Film Distribution Channel Analysis

Film Distribution Process:

It has been well said that making a movie is not nearly as difficult as getting it distributed is. Movie making involves huge costs and because of the enormous amount of cost in terms of money and time involved in distributing a movie, a distributor must feel confident and sure that they can make a sufficient return on their investment. To play safe, a particular company or studio owner must necessarily have the backing of a major/bigger studio or a well known director or star cast. This can greatly improve the chances of securing a good distribution deal with distributors across various territories. Independent filmmakers often use film festivals as an opportunity to get the attention of distributors. In these film

If it so happens that the movie has big stars but doesn 't appear to have legs to stand on which basically means that it will not stay popular for long, then the distributor may opt to put the movie in as many theatres as possible during its first engagement or the first screening. Fewer theatres will be interested in screening a movie and further, fewer audience will be interested in watching a movie with an unknown cast or poor buzz which means unofficial information about the movie prior to its release. Sometimes it so happens that a movie has got a good buzz, but is not likely to have a mass appeal because of the audience it is directed at. It might also be the wrong time of year for a particular type of

The distributors earn an amount which is decided by the distributors and the theatre owners at the time of the agreement. Sometimes it is a whole amount and at other times it involves a percentage of the profits incurred by the theatre owners. Down payment Plus weekly revenue:

 In this case the exhibitor needs to pay a down payment to the distributor at the time of transfer of film. Post this exhibitor pays the distributor a percentage of the sales or the box office collection. E.g. for Yash Raj films, Yash Raj Distributors Co. carry on the distribution. Their model is of 5Lac down payment + 40% revenue collection.

Only Weekly collection:

 In this model the exhibitor only presents a percentage of revenue collections to the distributor. In this case, scaling model of pricing is used.

 E.g. Mangala Talkies, Deccan, Pune uses a model in which the 50% of the first week collection goes to the distributor. In the next week, scaling takes place and 40% of the box office collection goes to distributor followed by 35% of box office collection.

Sometimes the nature of hall, multiplex or single screen also decides the revenue