The material below is for insertion into your post entitled THE ROLE OF THE DISTRIBUTOR that you completed last lesson (how distributors have to consider the 'what, who, when, and how' involved in acquiring and marketing films for successful distribution). It provides the visual supporting evidence.
The FDA publish a yearbook every year which is a rich source of information on the film industry, audiences and trends. It is downloadable here.
We are using selected pages from the FDA Yearbook 2019 (the latest issue) to support your posts.
WHEN? On pages 60-61, the FDA list the top 6 films by month.
On page 60, there is a useful reminder of how films can be pitched at the Christmas market. Draw attention to the publicity for both The Grinch and The Nutcracker and The Four Realms as Christmas films.
Sometimes, factors outside distributors' control can affect box office takings despite careful planning, such as a football match or a turn in the weather, as the cinema market is product-driven, expanding or contracting according to the films released into it and the extent to which they engage wide-ranging audiences. For instance, FIFA world cup fixtures competed for audiences with cinema on several weekends in 2018, whilst the third weekend in April had hot sunny weather after a long cold winter (page 65).
WHO?
Statistics on page 71 show that the largest audience sector is from the 16-34 age bracket, 91% of whom went to the cinema in 2018, making a total of 77 million visits. The FDA have observed a growing divergence on viewing patterns by age, with TV audiences getting older (over half of TV audiences are in the over-54 category), whilst an OFCOM survey found that 48% of12-15 year olds picked YouTube as their favourite platform and 19% picked Netflix. These figures will influence how distributors market their films.
The FDA observes: The 'movies’ can hold various different appeals to people at different times, for example: a family outing; a party; a date; a girls’ night out; an afternoon or evening with a partner or friend; and a way to stay ‘in the know’ among social peers. Audiences comprise a complex mosaic of consumer segments, varying substantially film by film, week by week.
HOW?
The FDA explains (page 77-79) the different types of marketing strategy: FDA estimates that UK film distributors’ investment in bringing 916 new titles to market in 2018 exceeded £350m. Around half of this is paid-for UK-wide advertising, using many digital, social and physical media outlets. The remainder is formed of many components: advertising, poster and trailer production; publicity and premiere costs; and digital cinema packages to be supplied to cinemas in many formats. The FDA assert that although the UK is a large cinema territory in terms of box-office receipts, the high costs of marketing and distribution mean relatively low returns for the distributor. It is hard to 'cut through' in a congested marketplace and the fact that it is so crowded makes decisions on release dates very tough.
WHAT? Mark Batey drew attention to the different genres of films that each required individual distribution plans. To illustrate this, make a collage of different films, such as this one that I prepared to show the many different genres that Working Title make:
