- Distributors – These generally, are huge multi-national companies who purchase the right to distribute films worldwide. The main players are 20th Century Fox, Buena Vista, Sony, United International Pictures (UIP) and Warner Bros. There are smaller companies who tend to distribute the smaller budget films.
In all cases the distributors purchase the right to distribute a film from the film maker. They then charge cinemas who want to show one of their films a fee, based on a variable percentage of ticket sales. The bigger and more popular the film, the bigger the percentage. Distributors want their films to make as much money as quickly as possible; this means that the bigger city-based cinemas get the films first as they have the potential to deliver the best audiences. Once a film has run for a few weeks at the big cinemas, the small cinemas get their chance to show them. For more information on the distributors follow this link to the Film Distributors Association http://www.launchingfilms.com/index.html
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Multiplex cinemas – These are the large multi-screen cinemas you find in big cities. They usually have at least seven screens although some of the bigger ones have up to twenty screens. They can seat up to 500 people in each auditorium, which means they can sell lots of tickets, which pleases the distributors. However the multiplex cinemas generate the majority of their income from selling food and drink, as anyone who has been to one will know.
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- Film certificates – All films shown to a paying audience in the UK must be certified for public viewing by the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC). Films are submitted either by the film makers themselves or the distributor. The films are then watched by a panel of assessors who rate the film according to set criteria. Depending on its content, the film is given a certificate.
U – Universal, suitable for all ages.
PG – Parental Guidance, suitable for all but some scenes may be unsuitable for younger children.
12A – children under twelve must be accompanied by a person over 18.
15 – suitable for audiences of 15 years and older, and
18 – suitable only for adults.
Films are assessed according to language, violence, sex and thematic content. Basically, the more bad language, sex and violence there is in the film, the higher the certificate. It is against the law for a cinema to sell a ticket to anyone who doesn’t meet the age restriction of any film. Anyone may be asked for photographic proof of age if they appear to be underage. For more information on film classification follow this link www.bbfc.co.uk
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