FILM DISTRIBUTION

Why is film and tv distribution so mysterious? From the standpoint of most outsiders, and even a lot producers of media content, the mainstream distribution marketplace has a nefarious reputation. Granted, there are some shenanigans that occur throughout distribution, nevertheless, many of the misfortunes can be attributed to the unpredictability of media valuation. Unlike real estate, precious metals, or other capital goods, valuation is much harder to predict, despite there being a wealth of empirical data. We are dealing with a highly subjective value, a value which is predicated on popularity. Now more than ever, the media marketplace is a performance based system. In other words, you can spends millions on a film, but if no one wants to see, it doesn’t matter. Alternatively, you can have a little pet project that cost thousands which makes millions.

So welcome to media distribution! Our company has been in the trenches of this extraordinary, ever changing system for over a decade. We have worked with pretty much everybody, from big to small. We have released 1000s of titles. We know distribution…well…as much as experience, connections, and hard work can know something so fluid.

Feel free to contact us if you have an inquiry. We represent small, independent films, and large company libraries. We also develop streaming platforms and solutions. So visit our contact page and ask away.

In the meantime, below you can find some basic information on distribution; a little bit of “how it works”. Hopefully, this can help you navigate to a successful release!

My production is finished! Now what do I do? Well, initially there are a few routes you want to consider. The initial decision will be predicated on a few options:

DIY - Hey! It’s the digital age. Why not just release it myself? You can. There are many ways to do this, and some people are very successful in this regard.

Sales Representation - hiring a company who specializes in the film markets, and licenses your film to distributors.

Distribution -Perhaps you have a contact, or know someone who knows someone who can get your film in front of a distributor. You license your title directly to them.

So which way is best for me?

It really depends on the kind of title you are releasing, and how attractive it is to the industry. This may very well be the hardest answer to see with clarity for a filmmaker. Moreover, industry doesn’t always get it right. The Beatles and Harry Potter are examples where industry folks slept at the wheel, until someone more keen inside the industry took a chance.

With that said, the best thing would be to get objective feedback from people you don’t know. Ideally, you can share it with some industry folks who can give you a sense of its value. But the bottom line is you want feedback on its viability and entertainment value. Like any critique, it’s hard to take, but worth it in the end.

Should I release my film in film festivals?

For starters, the festival circuit is not the same as releasing a film in the marketplace. In most respects it should come first (if at all). Festivals are wonderful for exposure, and yet there are not many of them which are tied directly to the marketplace.

If you haven’t heard of the festival, then it’s fine, but it almost certainly not getting you a film deal. It may get you great exposure in that geographic area, which may get somebody to see it and reach out to you, but it’s not exactly a direct conduit.

Also, festivals aren’t for every film, meaning there could be a film which has viability, but not the kind that would play well on a big screen selling tickets. Maybe its potential is exclusively online.

Festivals are not imperative, but if it does get into a big one, then it could be a vehicle for business. In short, it’s worth consideration, but not for every title. And be frugal with your choices as applying to festivals can get costly.

What’s the difference between sales representation and film distribution?

Both have their strengths. Sales Representation is trying to license your film to distributors, and other film buyers. Some may offer some kind of distribution, but their core business is attending markets, and meeting with film and TV buyers. Their strengths are they usually have more geographic reach than some distributors, as they are capable of selling off your title to multiple territories. The challenge with sales reps are that it’s very expensive to attend the film markets. In order to offset that cost, they usually charge up front “marketing fees”, so first dollar in doesn’t usually go to the rights holder. It’s also very hard to license content these days. There are some amazing sales reps out there, but the strongest ones tend to be very selective, and may not even consider a title unless they see it at a film market or from a reliable source.

Distributors actually release your film. Their strength is your film has an actual pathway to getting seen. Additionally, you will have a good sense of when revenues will start being earned. The challenge with distribution is it also has a lot of costs, so there are many deals out there which protect distributors from every possible cost. Also, distributors usually cover specific territories. Some may distribute worldwide, but perhaps their world market is mostly online, or perhaps only cover some global regions.

All roads lead to distribution, so perhaps that’s the way to go if you can. If you have both options, no reason to not consider both! It really depends on the companies.

Should I release my film theatrically?

