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Distributors

Distributors: who works there and what each of them does

A distributor buys the right to release a film in a territory, then does everything needed to get it in front of the biggest possible paying audience. In the UK that means acquiring it, dating it, marketing it, publicising it, selling it to cinemas, delivering the files, and then releasing it at home for years afterwards.

Two kinds of company do this in the UK and they feel very different to work in: the studios' London offices, which are release machines rather than buying machines, and the independents, from five people to fifty, where most entrants start. Between them they release close to 900 films a year into UK and Irish cinemas. Most of those films lose money in cinemas and a handful pay for the rest, which is why a distributor thinks in slates rather than in films, and why everybody in the office is looking at numbers on a Monday morning.

  1. Managing director or head of distribution

  2. Acquisitions

  3. Theatrical sales, or bookings

  4. Marketing

  5. Publicity

  6. Home entertainment and digital

  7. Technical and delivery

  8. Legal and business affairs

  9. Distribution office assistantEntry-level job

Drawn from MFJF's own Foundations course Distribution Office Assistant (how a UK distributor works, from the market to the screen; the language of the office and the ten tips; the wider map, the path upwards and the people who walked it), with MFJF's sales, distribution, marketing and exhibition map. The words are My First Job In Film's. © My First Job In Film 2026.

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Where next

Your recommended next steps

Picked for Distribution Office Assistant. Signed in, they follow your stage and the roles your answers point to. See your whole MFJF journey, step by step →

  1. My MFJF JourneyOne page for everything MFJF has built, in the order you need it.
  2. My Reading ListThe books, blogs and bodies you have saved, in one place.
  3. Start the Stage 1 course: Distribution Office AssistantTwo hours on what the job is, how people get in and what to do first.
  4. Get on the HotListPut yourself in front of productions looking for crew.
  5. Join MFJF DayPlayersDay work on productions for crew with the credits and the skills.
  6. The career planner: Distribution Office AssistantWhat to do, learn and be able to do, from no experience to paid work.
  7. The career guide: Distribution Office AssistantThe job, the day, the way in and the pay, in one guide.
  8. See how it all fits on the career maps17 maps of how films get made: the people, the process and the departments.
  9. Who works whereEvery department on a shoot and every kind of film company: who is in each and what they do.
  10. Industry EssentialsThe books, industry bodies, websites and blogs worth knowing, department by department.
  11. Read the MFJF Survival GuidesStraight answers to what everyone starting out asks: how long it takes, what you get paid, and what to do every day.
  12. MFJF Academy workshopsLive sessions with people who do the job, and the monthly career clinic.
  13. Build your CV with the CV BuilderThe industry's format, built from your profile and your current CV.

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