, who can chose the medium
that most suits their needs, and production studios
that only have to run one marketing campaign for all releases. The flip side, though, is that such distribution efforts are often regarded as experimental and thus, do not receive substantial investment or promotion.
In the course of the years simultaneous release approaches have gained both praise, with Mark Cuban
claiming movies should simultaneously be made available on all media allowing viewers to choose whether to see it at home or at the theater, and disapproval, with director M. Night Shyamalan
claiming it could potentially destroy the "magic" of moviegoing.
Among relevant simultaneous release attempts are Bubble
(2006) by Academy Award-winning director Steven Soderbergh
, EMR
(2005) and The Road to Guantanamo
(2006).
upon which the movie is made available) release occurs when a movie is released on home video
formats (such as VHS, DVD, etc.) without being released in theaters
first, thereby not taking into consideration the "theatrical window".
As a result of strong DVD sales, STV
releases also achieved higher success and have become a profitable market lately, especially for independent
moviemakers and companies.
market they've been suffering from since the 2004 sales peak.
These attempts have encountered the firm opposition of theater
owners, whose profits depend solely upon attendance and who, thus, benefit from keeping the movie available on the silver screen.
In early 2010, Disney announced it would be putting out the DVD
and Blu-ray
versions of Tim Burton
's Alice in Wonderland
14 weeks after the movie's release date (instead of the usual 17) in order to avoid competition from the 2010 World Cup. In response to such statements, theater owners made threats not to show the movie on their screens, but later reconsidered their position before the movie was released.
Other strategies are also being deployed in order to make up for slow DVD sales. Most major studios have considered making movies available to VOD
services shortly after their theatrical release for a premium price. In July 2010 Netflix
secured a deal with Relativity Media
in which the latter agreed to distribute a number of major movies to the aforementioned VOD service before Pay TV
.
Makers of smaller-budget movies are also putting to the test new release strategies. In 2009, the movie The House of the Devil
premiered on VOD systems on October 1, and received a limited theatrical release
one month later. In August 2010, it was announced that the movie Freakonomics would be released on VOD
services on September 3, one month prior to its theatrical release. British sci-fi movie Monsters
will also undergo the same release drill.
Audience
An audience is a group of people who participate in a show or encounter a work of art, literature , theatre, music or academics in any medium...
by a film distributor
Film distributor
A film distributor is a company or individual responsible for releasing films to the public either theatrically or for home viewing...
. This task may be accomplished in a variety of ways; for example, with a theatrical
Movie theater
A movie theater, cinema, movie house, picture theater, film theater is a venue, usually a building, for viewing motion pictures ....
release, a home entertainment release (in which the movie is made available on DVD-video
DVD-Video
DVD-Video is a consumer video format used to store digital video on DVD discs, and is currently the dominant consumer video format in Asia, North America, Europe, and Australia. Discs using the DVD-Video specification require a DVD drive and a MPEG-2 decoder...
or Blu-Ray disc
Blu-ray Disc
Blu-ray Disc is an optical disc storage medium designed to supersede the DVD format. The plastic disc is 120 mm in diameter and 1.2 mm thick, the same size as DVDs and CDs. Blu-ray Discs contain 25 GB per layer, with dual layer discs being the norm for feature-length video discs...
) or a television program
Television program
A television program , also called television show, is a segment of content which is intended to be broadcast on television. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series...
for broadcast syndication and may include digital distribution
Digital distribution
Online distribution, digital distribution, or electronic software distribution is the practice of delivering content without the use of physical media, typically by downloading via the internet directly to a consumer's device. Online distribution bypasses conventional physical distribution media,...
.
Standard release
The standard release routine for a movie is regulated by a business modelBusiness model
A business model describes the rationale of how an organization creates, delivers, and captures value...
called "release windows". The release windows system was first conceived in the early '80s
1980s in film
The decade of the 1980s in film involved many significant films.----Contents1 Events2 Top Grossing films3 Trends4 List of films: # A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z.-Events:...
, on the brink of the home entertainment market, as a strategy to keep different instances of a movie from competing with each other,
allowing the movie to take advantage of different markets (cinema, home video, TV, etc.) at different times.
In the standard drill, a movie is first released through movie theaters (theatrical window), then, after approximately 16 and a half weeks,
it is released to DVD
DVD-Video
DVD-Video is a consumer video format used to store digital video on DVD discs, and is currently the dominant consumer video format in Asia, North America, Europe, and Australia. Discs using the DVD-Video specification require a DVD drive and a MPEG-2 decoder...
