Distribution

From ForcaWiki, the simple encyclopedia

Finishing a movie is a little like finishing a batch of fresh baked cookies. The cookies are not worth anything just sitting on the counter. Somebody still has to get them out to people who will actually buy them, whether that means selling them at school, at a store, or online.

Distribution is that same idea for a finished film: it is the whole process of turning a finished movie into actual money, by releasing it everywhere people might watch it. That includes showing it in movie theaters, but also selling it on streaming services, television, and any other platform where an audience can watch. A finished movie earns nothing at all until it goes through distribution.

How it usually happens

A movie is normally released through several different platforms over time, called release windows, often starting in theaters and later moving to streaming or television. The company in charge of getting a movie into all of these places is called the Distributor, and the specific legal permission to do so, for a certain place and time, is spelled out in a contract called Distribution Rights.

Fun facts

• A brilliant movie that never finds proper distribution can end up earning almost nothing, no matter how good it is, since an audience cannot pay to watch a film they never get the chance to see.
• Distribution deals are often signed territory by territory, so the same movie might be released by a completely different distributor in Japan than the one releasing it in the United States.
• Some filmmakers self distribute, handling the release themselves instead of hiring an outside distributor, though it is a lot more work.