Film Institutions and Distributors

Film Institutions and Distributors

Warner Bro’s

Harry, Albert, Sam and Jack Wonskolaser founded warner Bro’s on The 4th April 1923, however this was only when the company was formally founded, Warner Brothers Pictures, Incorporated actually stems back from the Pittsburgh-based Duquesne Amusement & Supply Company, founded in 1904. Warner Brothers have, over the years been very successful, priding themselves time and time again as the best institution and distributor of film, creating some of the highest grossing movies ever and series/sagas ever, like the Harry Potter series (the highest grossing film series of all time, Harry Potter also last year, with its release of ‘Harry Potter and Deathly Hallows – Part 2’, brought Warner Bros. its highest grossing movie ever. The first movie however for Warner Bros. was ‘Where the North Begins’, produced and distributed in 1923. The star of this film was a dog-named Rin Tin Tin who was hired for $1000 per week. Some films that Warner Bro’s have produced are Gran Turino, which had a budget of $33 million. The Bucket List, which had a budget of $45 million. I Am Legend and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button which both had budget of approximately $150 million. These are just a few examples of films and budgets from Warner Bro’s who produce many, many films per year.

20th Century Fox

The Fox Film Corporation was formed in 1915 by the theatre chain pioneer William Fox, who formed Fox Film Corporation by merging two companies he had established in 1913: Greater New York Film Rental, a distribution firm, which was part of the Independents; and Fox (or Box, depending on the source) Office Attractions Company, a production company. This merging of a distribution company and a production company was an early example of vertical integration. Only a year before, the latter company had distributed Winsor McCay's groundbreaking cartoon Gertie the Dinosaur. Some examples of films 20th Century Fox have produced with the approximate budget are as listed: The Beach which had a budget of $50 million, Cast Away which had a budget of $90 million, I,Robot which had a budget of $120 million, and Water for Elephants which had a budget of $30 million. The also are just a few examples of films and budgets from 20th Century Fox who produce many, many films a year.

Revolver Entertainment

Revolver Entertainment is a marketing-lead, all rights film distribution company. Founded in 1997, the company has operations in both London and Los Angeles. Most notably, Revolver has released Gela Babluani's French noir thriller 13 Tzameti, Werner Herzog's award-winning documentary Grizzly Man, London urban drama Kidulthood, and the Sundance Film Festival and Venice Film Festival award winner A Guide to Recognising Your Saints starring Robert Downey Jr and Channing Tatum, the follow-up to Ray Lawrence's award-winning Lantana; Jindabyne, the crime thriller  Tell No One based on the best-seller by Harlan Coben, and the documentary Taking Liberties which looks at how current government policies have severely affected our civil liberties, along with the controversial documentary Zoo which screened at the Sundance Film Festival. Recent successes include the action thriller Shank, graffiti artist Banksy's debut feature Exit Through the Gift Shop, which showed in competition at the Berlin Film Festival 2010, the documentary Robsessed, about teen idol Robert Pattinson and comedian David Baddiel's The Infidel. Revolver is known for its promotional stunts, including their attempt to break the world record for a zombie gathering in Leicester Square to promote The Zombie Diaries, superimposing the faces of political leaders onto Kidulthood billboards in London, offering a trip to Amsterdam and a free bag of marijuana as a prize at the release of gonzo comedy, The Wackness, and promoting the DVD release of Dead Man Running starring Danny Dyer by dropping hundreds of customised £5, £10 and £50 on crowds in London and Manchester. Revolver also rented a public space off Portobello Road for Banksy to create a "pop-up" poster to tie into the marketing campaign of 'Exit Through The Gift Shop. Relvoler entertainment films are usually distributed by Magnolia Home entertainment. Some examples of films and budgets distributed by revolver entertainment are: Kidulthood which had a budget of £600,000, The Zombie Diaries which had a budget of £500,000, Dead Man Running which had a budget of £5 million, and Sket which had a budget of £1 million. These are a few examples of films and budgets from a fast growing, up and coming film distributor.

Momentum Pictures

 Momentum Pictures in a film institution founded in 2000 which is growing in popularity very quickly and in only 12 years, has had some major releases and some big, important news. Unlike other film distributors and institutions, Momentum Pictures does not have a lot of information readily available, unless willing to pay for a subscription to IMDbPro. However what information is readily available is that the company is owned by Alliance films and is based in London. Momentum Pictures is one of the leading independent motion picture distributors in the UK and Ireland and releases approximately 20 theatrical films per year. Some examples of films which Momentum pictures have distributed include: The Kings Speech, which had a budget of $15 million, The Fighter, which had a budget of $25 million, Defiance, which had a budget of $32 million, and Never Back Down, which had a budget of $20 million.

After looking at all of these four film institution and distribution companies. I think that the two institutions that would best suit my film would be either Warner Bros’s or Momentum Pictures. I think that these two would be the best choices because they have produced many films which match a drama genre, which is the same genre as my film. I feel however that out of these two institutions, Warner Bro’s would be the better choice as Warner Bro’s have a much higher reputation than Momentum Pictures and also Warner Bro’s has synergy with all other types of companies to give my film a lot more opportunities. This institution would link to my film as it has distributed many other films which fit to the same category as mine.