(entering its video window). After an additional number of months it is released to Pay TV
Pay TV
Pay television, premium television, or premium channels refers to subscription-based television services, usually provided by both analog and digital cable and satellite, but also increasingly via digital terrestrial and internet television...
and VOD
Video on demand
Video on Demand or Audio and Video On Demand are systems which allow users to select and watch/listen to video or audio content on demand...
services and approximately two years after its theatrical release date, it is made available for free-to-air
Free-to-air
Free-to-air describes television and radio services broadcast in clear form, allowing any person with the appropriate receiving equipment to receive the signal and view or listen to the content without requiring a subscription or one-off fee...
TV.
Simultaneous release
A simultaneous release takes place when a movie is made available on many media (cinema, DVD, internet...) at the same time or with very little difference in timing.Simultaneous releases bear great advantages to both consumers, who can chose the medium
Media (communication)
In communications, media are the storage and transmission channels or tools used to store and deliver information or data...
that most suits their needs, and production studios
Movie studio
A movie studio is a term used to describe a major entertainment company or production company that has its own privately owned studio facility or facilities that are used to film movies...
that only have to run one marketing campaign for all releases. The flip side, though, is that such distribution efforts are often regarded as experimental and thus, do not receive substantial investment or promotion.
In the course of the years simultaneous release approaches have gained both praise, with Mark Cuban
Mark Cuban
Mark Cuban is an American business magnate and investor. He is the owner of the National Basketball Association's Dallas Mavericks, Landmark Theatres, and Magnolia Pictures, and the chairman of the HDTV cable network HDNet....
claiming movies should simultaneously be made available on all media allowing viewers to choose whether to see it at home or at the theater, and disapproval, with director M. Night Shyamalan
M. Night Shyamalan
Manoj Nelliyattu Shyamalan,known professionally as M. Night Shyamalan, is an Indian-born American screenwriter, film director, and producer known for making movies with contemporary supernatural plots that climax with a twist ending. He is also known for filming his movies in and around...
claiming it could potentially destroy the "magic" of moviegoing.
Among relevant simultaneous release attempts are Bubble
Bubble (film)
Bubble is a movie directed by Steven Soderbergh. It was shot on high-definition video and was made for a relatively small budget of $1.6 million. It also featured some unusual production aspects.In traditional terms, the movie has no script...
(2006) by Academy Award-winning director Steven Soderbergh
Steven Soderbergh
Steven Andrew Soderbergh is an American film producer, screenwriter, cinematographer, editor, and an Academy Award-winning film director. He is best known for directing commercial Hollywood films like Erin Brockovich, Traffic, and the remake of Ocean's Eleven, but he has also directed smaller less...
, EMR
EMR
EMR may refer to:* Endoscopic mucosal resection, a medical therapy with endoscopy* Electronic medical record, a medical record in digital format* EGF module-containing mucin-like hormone receptor, a protein...
(2005) and The Road to Guantanamo
The Road to Guantanamo
The Road to Guantanamo, alternatively The Road to Guantánamo, is a British 2006 docudrama directed by Michael Winterbottom and Mat Whitecross about the incarceration of three British detainees at a detainment camp in Guantánamo Bay Naval Base, Cuba...
(2006).
Straight-to-video release
A straight to video (or straight-to-DVD or straight-to-BluRay depending on the mediumMedia (communication)
In communications, media are the storage and transmission channels or tools used to store and deliver information or data...
upon which the movie is made available) release occurs when a movie is released on home video
Home video
Home video is a blanket term used for pre-recorded media that is either sold or rented/hired for home cinema entertainment. The term originates from the VHS/Betamax era but has carried over into current optical disc formats like DVD and Blu-ray Disc and, to a lesser extent, into methods of digital...
formats (such as VHS, DVD, etc.) without being released in theaters
Movie theater
A movie theater, cinema, movie house, picture theater, film theater is a venue, usually a building, for viewing motion pictures ....
first, thereby not taking into consideration the "theatrical window".
As a result of strong DVD sales, STV
Direct-to-video
Direct-to-video is a term used to describe a film that has been released to the public on home video formats without being released in film theaters or broadcast on television...
releases also achieved higher success and have become a profitable market lately, especially for independent
Independent film
An independent film, or indie film, is a professional film production resulting in a feature film that is produced mostly or completely outside of the major film studio system. In addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies, independent films are also produced...
moviemakers and companies.
