FILM DISTRIBUTION

1. FILM DISTRIBUTION IN THE UK
Film distribution is the process that makes a film available to the audience through marketing.

2. WHAT TO CONSIDER BEFORE
DISTRIBUTING A FILM
When creating a film, it is very important to consider the audience and therefore the market that is going to
be targeted when the film is released.
Since a film can only be launched in the cinema once, it is significant to consider the largest audience that
will potentially be interested in the film and to aim to target them in your film and marketing as much as
possible.
The film's marketability - how it is advertised to the aimed audience and its playability - how well it has
succeeded in the market are two very different things.
You also have to consider:
• What is the Competition in the film industry in that time of release?
• Is it an Event film? Is it a special Block Buster movie that has a theme such as a holiday movie - Christmas,
Halloween?
• Is there any 'Star Power' among the cast such as a very successful and popular actor or a director who is
well known for directing great, successful movies? This is significant as it creates a good reputation for the
movie and through promoting the movie with the 'Star Power' a lot more people are likely to go and see
the movie, especially if they are a big fan of the actor or director.

3. STRATEGIES
There are various different strategies which depend on the different
types of releases.
For example, the strategy which is particularly designed for big titles
such as sequels or ‘Star Power’ holiday movies is a great strategy for
the audience which are excited and prepared to watch a movie
the quickest they can to when it comes out. It involves the screening
of a film 'at cinemas everywhere' which could mean
potentially opening in a thousand cinemas with 2 or 3 screens at the
same time. It's a great way to distribute a film as it attracts a large
number of people and therefore creates a lot of success for the film.

4. DISTRIBUTION PROCESS
• There is a particular distribution process that a film
goes through before and after it is released.
A diagram of the overall process in shown on the
side.

5. OUR FILM
• When it comes to our final AS task, we will be making a film which will be in
the English market as it will be set in England. It will be a low budget movie
and definitely not an expensively made, Hollywood piece. Therefore, film
distributors who are likely to distribute our film are : ‘DNA Films’ ; ‘Film 4’ and
‘Vertigo Films’.
• Examples of films from these distributors are: ‘28 Days Later’ a 2002 ‘DNA
Films’ distributed film; ‘Attack the Block’ a 2011 ‘Film 4’ distributed film and
‘Monsters’ a 2010 ‘Vertigo Films’ distributed film.
• We would promote it in the local area, with film posters around our city and
perhaps encourage our friends and family to help us by posting the poster
on their social network sites, so that word of mouth makes it more known and
therefore more successful altogether.