Since the introduction of the Anti-Monopoly Law, the screening link and the production link have been separated, and the large film production companies can be divided into two parts in a macro sense, the production department and the distribution department, which has also given birth to small and medium-sized distribution companies that make a living from distribution, Summit Entertainment and Diorama Pictures can be regarded as representatives - although they have since completed the transformation; There are also independent production companies that specialize in making films, with DreamWorks and Legendary Pictures being among the best.

In Hollywood, many distribution companies have gradually transformed into production companies, and have their own distribution capabilities, thriving, climbing, Lionsgate is a typical case, in 2013, relying on the glory of the "Hunger Games", Lionsgate was even once called "Hollywood's spoiler seven", many professionals believe that they hope to become the seventh largest in Hollywood outside the six major studios.

But on the other hand, there are only a handful of independent production companies that have perfected their distribution departments and gradually developed and achieved great things. At its peak, DreamWorks was one of Hollywood's top eight, as was New Line Pictures, but the trajectories of both were similar: they split and merged, became affiliated with major studios, and disappeared into history.

The reason for this is that the distribution department is huge and complex, and the production company is often more simple, focusing on the production of the work itself.

For independent production companies, there are often two options for the work after a film is completed: either sign an agreement with the distribution company and entrust the distribution to a third party; Either it will land in major film festivals, such as the high-end film festivals in Europe, the commercial ones such as the Toronto Film Festival, and the individual ones led by the Sundance Film Festival, and seek cooperation from large distribution companies after the film festival has achieved praise.

At the end of the day, it's about looking for the help of a third party. In other words, it is to hand over the tedious work, and hand over the business of distribution, publicity, planning and peripherals; At the same time, it is also to hand over the initiative and hand over the dividends of interests.

The "City of God" was like this in the first place, seeking the cooperation of Miramax, but without success; Landing at the Sundance Film Festival, Paramount intervened and successfully landed in theaters. This is the luckiest development curve, Sundance's works are more invested in the videotape market, due to the limitations and constraints of the subject matter, it has never been able to land on the big screen, let alone become famous all over the world, and even the recovery of costs is difficult to reach the sky, which also makes countless independent filmmakers unable to continue.

The importance of the distribution process is self-evident.

The so-called distribution is not as simple as it seems, it is a very special part of the work, covering all aspects. Distribution is a bridge between the production company and the theater chain, but it is not limited to this.

The main responsibilities of the distribution department are: copy, non-cinema, legal affairs, finance, financial management and operations, systems and sales operations, exhibition business, etc. Generally speaking, it is responsible for dealing with theaters, the screening business with non-cinema organizations such as flights, ships, the military, and schools, and the sales and rental business after the release of DVDs. In a word, the distribution department is responsible for promoting the works shot by the production company.

In large film companies, when a film is established and production begins, the work of the distribution department begins, and the preliminary marketing plan must be carried out in conjunction with the publicity department. And when the copy of the work is ready, the test screening work is divided into the distribution department. Generally speaking, there are two types of test screenings, one is for internal personnel, including company managers, directors, etc.; One is to selectively find ordinary audiences and revise the work according to the audience's feedback.

There are generally three types of projection strategies: large-scale public screenings, mainly 700 to 4,000 screens; limited screenings, mainly fifty to seven hundred screens; and exclusive screenings. Developing a screening strategy, which is also the job of the distribution department. For example, for the screening strategy of "City of God", Paramount chose to start with on-demand screenings, and the first three weeks were limited screenings, methodically increasing theaters, and it was not until the fourth week that it began to enter the large-scale public screening, which was all matched with the public relations strategy.

Similarly, the screening schedule is also the work of the distribution department. The schedules of "The Day After Tomorrow" and "Troy" are one after the other, and the strong collide, and the head-to-head duel between "Ocean's Twelve" and "Murder with a Knife" and the narrow encounter are all products of the competition between the distribution departments. Generally speaking, the distribution department has to test each other and develop strategies for each other, which is a job that requires a lot of experience and ingenuity, and Hollywood's top major production companies will also ask each other to develop corresponding strategies in tacit understanding.

Of course, for the distribution department, a very important job is to deal with the theater chain. The so-called cinema chain is a system in which the same institution or organization has multiple supporters according to different rights and methods, and manages these cinemas in a unified manner.

