Institutional research

What is a film distributor?

A film distributor is a company responsible for the marketing of a film.The company decides the method by which the film will be distributedand set the release dates for the trailer, film, DVD etc.

Examples of UK independent film distributors:

StudioCanal

Studio Canal was established in London, May 1999 and over the years since has developed a reputation for an innovative approach to distribution. Every year, in total, StudioCanal distributes more than 50 films. Also, the company owns one of the most important libraries in the world, with over 5000 titles internationally.

Film 1: The Awakening (2011)

Genre: Horror/ThrillerBudget: £3.1 millionBox Office: $4,490,365

Synopsis: “In 1921, England is overwhelmed by the loss and grief of World War One. Hoax exposer Florence Cathcart visits a boarding school to explain sightings of a child ghost. Everything she believes unravels as the 'missing' begin to show themselves.”

The awakening and our film have a common theme of the fear of the unknown and the need to get to the bottom of the truth. This shows Studiocanal has a history of distributing a film like ours. Studiocanal had the help of BBC to distribute the film and trailer on their channels and websites. This will lead to our film getting more exposure to the public. StudioCanal have a UK base, the distribution of our film fits into their remit of distributing UK and EU independent films.

Most of the films StudioCanal distribute have a big budget. This is a disadvantage because as a small independent production company, we may not have as much money as their other films have had to put into distribution. Without enough money, the quality of distribution may be poor and there might be a possibility of making a loss on the film.

Film 2: PaddingtonSynopsis: “A young Peruvian bear travels to London in search of a home. Finding himself lost and alone at Paddington Station, he meets the kindly Brown family, who offer him a temporary haven.”

Genre: Animation/Comedy/FamilyBudget: £30 millionBox Office: £1.8 billion

Based on a book, the story of Paddington was adapted and turned into a successful film that made over £1 billion at the Box Office. This an example of a film that was produced and distributed by Studiocanal (with the help of another production company) with Paddington being the most expensive film produced by Studiocanal. This film was distributed worldwide and did extremely well internationally. It was released also as a Nintendo DS game in the UK and a DVD in the UK and the USA.

This would make us want to pick Studiocanal as this shows that they can also produce and help us make our film better. Also, it reflects the fact that they can successfully distribute internationally. This is appealing to us as the more exposure we get, the more people will buy products relating to our film and this money could be put towards expanding our production company further after this film.

Soda Pictures

Soda Pictures was established in London in 2002 and it specialises in art house, independent and world cinema. Soda pictures releases over 25 films a year with a library of over 300 films internationally.

Film 1: The Face of an Angel

The Face of An Angel based on the real if story

of Amanda Knox who was accused of

murdering Meredith Kercher. The film had a

star studded cast with an extremely good

director. Soda Pictures distributed this film

independently. This film was produced by 6

companies including BBC Films. It was first

released at Toronto International Film Festival.

However, this film was not as successful was it

could have been because Soda Pictures is

such a small distribution company, it did not

have the money to distribute the film as

extensively as needed.

Synopsis: “Both a journalist and a documentary filmmaker chase the story of a murder and its prime suspect.”

Film 2: Only Lovers Left Alive

Genre: Horror/Drama/RomanceBudget: £4.8 million Box Office: £5.3 million

Synopsis: “A depressed musician reunites with his lover, though their romance - which has already endured several centuries - is disrupted by the arrival of her uncontrollable younger sister.”

Only Lovers Left Alive is a film with a very interesting plot. It was produced by Recorded Picture Company (which is a small british company) and Pandora Film. This shows us that Soda Pictures has experience with working with small british companies like us, which is an attractive attribute the company holds.

However, even though it was released at Cannes Film Festival, the UK and Germany it still only made £5.3 million. The film had a small budget to begin with, which means the film only made a profit of £500,000 which is an extremely poor result. For a small british company like us, we would simply not be able to survive after such a flop. If Soda Pictures had the right money and connections, then using them as our distributor would be a good idea.

Unfortunately, we will not be using Soda Pictures as they do not have enough experience and money behind it to distribute our film and make it a massive success.

Vertigo Films

Vertigo Films is a british film production and distribution company. The company was established London, July 2002. Vertigo Films distributed and produced several successful films and has been nominated for a number of different awards.

Film 1: StreetDance 2

Genre: Drama/RomanceBudget: £7 millionBox office: £1.4 billion

Synopsis: “After suffering humiliation by the crew Invincible, street dancer Ash (Hentschel) looks to gather the best dancers from around the world for a rematch.”

StreetDance 2 is a very popular British film that is part of a series of StreetDance Films. The film was released in 2012 in association with BBC Films. This film had a star studded cast, for example George Sampson from Britain's Got Talent. This shows us that Vertigo Films has experience with both producing and distributing film and the film being successful.

Working with Vertigo Films would be a good move for us to do as they are UK based and have a lot of experience with working on a small budget and still getting a good film out of it.

Film 2: Monsters (2010)

Genre: Thriller/Drama Budget: < £341,000Box Office: £3.9 million

Synopsis: “Six years after Earth has suffered an alien invasion a cynical journalist agrees to escort a shaken American tourist through an infected zone in Mexico to the safety of the US border.”

Monsters was a science fiction film by Gareth Edwards on a very small budget. This was his debut film and it was extremely successful compared to the very low budget they had. This film was produced and directed by solely Vertigo Films. The low budget and great success they achieved is something very attractive to us. Our films have similarities such as using people in our film that weren’t professional actors. Monsters shows us the use of people who aren’t actors is unlikely to affect the success of our film.

However, we will not be picking Vertigo Films as our distributor because they have not reflected experience of working with small british companies and their library is not as big as other distributors who have much more experience in distributing film.

Our Distributor is...

We chose StudioCanal as they have a lot of experience when dealing with small british companies like us.