Limited theatrical release is a film distribution strategy of releasing a new film in a few theaters across a country, typically art house theaters in major metropolitan markets. Since 1994, a limited theatrical release in the United States and Canada has been defined by Nielsen EDI as a film released in fewer than 600 theaters. [1] [2]
The purpose is often used to gauge the appeal of specialty films, like documentaries, independent films and art films. A common practice by film studios is to give highly anticipated and critically acclaimed films a limited release on or before December 31 in Los Angeles County, California, to qualify for Academy Award nominations (as by its rules). Highly anticipated documentaries also receive limited releases at the same time in New York City, as the rules for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature mandate releases in both locations. The films are almost always released to a wider audience in January or February of the following year.
One notable exception is The Rocky Horror Picture Show , which premiered in 1975 and is still shown only in limited fashion; it is the longest-running theatrical release in film history. [3]
In the United States, even a limited theatrical release can help trigger a variety of ancillary revenues, like home video, pay television, streaming, international sales and others. [4] [5] [6] [7]
A platform release is a type of limited release in which a film opens in fewer theaters (typically 50 or fewer) than a wide release. [8] If the film receives positive word of mouth, it is gradually expanded to more theaters, as the marketing campaign gains momentum. [9] [10] A successful film released in this manner has even the possibility of expanding into a wide release. [11]
The advantage of the strategy is that marketing costs are conserved until a film's performance has been established, when the distributor may opt to increase advertising and push for a wider release. [8] On the other hand, if audience turnout is not successful, the distributor can withdraw from the campaign, thus minimizing advertising and promotional expenditures. [9] [11]
In the early stages of a platform release, the key metric is the per-theater/screen average gross, not the total box office gross. [12] Arthouse and independent films that garner high per-theater averages are seen as likely candidates for a successful wider release. A distributor using this release strategy must take care not to expand too quickly in the early stages to prevent the (limited) audience from being spread too thin, which would reduce the per-theater average and so cause the film to appear weaker. [9]
Platform releases are commonly used by studios and distributors seeking to position their films for awards success. [13] These films are typically released in the largest markets first, with a gradual rollout depending on audience hype and interest. [8] These releases are usually scheduled towards the end of the year to coincide with major awards events. [9] [14] When a film garners awards attention during this period, critical praise and strong word-of-mouth can translate into a higher per-screen average, and thus expansion to more theaters. [8] [9] Awards attention benefits films from smaller companies or distributors who do not have the larger budgets needed to spend on advertising. [15]
With streaming technology making films more accessible to audiences regardless of geographic location, the platform release strategy has been criticized as an outdated model as it limits specialty films to metropolitan areas. [16]
A notable example is the 2017 film Call Me By Your Name , which debuted at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival and began its limited theatrical run on November 24, 2017, in New York City and Los Angeles, [17] [16] with a wider opening on Christmas Day. [18] Only until days before the nominees for the 90th Academy Awards were announced was the film expanded to 800 theaters. [16] [19] [20] Distributor Sony Pictures Classics sparked criticism for not expanding to more cities sooner. [16] [15] Some journalists and industry sources defended the rollout, arguing an immediate wide release for such a film with a specialized audience was not a viable option. [21] [15]
In 2021, some films that were awards contenders ( Belfast , Spencer) were opened in wide release. [22] The shift away from platform releases was seen as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic's impact on theaters and the streaming age. [22]
Direct-to-video or straight-to-video refers to the release of a film, television series, short or special to the public immediately on home video formats rather than an initial theatrical release or television premiere. This distribution strategy was prevalent before streaming platforms came to dominate the TV and movie distribution markets.
In the motion picture industry, a wide release is a film playing at the same time at cinemas in most markets across a country. This is in contrast to the formerly common practice of a roadshow theatrical release in which a film opens at a few cinemas in key cities before circulating among cinemas around a country, or a limited release in which a film is booked at fewer cinemas in larger cities in anticipation of lesser commercial appeal. In some cases, a film that sells well in limited release will then "go wide". Since 1994, a wide release in the United States and Canada has been defined by Nielsen EDI as a film released in more than 600 theaters.
Film distribution, also called film exhibition or film distribution and exhibition, is the process of making a movie available for viewing to an audience. This is normally the task of a professional film distributor, who would determine the marketing and release strategy for the film, the media by which a film is to be exhibited or made available for viewing and other matters. The film may be exhibited directly to the public either through a movie theater or television, or personal home viewing. For commercial projects, film distribution is usually accompanied by film promotion.
A simultaneous release, also known as a day-and-date release, is the release of a film on multiple platforms—most commonly theatrical, home video and video on demand (VOD)—on the exact same day, or in very close proximity to each other. This is in contrast to the industry standard of having a window of exclusivity between the theatrical and home video releases.
The Film Collaborative (TFC) is an American non-profit organization. Based in Los Angeles, The Film Collaborative services filmmakers worldwide by providing distribution guidance and support as well as theatrical, film festival and digital distribution of art house, independent and world cinema.
Pantelion Films was an American film production company that was created in 2010 and based in Santa Monica, California. The studio's goal was to bring wider theatrical distribution of movies aimed at Latino audiences. It was backed by TelevisaUnivision and Lionsgate Studios. Making theatrical relationships with movie exhibition chains including Regal Entertainment Group, AMC Theatres, Cinemex, and Cinemark, the studio raised the level of theatrically-released Latino films. Under that arrangement, Pantelion was active with its own office from 2010 to 2023. The studio's first film was 2011's From Prada to Nada, which Lionsgate and Grupo Televisa announced it had commissioned for a television series that did not materialize in 2012. The studio's office was discontinued in 2023 and its website redirected in 2024 effectively ending the studio's operational lifecycle though not the usage of its trademark for existing unreleased if not future productions.
