Wide release
Encyclopedia
Wide release is a term in the American
motion picture industry for a motion picture that is playing nationally (as opposed to a few cinemas in cities such as New York and Los Angeles
). 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 wide release. Showgirls
(1995) is one of the rare films with an NC-17 to get one.
The term is sometimes used informally in relative terms. For example, a documentary
or art film
promoter might speak of a film expanding from a few New York and Los Angeles screens to cinemas in major cities across the U.S. as moving into "wide release" even though it might be playing on single screens in as few as 15 or 20 major cities.
Yet a new meaning may come to the term Wide Release as an upcoming DVD
and Video On Demand
experiment from Time Warner
will see films released on the these platforms after only a month or so in theaters. Meaning the term would refer to films released on DVD after this month long period, as opposed to a wide theatrical release in Canada and the United States.
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 nationally (as opposed to a few cinemas 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...
). Specifically, a movie is considered to be in wide release when it is on 600 screens or more in the United States and Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
.
In the US, films holding an NC-17 rating almost never have a wide release. Showgirls
Showgirls
Showgirls is a 1995 American drama film directed by Paul Verhoeven and starring former teen actress Elizabeth Berkley, Kyle MacLachlan, and Gina Gershon...
(1995) is one of the rare films with an NC-17 to get one.
The term is sometimes used informally in relative terms. For example, a documentary
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...
or 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...
promoter might speak of a film expanding from a few New York and Los Angeles screens to cinemas in major cities across the U.S. as moving into "wide release" even though it might be playing on single screens in as few as 15 or 20 major cities.
Yet a new meaning may come to the term Wide 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 from Time Warner
Time Warner
Time Warner is one of the world's largest media companies, headquartered in the Time Warner Center in New York City. Formerly two separate companies, Warner Communications, Inc...
will see films released on the these platforms after only a month or so in theaters. Meaning the term would refer to films released on DVD after this month long period, as opposed to a wide theatrical release in Canada and the United States.