These days the answer is usually no. If you’re asking this, then clearly you have not been produced by a studio or other entity which handles the theatrical release. So what’s left. Well, there is an arthouse circuit, and there are many chains which will take a chance on an independent film. But it boils down to money, i.e. “Printing & Advertising” (P&A), a fancy way of saying “film marketing budget”. It’s very easy to overspend on P&A, to the point of absorbing any future potential profits. Moreover, the prestige that theatrical had pre-Covid has diminished. It can make sense, but requires a lot of investigation to make that decision.

The first consideration is whether or not your film looks good on the big screen. Bear in mind that pretty much every human has an innate sophisticated, high level of expectation when it comes to films on the big screen. We have all been brought up with blockbuster movies. They have been normalized. So production value is key. Sounds simple, but if the lighting, sound, acting, and (hopefully, but not always) story are not top notch, they will instantly fall into the category of…”oh, cool, I’ll see this when it shows up on Netflix”. These days it takes a lot for a person to buy a movie ticket, get in their car and go to the movie theater, when there are so many options at home.

Well, if I haven’t talked you out of it, then there still is hope. The arthouse community is hungry for cool, original content. Now more than ever these theaters are working extra hard to build community in their neighborhood. The successful have adopted a much more fluid schedule, and are showing not only big movies, but old movies, local movies, and something cool and different. The work with their audience and try to have fun. Maybe that fun is your movie! If so, you probably want distribution, as there are so many moving parts which need to be orchestrated. You can do it yourself, but be prepared for some full time, long hours.

Can you get me on Netflix?

Well, yeah, but that doesn’t mean it will happen. The streaming landscape has changed so dramatically post Covid, and in some respects those changes were already cemented before. The big one is that the major streamers (eg. Netflix, Disney, Max) are most interested in producing their own content. Licensing is still happening, but it’s incredibly smaller than it used to be. Their end game is to own the content they put out, and that’s been the case for years. Pitching any film to these majors these days is being put in a pool of hundreds of other options, many of which are already tied to large productions.

As ubiquitous as Netflix is around the world, the real successes, the actual ROI that films are seeing are through rev share. Platforms such as Peacock, Tubi, Pluto, and many others are paying royalties based on performance. If your title is being seen by millions, you will be getting a piece of it. Even if your title is being seen by a lot less, you will still get something, just not as much.

The advantage to this is that it’s much easier to get people to watch something for free (with ads) or on a service they already have (Tubi has like 80M users). Moreover, it’s much easier and more cost effective to market online, so if you are accessible then you can get people to watch with just a few clicks.

Netflix is great. A deal from them is amazing. But most media these days Is doing their best business outside of major platforms.

Should I put my film on YouTube?

You might want to wait on that for a bit. Once a movie can be found YouTube, it loses appeal to much of the rest of the industry. There’s a place for YouTube, it’s just not in first position. There are some exceptions to that, such as event streaming, and YouTube Rentals, but the usual way of posting on YouTube should be held off until other sectors have been released.

What other sectors are you talking about?

There was a time when releasing a movie had a very strict pathway. These days, with streaming being so big, that pathway has been disrupted. Nevertheless, the industry still abides to some degree of a releasing schedule. Here’s a simplified version of it.

Film Festivals - Already discussed. Most festivals want films before streaming anyway.

Theatrical - Already discussed. Still the flagship of a release, albeit not like before.

Transactional - Basically, anywhere you can rent or download to own the film. Examples are Apple./iTunes, Google Play, Fandango at Home, InDemand (Cable VOD). Some films can be release “Day and Date”, which usually means available to rent at the same time as in theaters.

Broadcast/Licensing - Television, and in some cases streaming is included. This can also be for airlines, cruise ships, and hotels. Generally, the title is licensed for a set period of time, then the licensor can play it during that time, for a flat fee. These are becoming more rare as more and more systems are migrating online. Many times, a licensing deal will have the ability to stream (sometimes exclusively) on their platform during the license period.

Educational - Schools, libraries, universities all offer films and TV for rent or license. There are systems in place which service 1000s of educational partners, and which can monetize content. This sector is usually activated during the transactional window.

Physical - DVD & Blu-ray. Believe it or not, this still exists. In fact, physical sales of media have increased post pandemic, as more customers are becoming wary that their favorite show/film won’t be available to stream. Obviously, it’s not like before, but it’s still a valid business.

Streaming - The motherlode. There’s SVOD, subscriber video on demand, AVOD, ad supported video on demand, and many other iterations of something similar. Basically, if it’s available to watch for free or with a subscription, it counts as streaming. Needless to say, it’s where most activity is happening.