6. To what extent is digital distribution vital to the media
area you have studied
In a world where different technological innovations are
used to perform basic tasks, it was no surprise that it consumed the filming
industry as well. Now, one doesn’t have to go to a movie theater to watch a
film. They may easily access about any film through their devices. As a result,
digital distribution became extremely vital to films. Digital distribution reaches a wider range of
audiences and allow institutions to profit greatly by utilizing home
exhibition.
Nowadays in a world that is consumed with advanced
technologies and devices, digital distribution is a main factor that
contributes to a films’ ongoing success. We are able to view almost any film
through our devices. This allows the film to reach a wider range of audiences,
and it was made possible by home exhibition. Home exhibition granted people who
weren’t able to view the film in the movie theater the opportunity to view it
anywhere at any given moment. One way
companies did this was through releasing them on streaming services. For
example, the film Black Panther,
produced by Kevin Feige and distributed by Walt Disney Pictures Motions
Studios, was released in theaters on February 16, 2018, and then released to
the streaming service ‘Netflix’ in September that same year. Even though this
film was a huge success in the box office making a whopping $1.344 billion, it
didn’t catch the eyes of everyone in the world. Some people depend on streaming
services like ‘Netflix’ for a source of entertainment rather than going to the
theater or watching television. These streaming services don’t have commercial
breaks to advertise other films so those watching it will be oblivious to them.
As a result, when those streaming services network with conglomerate companies
and film studios to get permission to show their film, it reaches an untapped
audience which can build publicity for the company, studio, and film. Black Panther remained on ‘Netflix’
until March 3, 2020, when it began to show on Disney Plus which is a subsidiary
under the conglomerate Walt Disney Studios . Another way companies can reach a
wider range of audiences is to release the on DVDs, Blu-Ray, and television. For instance, take the film Beauty and the Beast, released on March
17, 2017, produced by Mandeville Films and distributed by Walt Disney
Pictures. A few months after its release
in the theaters, it was released on Blu-Ray, DVD, Digital HD, and ‘On Demand’
on June 6, 2017. It’s non- theater release
allowed people with basic cable and access to devices such as laptops and DVD
players to view the film for as many times as they want.
Digital Distribution has not only granted institutions more
exposure, but it has also allowed them to profit greatly. When films are
released on easily accessible platforms through home exhibition, it can allow
institutions to profit more in addition to what they already made in the Box
Office. Streaming services directly pay movie institutions a base price to have
their film on their application. Then, money gets added onto that base price as
the amount of viewers increases. Referring back to the film The Nutcracker and the Four Realms,
released October 29, 2018, and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion
Pictures, made an amazing $174 million in the Box Office. It was released on ‘Netflix’
on May 28th, 2019, remains there to this day, and is still wildly popular. Even
though the movie was released about 2 years ago, the institution that was
responsible for making this film still receives money the longer it stays on
there and the more views it receives. Institutions
also profit off of cable television showings of their films. In order to show the film the television
networks or the cable companies themselves buy the movie from the institutions.
The film Despicable Me, released July
9, 2010 and produced by Illumination, Universal Pictures, is available on most
cable companies on ‘On Demand’ and shows on television networks such as FX and
Disney Channel. The institution that created this film received payment for
their movie to be distributed on these platforms. So not only do the institutions profit
greatly from their profits in the Box Office, but on top of that they also
profit from the showing of their films through different platforms that are
easily accessible to different audiences.
Digital distribution is extremely vital to films. This is
especially true this day and age where technology has consumed our every day
lives. Digital Distribution reaches a wider range of audiences and allow
institutions to profit greatly by utilizing home exhibition. These result in
granting the institutions more exposure and overall success.
