Film distributors: what they do for a cinema

Between the producer and the audience sits the distributor. It acquires the rights to release a film in a territory — sometimes all rights, sometimes only theatrical — and then decides how wide to open it, when, and with how much marketing money behind it.

For a cinema that translates into a handful of concrete jobs. The distributor agrees to book the film to you, sets the rental terms, ships the DCP, issues the KDMs for your screens, supplies trailers and marketing materials, and collects its share after the run through settlement.

Distributors notice which cinemas report on time, pay on time, hold a film when it is working and actually market the titles they book. That reputation is what gets a small venue a print on opening weekend rather than three weeks later — and it is built one settlement at a time.

Many independents never deal with the studios at all and use a film buyer instead, who books across many venues and carries the relationship. That is covered under film booking.

Looking for who distributes in your country? Our directory of film distributors by country lists more than 460, each taken from an association or film institute list.