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Film & Television vocabulary · Distribution, Festivals and Awards

Distributor

Meaning in film & television, with examples

/dɪˈstrɪbjətə/nounCommon term

In film & television, distributor means: A company that buys the rights to show a film in a country or region and handles its release, marketing and delivery to cinemas or platforms.

In Turkish: dağıtımcı, dağıtım şirketi

How it is used

Producers look for, find or sign with a distributor. A sales agent sells a film to distributors in each territory, often at festival markets. Distribution deals cover theatrical, TV and streaming rights.

Example sentences

  1. A French distributor bought the film after the Cannes screening.

  2. Without a distributor, the film may only reach festival audiences.

Common collocations

  • film distributor
  • local distributor
  • distribution deal
  • sales agent
  • find a distributor
  • releaseTo make a film or series available to the public in cinemas, on TV or on streaming platforms. As a noun, a release is a film being shown or the act of showing it.
  • box officeThe money a film earns from cinema ticket sales, or its commercial success measured that way. Originally the place in a theatre where tickets are sold.
  • film festivalAn event where new films are shown to audiences, critics and industry professionals, often with competitions, awards and markets.
  • producerThe person who makes a film or TV project happen: finding the money, hiring key people, managing the budget and schedule and seeing the project through to release.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Distribution, Festivals and Awards

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