Once a film is in the can, a film distributor has the crucial task of booking it onto cinema screens and marketing it aggressively to the public. Not surprisingly, the distribution industry is populated by commercially astute players with strong marketing skills.

The sector is largely controlled by US distribution companies owned by US studios with the primary purpose of releasing their own films and other features they may have acquired on the international market.

The largest player in the UK in terms of box office receipts is currently Buena Vista, which distributes Disney and Miramax films, followed by UIP, an organisation jointly owned by Universal Pictures and Paramount. Coming in third place is Entertainment, an independent British owned company with a hugely successful track-record of delivering commercially successful films to the public - including The Lord Of The Rings trilogy.¹

Most independent distributors will also have a buying department charged with hunting down new films that they think will play well at cinemas. This will involve travelling around the world to festivals such as Cannes, Berlin and Toronto where new films are showcased on an annual basis. For buyers, festivals can be fiercely competitive events where bidding wars for popular titles frequently erupt. A successful acquisition, such as Entertainment’s canny purchase of My Big Fat Greek Wedding at a film market, can prove to be a financial gold-mine.

Some distributors build strong relationships with certain film-makers and will invest in their film before it goes into production - effectively allowing it to buy the UK rights.

Other distributors will buy a film direct from a sales agent which has been employed by a production company to market the film.

Our 2006 Skillset Employment Census revealed 97% of those working in Distribution work in London.

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