The Movie Business - What Does It Entail?

The process of legally obtaining a copy of a motion picture is called cinema distribution. When distributing a motion picture, the term 'commerce' often gets thrown into the mix. While that is appropriate in some ways (like I could stroll into a store and purchase anything I desired), in others it creates confusion. I will try to clarify the difference between distribution and commerce below.

Distribution is the act of making a motion picture available for viewing by a wide audience. This is usually the responsibility of a distributor, who would decide the most effective marketing strategy for their product. For instance, a distributor of video games would likely focus on the benefits of providing a service that directly benefits customers, rather than trying to build brand loyalty or trust with a hyper-local clientele.

Commerce, on the other hand, is an activity that occurs outside of the distribution process. In other words, there's no guarantee that a distributor will distribute a certain movie to a theatre. If there were such a guarantee, you could simply go to every cinema in your neighborhood and buy tickets at the theater before they sell out! Distribution houses do just that; they distribute motion pictures to multiplexes, theatres, and home entertainment outlets. They also hold the key to whether or not a movie can even be shown in a non-traditional format, such as on television.

In this current economy, cinema owners are forced to examine their bottom line more closely. After all, no one wants to forego movie tickets just to save a few dollars! But the question is, "Which way should they go?" Should producers simply sit down with distributors and discuss the best way to distribute their movies? Or should they simply wait for each company to go their own way, until there's an independent cinema owner with enough capital to release their film into a general marketplace?

One thing is for sure: if there was a distribution fee, it would almost certainly go up. Studios and independent filmmakers would have to weigh the costs and benefits of each plan, rather than simply go with the cheapest option. Unfortunately, studios rarely have the budget to pay for this specialized service. Even though distributors do offer this service, they're still usually very small operations. And even the distribution companies that do exist typically operate independently from the major studio.

This means that most independent cinema owners are left to either obtain their films from the filmmakers themselves, or to deal with small specialized companies that specialize in the distribution of independent films. Distributors who work with small filmmakers or independent producers often have very limited resources, making it very difficult for them to distribute mainstream films. On the other hand, studio divisions are much larger and better funded. They can afford better equipment and can guarantee a wider distribution network.