A24 Films LLC, commonly referred to as A24, is an American independent entertainment company that specializes in film and television production, as well as film distribution. The company is based in Manhattan.
Fences is a 2016 American period drama film directed and co-produced by Denzel Washington from a screenplay by August Wilson, based on his 1985 play of the same name. It stars Washington, Viola Davis, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Jovan Adepo, Russell Hornsby, Mykelti Williamson, and Saniyya Sidney. It follows a working-class African-American father who tries to raise his family in the 1950s, while coming to terms with the events of his life.
The Irishman is a 2019 American epic gangster film directed and produced by Martin Scorsese from a screenplay by Steven Zaillian, based on the 2004 book I Heard You Paint Houses by Charles Brandt. It stars Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, and Joe Pesci, with Ray Romano, Bobby Cannavale, Anna Paquin, Stephen Graham, Stephanie Kurtzuba, Jesse Plemons, and Harvey Keitel in supporting roles. The film follows Frank Sheeran, a truck driver who becomes a hitman involved with mobster Russell Bufalino (Pesci) and his crime family before later working for the powerful Teamster Jimmy Hoffa (Pacino). The film marked the ninth collaboration between Scorsese and De Niro, in addition to Scorsese's fifth collaboration with Harvey Keitel, his fourth collaboration with Joe Pesci; his first with Al Pacino; the fourth collaboration between Pacino and De Niro; and the first collaboration between Pacino and Pesci altogether.
He Named Me Malala is a 2015 American documentary film directed by Davis Guggenheim. The film presents the young Pakistani female activist and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai, who has spoken out for the rights of girls, especially the right to education, since she was very young. The film also recounts how she survived and has become even more eloquent in her quest after being hunted down and shot by a Taliban gunman as part of the organization's violent opposition to girls' education in the Swat Valley in Pakistan. The title refers to the Afghani folk hero Malalai of Maiwand, after whom her father named her.
Call Me by Your Name is a 2017 coming-of-age romantic drama film directed by Luca Guadagnino. Its screenplay, by James Ivory, who also co-produced, is based on the 2007 novel of the same title by André Aciman. The film is the final installment in Guadagnino's thematic "Desire" trilogy, after I Am Love (2009), and A Bigger Splash (2015). Set in 1983 in northern Italy, Call Me by Your Name chronicles the romantic relationship between 17-year-old Elio Perlman and Oliver, a 24-year-old graduate-student assistant to Elio's father Samuel, an archaeology professor. The film also stars actresses Amira Casar, Esther Garrel, and Victoire Du Bois.
Roma is a 2018 drama film written and directed by Alfonso Cuarón, who also produced, shot, and co-edited it. Set in 1970 and 1971, Roma follows the life of a live-in indigenous (Mixteco) housekeeper of an upper-middle-class Mexican family, as a semi-autobiographical take on Cuarón's upbringing in the Colonia Roma neighborhood of Mexico City. The film stars Yalitza Aparicio and Marina de Tavira in the leading roles. It is an international co-production between Mexico and the United States.
Marriage Story is a 2019 drama film written and directed by Noah Baumbach, who also produced the film with David Heyman. It stars Scarlett Johansson and Adam Driver as a couple going through a bi-coastal divorce complicated by custody issues surrounding their son. Laura Dern, Alan Alda, Ray Liotta, Julie Hagerty, and Merritt Wever appear in supporting roles.
NEON Rated, LLC, doing business as Neon, is an American independent film production and distribution company founded in 2017 by CEO Tom Quinn and Tim League, who also was the co-founder of the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema chain. As of 2019, League is no longer involved with daily operations for the company.
Freckle Films is an American film and television production company. It was founded by Jessica Chastain in 2016. The company's projects include the biopics The Eyes of Tammy Faye (2021) and George & Tammy (2022), both starring Chastain.
Memoria is a 2021 fantasy drama mystery film written, directed and co-produced by Apichatpong Weerasethakul, starring Tilda Swinton, Elkin Díaz, Jeanne Balibar, Juan Pablo Urrego and Daniel Giménez Cacho.
The Dissident is a 2020 American documentary film directed and produced by Bryan Fogel. It follows the assassination of Jamal Khashoggi and Saudi Arabia's effort to control international dissent.
The COVID-19 pandemic had a negative effect on certain films in the early 2020s, mirroring its impacts across all arts sectors. Across the world, and to varying degrees, cinemas and movie theaters were closed, festivals were cancelled or postponed, and film releases were moved to future dates or delayed indefinitely. Due to cinemas and movie theaters closing, the global box office dropped by billions of dollars, streaming saw a significant increase in popularity, and the stock of film exhibitors dropped dramatically. Many blockbusters originally scheduled to be released by mid-March 2020 were postponed or canceled around the world, with film productions also being halted. This in turn created openings for independent cinema productions to receive wider exposure.
Summer of Soul is a 2021 American independent documentary film about the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival, directed by Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson in his directorial debut. It had its world premiere at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival on January 28, 2021, where it won the Grand Jury Prize and Audience Award in the documentary categories. It had a limited theatrical release in the U.S. by Searchlight Pictures on June 25, 2021, before expanding and being released for streaming on Hulu the next weekend.
Tár is a 2022 psychological drama film written and directed by Todd Field. Cate Blanchett stars as Lydia Tár, a world-renowned conductor facing accusations of misconduct. The supporting cast includes Nina Hoss, Noémie Merlant, Sophie Kauer, Julian Glover, Allan Corduner, and Mark Strong. Tár premiered at the 79th Venice International Film Festival in September 2022, where Blanchett won the Volpi Cup for Best Actress. It had a limited theatrical release in the United States on October 7, 2022, before a wide release on October 28 through Focus Features.
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