Limited release
Encyclopedia
Limited release is a term in the American
motion picture industry for a motion picture that is playing in a select few theaters across the country (typically in cities such as New York and Los Angeles
).
A limited release is often used to gauge the appeal of specialty films – especially of documentaries
, independent film
s and art film
s. A common practice by major film studios is to give highly anticipated and critically acclaimed films a limited release in December in New York and Los Angeles in order to qualify them for an Academy Award nomination, as set out by the rules outlined by the Academy. These films would often receive a wider release later in January or February.
The Rocky Horror Picture Show
, which first premiered in 1975, is still shown at limited theaters making it now the longest-running theatrical release in film history.
Yet a new meaning may come to the term Limited Release as an upcoming DVD
and Video On Demand
experiment will see films released on the these platforms after only a month or so in theaters. Meaning the term would refer to the month long theatrical release in Canada and the United States, as opposed to films just release in Los Angeles and New York.
. The advantage of this strategy is that marketing costs are conserved until a film's performance has been established. This way, if a film turns out to be very popular or critically acclaimed, the distributor
may opt to spend more money than originally planned and push for a wider release; if the movie flops, the distributor can withdraw from the campaign without having spent much money promoting and advertising the film.
In the early stages of a platform release, the key metric is the per-theater average gross, not the total box office gross. Art house and independent movie theaters like to see a high per-theater average, as proof that they will be successful if they release the film. A distributor using this release strategy must take care that they don't expand the release too quickly: If a film is successful early on, many theaters will be interested in playing it - but if the distributor releases the film into too many theaters at this stage, the limited audience will be spread over multiple theaters, lowering the per-theater average and making the film appear weaker.
ese music industry, the term "limited release" is also used to denote a musical release that will be produced in limited quantities only. A limited release therefore differs from a limited edition, as it implies that there will be no alternative or second issuing.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
motion picture industry for a motion picture that is playing in a select few theaters across the country (typically in cities such as New York and Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
).
A limited release is often used to gauge the appeal of specialty films – especially of documentaries
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
, independent film
Independent film
An independent film, or indie film, is a professional film production resulting in a feature film that is produced mostly or completely outside of the major film studio system. In addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies, independent films are also produced...
s and art film
Art film
An art film is the result of filmmaking which is typically a serious, independent film aimed at a niche market rather than a mass market audience...
s. A common practice by major film studios is to give highly anticipated and critically acclaimed films a limited release in December in New York and Los Angeles in order to qualify them for an Academy Award nomination, as set out by the rules outlined by the Academy. These films would often receive a wider release later in January or February.
The Rocky Horror Picture Show
The Rocky Horror Picture Show
The Rocky Horror Picture Show is the 1975 film adaptation of the British rock musical stageplay, The Rocky Horror Show, written by Richard O'Brien. The film is a parody of B-movie, science fiction and horror films of the late 1940s through early 1970s. Director Jim Sharman collaborated on the...
, which first premiered in 1975, is still shown at limited theaters making it now the longest-running theatrical release in film history.
Yet a new meaning may come to the term Limited Release as an upcoming DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
and Video On Demand
Video on demand
Video on Demand or Audio and Video On Demand are systems which allow users to select and watch/listen to video or audio content on demand...
experiment will see films released on the these platforms after only a month or so in theaters. Meaning the term would refer to the month long theatrical release in Canada and the United States, as opposed to films just release in Los Angeles and New York.
Platform Release
A platform release is a limited release strategy, whereby the film opens in only a few theaters, then gradually expands to more theaters as word of mouth spreads and the marketing campaign gains momentum. Depending on the film's success, there is even the possibility to expand into a wide releaseWide release
Wide release is a term in the American motion picture industry for a motion picture that is playing nationally . Specifically, a movie is considered to be in wide release when it is on 600 screens or more in the United States and Canada.In the US, films holding an NC-17 rating almost never have a...
. The advantage of this strategy is that marketing costs are conserved until a film's performance has been established. This way, if a film turns out to be very popular or critically acclaimed, the distributor
Film distributor
A film distributor is a company or individual responsible for releasing films to the public either theatrically or for home viewing...
may opt to spend more money than originally planned and push for a wider release; if the movie flops, the distributor can withdraw from the campaign without having spent much money promoting and advertising the film.
In the early stages of a platform release, the key metric is the per-theater average gross, not the total box office gross. Art house and independent movie theaters like to see a high per-theater average, as proof that they will be successful if they release the film. A distributor using this release strategy must take care that they don't expand the release too quickly: If a film is successful early on, many theaters will be interested in playing it - but if the distributor releases the film into too many theaters at this stage, the limited audience will be spread over multiple theaters, lowering the per-theater average and making the film appear weaker.
Other uses
In the modern JapanJapan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese music industry, the term "limited release" is also used to denote a musical release that will be produced in limited quantities only. A limited release therefore differs from a limited edition, as it implies that there will be no alternative or second issuing.