Film distributor

A film distributor is a distributor of movies, so supplies cinemas with film prints or data carriers and thus provides an important link between the production of the film and the consumption in theaters dar. The rental of movies as Video DVD to private individuals is described under the heading video library.

Explanation of terms

" Rent " is legally taken exactly an inappropriate term since the film copies of the rental not (for free ) awarded, but can be rented for a " rental fee " ( movie rental). In practice, the term " movie rentals " but so pervasive that it is maintained.

History

Until about 1906, 1907, most of the films were no longer than about 10 minutes, so a maximum of two rolls of film. The manufacturers produced their films to meet demand in large numbers and sold them to theater owners. As the cinema around 1906 for the first time recorded worldwide visitors declines, since the short, content always similar films already lost its appeal, the transition was to longer, more varied content films, with up to about 20 minutes in length instead. To the now correspondingly higher cost finance and at the same time to allow the cinema owner to change the movies frequently, the rental system was introduced across the board.

Groundwork

In general, the films ( producer or world sales authorized by him ) purchased the rights for the national recovery from the manufacturer. Hire now cares for an appropriate market-based editing of the film ( dubbing, subtitling ) and parental control ( submission to the voluntary self-regulation, etc.). It may happen that the original movie is reduced to obtain a more favorable for marketing by the ESRB. It is also possible that a film that has been reduced in its country of origin for the same reasons, is given here in a longer version. The rental is a date and time in which the movie officially hits the market ( in Germany: Federal Start), at film festivals and the like but also official previews or unannounced sneak previews are available, in addition there are press screenings. The national advertising for a film lies with the lenders, while the regional advertising (except in large cities ) mostly left to the local cinemas.

Rental process

Hire now represents the cinema the film prints and their demonstration rights available and receives usually a fixed percentage of revenue. He cares about the termination ( when the films are used where ), during storage and shipping are often done by independent regional film bearings. In order to reduce storage costs, much of the film copies after the first, massive evaluation destroyed or the carrier material ( polyester) for recycling. Most of the rental has acquired the national rights to the film evaluation only for a limited period. Especially in the area of non-commercial film work ( film club, Municipal theater, film festivals ), there is, therefore, that a rental nor any copy, but no more rights, then other from the borrower, the cinema operator, in addition to the fees payable to the lender specially during World Sales or rights owners must be purchased. It may also happen that still rights for national performance at the rental can be, but does not have a playable copy of the film more, then otherwise ( Cinematheque, Film collectors archive) procured and also have to pay extra.

One at the beginning of the 1920s by American film companies used illegal methods to coerce theaters to accept all located in their own Movies, was the block system. In order for the European market for its own productions should be backed up.

With the spread of digital cinema is changing the processes in the distribution of film prints.

Rental districts

The film distributors have divided so-called rent districts. For each district has its own media relations and a separate disposition. In each district there is a rental or a plurality of film stock, from which the movie theaters are served centrally by forwarding agents with the copies. Even the press screenings are distributed by district.

The rental areas in detail:

• Hamburg (Schleswig -Holstein, Hamburg, Bremen, Lower Saxony )
• Berlin (Mecklenburg -Vorpommern, Brandenburg, Saxony -Anhalt, Saxony, Thuringia )
• Dusseldorf (Nordrhein- Westfalen)
• Frankfurt ( Hesse, Rhineland -Palatinate, Saarland, parts of Baden- Württemberg, parts of Bavaria )
• Munich (parts of Bavaria, parts of Baden- Württemberg)

Non-commercial film distribution

There are also non-commercial film distributors (eg Regional Film Services / State Media Services eV, Matthias movie of the Evangelical Church in Germany ) of which but many, including state and county -image areas, more common on the example, in schools and youth work cine film format 16 mm limit ( which is increasingly being replaced by DVDs as an image carrier ), while in the commercial sector (cinema) almost exclusively the 35 - mm format is used.

Business

In Europe, U.S. lenders dominate. About the largest market shares have Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures (formerly Buena Vista International), Warner Bros., UIP, 20th Century Fox and Sony Pictures Entertainment. The most significant German lenders are Constantin Film, Concorde and the film StudioCanal GmbH (former cinema world).

From the film distributors independent arthouse cinemas work.