In the film business, distribution refers to the marketing and circulation of movies in theatres. A typical megaplex (AMC Rolling Hills 20 in Rolling Hills Estates, California). ...

In practical terms, this includes the physical production of film prints and their shipping around the world (a process that may soon be replaced by digital distribution) as well as the creation of posters, newspaper and magazine advertisements and television commercials.

In the days of the classical Hollywood cinema, the studios produced and distributed their own films to theatres that they also owned—a practice known as vertical integration. The studios' control over distribution was greatly weakened in the U.S. when, in 1948, the Supreme Court forced the major studios to sell all their theaters. Today, major studios and independent production companies alike compete for screens in theaters. Classical Hollywood cinema designates both a visual and sound style for making motion pictures and a mode of production that arose in the Los Angeles film industry of the 1910s and 1920s. ... Greetings from Hollywood Hollywood is a district of the city of Los Angeles, California, U.S.A., situated northwest of Downtown. ... In microeconomics and strategic management, the term vertical integration describes a style of ownership and control. ... Jump to: navigation, search The supreme court in some countries, provinces, and states, is the highest court in that jurisdiction and functions as a court of last resort whose rulings cannot be appealed. ... An independent film (or indie film) is a film produced without the support of a major movie studio or a big budget. ...

See also

• Paramount Case—landmark decision that led to the divorcement of distribution and exhibition.