The Distribution Roll
Film reels unspool into ribbons: distributor countries feeding regions and formats across decades.
Cross-border distribution increases over time; more distributors ship to more regions as formats diversify.
Question: Are films increasingly distributed outside their production origin?
Method: Aggregate distributor-country → distribution-region routes by decade and compare route diversity and reach.
Prediction: Route density and region breadth rise post-2000s; non-theatrical formats grow alongside reach.
Test: Trend analysis on route counts, region counts, and format shares by decade.
The reel begins tight: a few routes, a few regions.
Ribbons multiply as distributors push films outward.
The roll becomes a map of globalization — dense routes, broadened reach, and format shifts.
- imdb.film_companies
- imdb.companies
- imdb.films
- tmdb.movies
- 05_distribution_roll.json
- Region labels are coarse and may merge distinct markets.
- Distribution coverage varies by era; sparse decades show fewer routes.
- Distributor country is a proxy for origin; production origin may differ.
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