In fact, in the early days, the film projection industry was a monopoly industry, and established film companies such as Warner Bros., MGM, Universal Pictures, and Paramount all had their own movie theater chains. However, after the passage of the Paramount case in 1948, in order to oppose the monopoly of the industry, it was impossible for American film companies to control everything from content to screening at the same time. The cinema chain was separated from the major film companies and became a separate industry. Therefore, now large film companies only have distribution departments, but they do not have their own theaters.

At present, the exhibition industry in the United States is also controlled by several large theater chains, including Royal Entertainment, General Motors, United Arts, AMC, Carmike, Marcus and so on. At present, there are about 30,000 screens in the United States, and 45% of them are controlled by these theaters, which have amassed more than 80% of the box office revenue. Take AMC, the world's second-largest cinema chain group, as an example, with a total of 3,500 screens in the United States, all over major cities in the United States.

Of course, in addition to the large commercial theater chains, there have always been independent and artistic theaters in the American film industry, and these art theaters have provided strong support for American universities to offer film studies courses. Now the number one art theater chain in the United States is Landmark Company.

Therefore, what the distribution department needs to do is to cooperate with major theaters in the United States to make an agreement on the box office dividends of the movie's release, and can choose to negotiate a guaranteed reserve price and buy it out; You can also choose box office dividends, and formulate different sharing ratios according to different time stages such as the first three weeks, the fourth week and the ninth week.

At present, North America basically chooses the latter. The distribution department needs to fight for more benefits for its own company, while small and medium-sized production companies often struggle to occupy too many advantages, and even need independent films to choose a guaranteed buyout method in order to land on the big screen, and then pray for the success of the film. But even so, for the sake of their own interests, the theater chain refuses to show some obscure artworks, resulting in some works can only go directly to the home video market without going through the big screen link.

In addition to negotiating with the theater chain, the distribution department also needs to hire an investigation company, perhaps openly or privately, to investigate the theater chain, so as to avoid the situation of the theater chain concealing the box office. Of course, this is very rare, almost impossible, and this is a matter of credibility.

All in all, the distribution department is not a simple job, and it involves a lot of work. This is also the reason why Ian was surprised by Lance's proposal just now, the establishment of 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 really complete the distribution of a film work.

None of this can be done in a moment, not to mention that Sin City is now ready to fly, even from the production stage of Sin City, which is difficult for Chaos Pictures to do with its current size and funding - Chaos Pictures is now the equivalent of the production department of a major film company, and the establishment of a distribution department is equivalent to the creation of a whole new company.

Lance had a different idea, meaning to negotiate with the major theaters separately for the "Sin City" film and sign a screening agreement. Such a way is not only primitive, but also cumbersome.

First of all, Lance must sell the work "Sin City" to the theater manager one by one, and it must involve multiple theaters, maybe he talks to GM today, and he will go to AMC tomorrow, and the mountain of Royal Entertainment is still in front of him, and the work is tedious and heavy. However, Lance is no longer a nobody, and the box office successes of "The Day After Tomorrow" and "Murder with a Knife" will become his calling card, creating the possibility of success in this work.

Secondly, Chaos Pictures is an independent production company, and "Sin City" is an R-rated work, which also means that major theaters will definitely not be soft. The box office sharing model is bound to be impossible to follow the industry practice of "nine to one in the first three weeks", and the theater managers will never let go of such an opportunity to bite a piece of meat from Lance. If there is a distribution department, then it is completely possible to sing red face and white face alone, and then use the sign of "Lancelot-Strello" to seek long-term cooperation, which is bound to win more benefits, but the problem is that they do not have a distribution department.

Not only does this mean that the job will be difficult, but it will also mean that the box office pressure and profit pressure on "Sin City" will be further increased, and as Ian fears, if it fails, the loss could be double or even triple.

But Ian also understands Lance's intentions, and Lance wants to start with Sin City and now set out to build a distribution department. Sooner or later, this work will have to begin, and it is clear that Sin City will be a good opportunity. It's just that the risks of all this have not yet been assessed......

"Are you sure?" Ian asked solemnly, his eyes glinting with seriousness. (To be continued.) )