Cinema Distribution & Exhibition

1. Cinema Distribution & Exhibition

2. Distribution • Distribution: refers to the marketing and circulation of movies in cinemas, and for home viewing (DVD, Video-On-Demand, Download, Television). • Film distributor:is an independent or subsidiary company, (or occasionally an individual), which acts as the final agent between a film production company and a film exhibitor.

3. What does the distributor do? • The primary agenda of the distributor is to convince the exhibitor to rent, or "book", each film. • 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. • 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. • The rest of the gross is shared between the cinema and of course the film production company/studio .

4. Other key jobs for distribution. • Distribute prints to the cinemas. • The creation of posters, newspaper and magazine advertisements, television commercials, trailers, and other types of ads. • If the distributor is handling an imported or foreign-language film, it may also be responsible for securing dubbing or subtitling for the film.

5. The big studios and distribution • In the days of the classical Hollywood cinema and the studio system, studios produced and distributed their own films to theaters that they also owned. • A practice known as vertical integration. • Today, major studios and independent production companies alike compete for screens in theaters. • All of the big studios including Paramount, Universal, Fox and MGM have a distribution department. They are able to distribute their films to a wider ‘reach’ of cinemas and can afford to spend the most money on distribution.

6. UK Cinema Exhibition • What are the four main cinema chains in the UK? • Vue, Cineworld, Showcase and the largest Odeon. • All other cinemas are either small chains such as the Picture House or independent cinemas such as the Kingsland Rio in Hackney. • Modern multi screen cinemas or ‘multiplexes’ have been around for over 20 years and allow the industry to screen a number of films simultaneously. • Discuss: what are the advantages and disadvantages of multiplex cinemas for both the industry and the audience?

7. US Imports • The sheer number of films produced in Hollywood has in recent years ‘saturated the UK film market’ with US imports. • Question: Why do the big multiplex chains buy in so many US films? • There is a greater guarantee of getting an audience and making money. • Because there simply aren’t enough UK productions made.

8. Getting a film onto screens • Big budget films that the industry have invested a lot of money in can get ‘opened’ in as many as 500 UK screens in their first weekend. This number diminishes as the weeks progress depending on how much money the film is grossing initially. • ‘Sleeper films’ are a reverse example. These low budget films tend to be distributed to a smaller number of screens but with time build an audience and get released on more screens. • Most Hollywood films that get released on 400 +screens are almost guaranteed to gross enough for them to feature in the top five films of a week. • However some soon disappear out of that top 5 if they don’t continue to get an audience. E.g: Will Smith’s film ‘Seven Pounds’.

9. Case Study: Picture House • Picturehouse Cinemas is a chain of art house cinemas in the UK. It has 18 branches, all in England and Scotland. • The Picturehouse chain started in 1989 but many of its cinemas operated independently before being bought by City Screen, the chain's owners. • One of its branches, the Duke of York Picture House in Brighton, opened in 1910 and is Britain's longest continually operating cinema. • The cinemas maintain a degree of independence unusual for members of chains, and most of their promotional material is specific to individual cinemas rather than to the chain as a whole. • The range of film caters to less mainstreamtastes than most commercial cinemas and there is an emphasis on independent, cult and foreign language films, although some branches also show more mainstream Hollywood films that they consider interesting.

10. Cont…. • The Picturehouse chain is also differentiated from most commercial chains by promotional activities that aim to encourage an interest in film. • These include membership schemes, programmes with in-depth background information about films, filmfestivals and themed series of showings. • The cinemas are generally small and centrally located compared to others recently opened in the UK, which are often large multiplex cinemas built on the edges of towns.

11. Cinema going- a personal survey • How many times a month do you go? • What cinemas do you go to, what’s your favourite? • Do you think cinema prices are to high? • Have you ever been to a small non chain cinema? • Have you ever been to a West End cinema? • What are your top 3 reasons for going to the cinema?

12. Cinema admissions on the rise • http://business.pearlanddean.com/marketdata/admissions.html

13. Cinema v DVD…. • Aside from the cost, what are the advantages of watching films on DVD? • Do you belong to video rental shop or an online service like Lovefilm.com? • Do you buy DVDs? How many have you bought over the last year? • Do you download films? • Do you prefer going to the cinema or watching films at home on DVD? • Writing task: Does going to the cinema remain a popular way of watching a film?