A film distribution company like Screen Gems would be well suited to distribute our thriller/horror film because they have experience with similar subgenres. Screen Gems has previously distributed films like "When a Stranger Calls" that found success both in the US and UK markets. Our film would likely appeal to wide international audiences given the popularity of the genre worldwide. Releasing around Halloween and screening for 5 weeks in UK cinemas before a DVD/Blu-Ray release in 3-4 months would be an effective release strategy. While self-distribution offers some advantages, hiring an experienced distributor could enhance our film's box office potential.
1. What kind of media institution
might distribute your media product
and why?
Poppy & Caitlin
2. What is distribution ?
• Film distribution is the process of which a film is made available to watch
by an audience. A film is made when someone has an idea for a
film, people are put together to make the film (director, cast etc.) and the
film is completed and sent to a studio. The studio makes a licensing
agreement with a distribution company. The distributor does a lot of the
marketing, they tend to know more about the audience than the
production company do. The size of the campaign depends on the budget
of the film.
• The role of the distribution company is to establish how many copies of
the film to make. They screen the movie to potential buyers representing
cinemas. The buyers negotiate with the distribution company on which
films they wish to lease and the terms of the lease agreement. The prints
are sent to the cinemas a few days before the opening day.
• The cinema shows the film for a specified number of weeks. At the end of
the engagement, the cinema send the print back to the distribution
company and makes payment on the lease agreement.
3. Distribution Windows
• Films can be distributed in many
ways, including:
• DVD
• Blu-Ray
• Film Channels
• Online
• ITunes
4. Think about the sort of film you have produced
, and the type of films this company have
released before
• ‘Screen Gems’ distributed ‘When a Stranger Calls’ (2006).
• ‘New Line Cinema’ distributed ‘Se7en’ (1995).
• ‘Screen Gems’ distributed ‘Arlington Road’ (1990).
• ‘Paramount Pictures’ distributed ‘Fatal Attraction (1987).
We feel feel that ‘Screen Gems’ would distribute our film as it deals with
similar sub-genres so there would be less risk in their investment. We also
think this as our sub-genre is a popular one so it is likely to be watch by a lot of
people.
5. Is your film going to appeal to UK
audiences only ? Or does it have a
wider appeal ?
• I think our film would appeal to a wider audience then just
the UK as its genre is very popular all over the world. For
example ‘When a Stranger calls’, beat its budget in the US on
its opening weekend and did reasonably well in the UK too.
Another example is ‘Phone Booth’ which did exceptionally
well in both the US and the UK.
6. Marketing strategies
• Poster campaign, trailer and viral campaign.
• Know your budget.
• Know your audience and how you can contact
them.
• Target audiences that have seen films of
similar genre and sub-genre.
7. Release Strategy
• We will release our film around Halloween
time as it fits in with the time of year, so we
would release it in the middle of October.
• We will do a
• We screen in UK cinemas for 5 weeks.
• We will wait 3-4 months before we put out on
DVD and Blu-Ray
8. Self-Distribution
• There are lots of advantages of self-distribution for
example, you have control on cinema bookings and your film
can stay on your distributor’s shelf for a long time. Also you
will have control over the money from the box office sales.
• But it might be better for us to hire a distributor as they have
lots of experience and could enhance our film’s chances at the
box office.