Shrinking of the theatrical window
The length of the theatrical window has been reducing over the years for a while now. While originally conceived for a six months duration, the theatrical window has today been reduced to little more than four months. Movie studios have reportedly been pushing to shrink the duration of the theatrical window in an attempt to make up for the substantial losses in the DVDDVD-Video
DVD-Video is a consumer video format used to store digital video on DVD discs, and is currently the dominant consumer video format in Asia, North America, Europe, and Australia. Discs using the DVD-Video specification require a DVD drive and a MPEG-2 decoder...
market they've been suffering from since the 2004 sales peak.
These attempts have encountered the firm opposition of theater
Movie theater
A movie theater, cinema, movie house, picture theater, film theater is a venue, usually a building, for viewing motion pictures ....
owners, whose profits depend solely upon attendance and who, thus, benefit from keeping the movie available on the silver screen.
In early 2010, Disney announced it would be putting out the DVD
DVD-Video
DVD-Video is a consumer video format used to store digital video on DVD discs, and is currently the dominant consumer video format in Asia, North America, Europe, and Australia. Discs using the DVD-Video specification require a DVD drive and a MPEG-2 decoder...
and Blu-ray
Blu-ray Disc
Blu-ray Disc is an optical disc storage medium designed to supersede the DVD format. The plastic disc is 120 mm in diameter and 1.2 mm thick, the same size as DVDs and CDs. Blu-ray Discs contain 25 GB per layer, with dual layer discs being the norm for feature-length video discs...
versions of Tim Burton
Tim Burton
Timothy William "Tim" Burton is an American film director, film producer, writer and artist. He is famous for dark, quirky-themed movies such as Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorhands, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Ed Wood, Sleepy Hollow, Corpse Bride and Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet...
's Alice in Wonderland
Alice in Wonderland (2010 film)
Alice in Wonderland is a 2010 American computer-animated/live action fantasy adventure film directed by Tim Burton, written by Linda Woolverton, and released by Walt Disney Pictures...
14 weeks after the movie's release date (instead of the usual 17) in order to avoid competition from the 2010 World Cup. In response to such statements, theater owners made threats not to show the movie on their screens, but later reconsidered their position before the movie was released.
Other strategies are also being deployed in order to make up for slow DVD sales. Most major studios have considered making movies available to VOD
Video on demand
Video on Demand or Audio and Video On Demand are systems which allow users to select and watch/listen to video or audio content on demand...
services shortly after their theatrical release for a premium price. In July 2010 Netflix
Netflix
Netflix, Inc., is an American provider of on-demand internet streaming media in the United States, Canada, and Latin America and flat rate DVD-by-mail in the United States. The company was established in 1997 and is headquartered in Los Gatos, California...
secured a deal with Relativity Media
Relativity Media
Relativity Media is an American independent motion picture production and investment company based in West Hollywood, California.- Company :...
in which the latter agreed to distribute a number of major movies to the aforementioned VOD service before Pay TV
Pay TV
Pay television, premium television, or premium channels refers to subscription-based television services, usually provided by both analog and digital cable and satellite, but also increasingly via digital terrestrial and internet television...
.
Makers of smaller-budget movies are also putting to the test new release strategies. In 2009, the movie The House of the Devil
The House of the Devil
The House of the Devil is a 2009 horror film written, directed, and edited by Ti West, starring Jocelin Donahue, Tom Noonan, and Mary Woronov. It combines elements of both the slasher film and haunted house subgenres while using the "satanic panic" of the 1980s as a central plot element...
premiered on VOD systems on October 1, and received a limited theatrical release
Limited release
Limited release is a term in the American motion picture industry for a motion picture that is playing in a select few theaters across the country ....
one month later. In August 2010, it was announced that the movie Freakonomics would be released on VOD
VOD
VOD may stand for:*Velocity of detonation, the speed of a shock wave through a detonated explosive*Veno-occlusive disease, a complication of bone marrow transplantation*Versant Object Database, a database management system...
services on September 3, one month prior to its theatrical release. British sci-fi movie Monsters
Monsters (2010 film)
Monsters is a 2010 British science fiction film, written, shot and directed by Gareth Edwards. Whitney Able and Scoot McNairy star in the lead roles.-Plot:...
will also undergo the same release drill.