Film Distribution and Marketing

1. What is meant by the term film distribution?

The term 'film distribution' is the process of making a film available to be seen by an audience. This process is often accompanied by film promotion and results in a feature film being shown in theaters.

2. What does a film distributor do?

Films don't become successful by accident and it is down to the distribution to sustain its place in the market, causing it to be a competitive business. The distributor has many jobs to do in order for the film to successful, one the main jobs they have is to identify their target audience so that they can persuade the right people to come and see their film, so they have to consider why they would want to pay and see their film. However in order for people to come and see the film they have to convert as much interest in the film as possible in order to turn into cinema visits but for that to even be possible they have persuade exhibitors to play the film. Other jobs they have include estimating revenue potential for all formats and develop plans and partnerships to build awareness about the film.

3.How does reach relate to film distribution?

The reach of a film relates to the advertisement of the product and includes the amount of people how will directly see the campaign because of all the different media platforms used to advertise it and how will be influenced by it. The reach of the film is crucial as it will determine how well the film will do at the box office, so the better the reach the more people will watch the film as they would have seen trailers and posters about it.

4. What is meant by the distribution plan?

The distribution plan is the process by which a film is launched into cinemas. This involves distributors sharing and talking about their plans with filmmakers and producers who would have spent much time on their film through the development and production stages. They also talk to cinema exhibitors who are likely to show their film and also publicists and a range of media agencies. The process starts with the producers and the company acquiring the rights to the story so that the screenplay can be developed and the finances of the cast and crew are confirmed. This is followed by studio photography and a few months spent in post-production to edit and perfect the feature film. From this point the work is handed over to the distribution company who develop a release strategy including confirming release dates and is given a master print of the final film. They then take the film to a number of exhibitors to negotiate with them the show the film in their cinema. From there they have to create a buzz in their target audience with advertisements and get a print from the British Board of Film Classification. After the film has been run in the cinemas it is then released onto other formats like television and home entertainment to become a catalogue title.  

5. What is meant by the marketing plan?

The marketing plan is what constructs how the film will be promoted to their specific target audience and the rest of the general public. There is a variety of media platforms that make up the marketing plan from film posters and trailers to social media and film merchandise. Film posters can be created by the studio or by a sales agency. These are used to inform people that there is a new film coming out and to hint what the film might be about. Every film releases posters and usually as much of the material as possible is recycled after its use. Distributors also provide other display materials for cinema foyers, which is the top advertisement space for new feature films. These range from cardboard standees, window clings, banners and mini-posters. Trailers provide the audience with a bit of visual-audio and tease the target audience by giving them a taste of what is. Social media is one of the biggest forms of advertisement and has a high success rate as it is free for the company to use and allows the public to share and spread the word of the new film. The company sometimes create bits of merchandise which are products like bags and key rings, badges and bits of clothing to sell to their target audience which advertises their new film to the public.

6. What is the difference between advertising, publicity and promotion?

Advertising, publicity and promotion are different methods used make people aware of the film the company is producing and work together to persuade the public to watch their film so it can be a successful box office hit. Even though they work well together to expose the film to the public, they work in slightly different ways. Advertising is what the company that produced the film do to make the public aware of the what the film is about and when it will be released. Publicity is separate from what the company do as it comes from the critics response in the media giving reviews on the film. These reviews can either be good or bad but either way it is promotion which will attract a further audience through the use of trailers and posters.

The Conjuring (2013)

Release Date- 19/07/2013
Distributor- Warner Bros. Pictures
Opening Weekend- $41,855,326 (USA) (3,115 theaters)