Since the introduction of the Anti-monopoly Law, the screening and production links have been separated. Large film production companies can be divided into two parts in the macro sense, the production department and the distribution department. This has also given birth to small and medium-sized distribution companies that have been produced through development. Tingfeng Entertainment and Diorama Film can be regarded as representatives - although they have completed the transformation later; there are also production companies that specialize in film production, DreamWorks and Legend Pictures are among the best. ︾Less︾Wen︾Little︾Say |

In Hollywood, many distribution companies have gradually transformed into production companies, and have their own distribution capabilities, thriving and rising steadily. Lionsgate Pictures is a typical case. In 2013, relying on the glory of the "Hunger Games", Lionsgate Pictures was even once called "Hollywood's disruption of seven characters". Many professionals believe that they have the hope of becoming the seventh largest in Hollywood's six major film companies.

But on the other hand, production companies have improved their distribution departments, gradually grown and expanded, and achieved great achievements. Dreamworks at their peak ranked among the top eight Hollywood films, and the same is true for New Line Films, but the development trajectory of the two is similar: they have split and become affiliated with large film companies, and disappeared in the long river of history.

The reason is that the distribution department is huge and complex, and production companies are often more simple and focus on the production of the works themselves. If they are not good at this, they can only sigh in the end, but have the will but lack the ability.

For production companies, after completing a film, there are often two choices: either sign an agreement with the distribution company and entrust the distribution business to a third party to be responsible; or they are logged in to major film festivals, high-end ones are like the three major film festivals in Europe, commercial ones are like the Toronto Film Festival, and individually headed by the Sundance Film Festival. After the film festival gains praise, they seek cooperation from large distribution companies.

In the final analysis, it is about finding help from third parties. In other words, it means handing over the tedious work, issuance, publicity, planning, and surrounding businesses; it is also about handing over the initiative and giving away the dividends of interests.

"City of God" was like this at the beginning. I sought cooperation from Miramax but failed. I landed at Sundance Film Festival, Paramount intervened and successfully landed in theaters. This is the lucky development curve. The works displayed on Sundance are mostly invested in the video tape market. Due to the limitations and restrictions of the subject matter, they are still unable to land on the big screen. Not to mention being famous all over the world, even the recycling cost is difficult to reach, which makes countless filmmakers unable to continue.

The importance of the issuance process is self-evident.

The so-called distribution is not as simple as literally. It is a very special work link that covers all aspects. Distribution is a bridge between production companies and theaters, but it is not limited to this.

The main responsibilities of the issuance department are: copying, non-cinema, legal affairs, finance, financial management and operation, system and sales operations, projection business, etc. Generally speaking, it is responsible for dealing with theaters, responsible for projection business with non-cinema institutions such as flights, ships, military, schools, etc., and responsible for sales and leasing business after the release of DVDs. In a word, the issuance department is responsible for promoting works shot by the production company.

Among large film companies, when a film is launched and produced, the work of the distribution department begins, and the preliminary marketing plan must be coordinated with the publicity department and carried out one after another. When the copy of the work is ready, the preview work is divided into two parts. One is to target internal personnel, including company managers, directors, etc., and the other is to selectively find ordinary audiences and modify the work based on audience feedback.

There are generally three types of screening strategies: large-scale screening, mainly 700 to 4,000 screens; limited screening, mainly 50 to 700 screens; and exclusive screening. Formulating screening strategies is also the job of the distribution department. For example, the screening strategy of "City of God", Paramount chose to start preview. In the first three weeks, there were limited screenings, and theaters were added in an orderly manner. It was not until the fourth week that it began to enter the large-scale screening stage. This was all matched with the public relations strategy.

Similarly, the screening schedule is also the job of the distribution department. The schedules of "the day after tomorrow" and "Troy" are one after another, and the strong collisions are strong, and the "Twelve Arhats" and "killing people with a knife" are facing each other, and they meet in a narrow road. These are the products of the distribution department's competition. Generally speaking, head-on or avoiding the schedule, the distribution department must test each other and formulate strategies with each other. This is a task that requires experience and talent. Moreover, the top large production companies in Hollywood will also inquire about each other and formulate corresponding strategies in tacit understanding.

Of course, for the distribution department, a very important task is to deal with theaters. The so-called theaters are a system in which the same institution or organization has multiple support companies in accordance with different rights and unified management of these theaters' vision.

