An Introduction to Film

homogeneous audiences must attract them through
publicity generated by media coverage, festival
screenings and awards, and audience word of mouth.
Today’s movie audiences are composed primarily
of young people, whose preferences are reflected in
the following list of the fifty highest-grossing films
worldwide. The list in Table 11.4, which is not
adjusted for such factors as ticket-price inflation,
population size, or ticket purchasing trends, neces-
sarily gives more weight to recent films (in this case,
those made since 1977).
The mode of production determines how the
activities in this final phase of postproduction are
accomplished. Under the studio system, in the days
of vertical integration, each studio or its parent
company controlled production, distribution, and
exhibition. Independent producers, however, have
never followed any single path in distributing films.
A small producer without a distribution network
has various options, which include renting the film
to a studio (such as Paramount) or to a producing
organization (such as United Artists or Miramax)
that will distribute it. These larger firms can also
arrange for the film to be advertised and exhibited.
Deciding how and where to advertise, distribute,
and show a film is, like the filmmaking process
itself, the work of professionals. During the final

weeks of postproduction, the people responsible

for promotion and marketing make a number of

weighty decisions. They determine the release date

(essential for planning and carrying out the adver-

tising and other publicity necessary to build an

audience) and the number of screens on which the

film will make its debut (necessary so that a corre-

sponding number of release prints can be made

and shipped to movie theaters). At the same time,

they finalize domestic and foreign distribution

rights and ancillary rights, contract with firms who

make videotapes and DVDs, schedule screenings

on airlines and cruise ships, and for certain kinds

of films, arrange marketing tie-ins with fast-food

chains, toy manufacturers, and so on.

The model for distributing and exhibiting a movie

depends on the product itself. For example, there are

exclusive and limited releases (a first-run showing in

major cities, often used to gauge public response

before a wider release), key-city releases (a second-

tier release that further measures public response),

and wide and saturated releases on hundreds or

thousands of screens in the major markets as good

reviews and word of mouth builds public awareness

and demand. In addition, based on the mode of

release, there are complex formulas for establish-

ing the rental cost of a print (or digital download),

TABLE 11.3 (continued)

Subtotals Totals Grand Totals

Insurance $2,800

Miscellaneous expenses $3,350

Trailer (preview) $2,000

Stills $850

Publicity $3,000

INDIRECT COSTS $239,778

General studio overhead (35%) $223,822

Depreciation (2.5%) $15,956

GRAND TOTAL COST (release negative) $878,000

Source: Adapted from Joel Finler, The Hollywood Story(New York: Crown, 1988), p. 39.

MARKETING AND DISTRIBUTION 509