Distribution in Film Context: consolidation of Hollywood’s digital hegemony

Abstract

Film digitisation is taking place at a slow pace that prevents the conversion of the sector. The main factor in this slow development is the lack of coordination between the various parts of its structure, caused by unequal power relationships. Distribution, which is vital in the mechanism of cinema, has adopted a conservative stance for fear of losing the hegemony that it has held for a century. Digital conversion threatens to end the foundation, which is the basis for a business model based on content control, a superior negotiating position and total control over the marketing window. In this article, we analyse the steps that the majors have taken in their approach towards the digitization of the industry. We study the factors that place the sector in its dominant position, and the decisions taken by the Hollywood distributors in order not to lose this position either inside or outside their home market. We consider the advantages and disadvantages of digitisation for the sector, and the challenges facing the distributors within the communication system, in which digital trends are creating the new scenario. We consider the Spanish context as a case study for analysing the subordinate position to North American distributors. The results highlight a strategy based on conservatism, which seeks to slow the scanning process in order to impose a situation equivalent to the hegemony held to date.