In fact, in the early days, the film screening industry was a monopoly industry. Old film companies such as Warner Bros., MGM, Universal Pictures, and Paramount all had their own cinema chains. However, after the Paramount case was passed in 1948, in order to oppose industry monopoly, American film companies could not grasp all the links from content to screenings at the same time. The theater chains were separated from major film companies and became a separate industry. Therefore, now large film companies only have distribution departments, but do not have their own theater chains.

At present, the United States' screening industry is also controlled by several large theater chains, including Royal Entertainment, General Motors, Lianyi, Amc, Carmike, Marcus, etc. Currently, there are about 30,000 screens in the United States, of which 45% are controlled by these theater chains, and have accumulated more than 80% of the box office revenue. Take Amc, the world's second largest theater chain chain, as an example, as a case study, which has a total of 3,500 screens in the United States, covering major cities across the United States.

Of course, in addition to large commercial chain theaters, there are always some art theaters in the American film industry, which provide strong support for American universities to offer film research courses. The number one art theater in the United States is now a landmark company.

Therefore, what the distribution department needs to do is to cooperate with major theaters in the United States and make an agreement on the box office dividends for movie releases. You can choose to agree on the guaranteed price and buy it out in one go; you can also choose box office dividends, and formulate different share ratios based on different time stages such as the first three weeks, the fourth week to the ninth week.

At present, North America basically chooses the latter. The distribution department needs to strive for more benefits for its own company, while small and medium-sized production companies often find it difficult to gain too much advantage. In order to land on the big screen, movies have to choose a guaranteed buyout method, and then pray that the movies can succeed. But even so, theaters refuse to show some obscure and difficult art works for their own interests, resulting in some works being able to go directly into the home video tape market without going through the big screen.

In addition to negotiations with theaters, the distribution department also needs to hire investigation companies, perhaps publicly or non-publicly, to investigate theaters, so as to avoid the occurrence of theaters concealing box office. Of course, this situation is very rare and almost impossible, and this is a credibility issue.

In short, the distribution department is not a simple job, the work it involves is very cumbersome. This is also the reason why Ian was surprised by Lance's proposal just now. Establishing a distribution department requires not only funds, but also a large number of professionals and fresh blood, and cooperate with publicity, planning and other departments to truly complete the distribution of a movie.

All this cannot be done in a short while. Don’t say that “City of Sin” is now on the verge of arrows. Even starting from the production stage of “City of Sin”, with Chaos Pictures’ current scale and capital, it is a big deal. Chaos Pictures is now equivalent to the production department of a large film company, and establishing a distribution department is equivalent to establishing a brand new company.

Lance's idea was different. He meant to negotiate with major theaters alone on the movie "City of Sin" and sign screening agreements. This method is not only primitive, but also troublesome.

First of all, Lance must sell the work "City of Sin" to the theater managers one by one, and it must involve multiple theaters. Maybe we talked with General Motors today and we will go to find amc tomorrow, and the mountain of Royal Entertainment is still in front of us. This work is cumbersome and heavy. However, Lance is no longer an unknown person now. The box office victory of the two works "The day after tomorrow" and "Killing with a knife" will become his business card, creating possibilities for the success of this work.

Secondly, Chaos Pictures is a production company, and "City of Sin" is an R-level work, which also means that major theaters will definitely not be lenient. The box office share model will inevitably be impossible to follow the industry practice of "nine to one for the first three weeks". The theater managers will never miss such an opportunity and bite a piece of meat from Lance. If there is a distribution department, then you can sing a red face and a white face alone, and then use the sign "Lancelot-Stralo" to seek long-term cooperation, which will inevitably win more benefits, but the problem is that they do not have a distribution department.

This not only means work difficulties, but also means that the box office and profit pressure of "Sin City" will be further increased. As Ian was worried, once he failed, the loss may be twice or even triple.

But Ian also understood Lance's intention. Lance hoped to start with "Sin City" as the starting point and now began to establish an issuance department. This work will begin sooner or later, and it is obvious that "Sin City" will be a good opportunity. However, the risks of all this have not been evaluated...

"Are you sure?" Ian asked solemnly, with a serious light flashing in his eyes.

...
Chapter completed!