The role of the production company

The role of the production company is to advertise and promote a film, in order to try and get it released into cinemas. Larger production companies such as ‘20^th Century Fox’ (X-Men, the Simpsons) will have a bigger budget and can get films into cinemas nationwide. These are usually for mainstream films, so my horror film would want to be advertised nationwide. Smaller production companies such as ‘Vivendi Entertainment’ (Hurricane Season, Fanboys) will have smaller budgets, and will not release the film into as many cinemas, because they cannot afford to. This tends to be for more niche films such as ‘Waste Land’ and ‘M’. My film is a typical bloody horror with a religious side to it, so would probably be classed as a mainstream film. If I was to try and get my film published, I  would go to the big names such as ‘20^th Century Fox’ first, in order to try and get my film released nationwide throughout all cinemas.

A major production company releases a substantial number of films annually and gets a share of box-office revenues. In the Western and global markets, the major film studios various movie production and distribution subsidiaries command approximately 90% of the U.S. box office. The "Big Six" majors, whose operations are based in or around Hollywood, are all based in film studios active during Hollywood's Golden Age of the 1930s and 1940s. In three cases—20th Century Fox, Warner Bros., and Paramount—the studios were one of the "Big Five" majors during that era as well. In two cases—Columbia and Universal—the studios were also considered majors, but in the next tier down, part of the "Little Three". In the sixth case, Walt Disney Studios was an independent production company during the Golden Age; it was an important Hollywood entity, but not a major.

A production company is responsible for the development and filming of a specific production. Firstly is the pre-production phase. Most productions never reach this phase for financing or talent reasons. In pre-production, the actors are signed on and prepared for their roles, crew is signed on, shooting locations are found, sets are built or acquired, and the proper shooting permits are acquired for on location shooting.

Next, a production begins filming. Most productions are never cancelled once they reach this phase. In many cases, the director, producers, and the leading actors are often the only people with access to a full or majority of a single script. Supporting actors, background actors, and crew often never receive a full copy of a specific script to prevent leaks. Productions are often shot in secured studios, with limited to no public access, but they are also shot on location on secured sets or locations.

After filming, is post production, which is overseen by the production company. The editing, musical score, visual effects, re-recording of the dialog, and sound effects are "mixed" to create the final film, which is then screened. Marketing is also launched during this phase, such as the release of trailers and posters. Once a final film has been approved, the film is taken over by the distributors, who then release the film.