How It Works

Using The Listings

1. Pick the states where you want your film to play, or tap a region.
2. Narrow the list by format, terms or seat count. If you only have a ProRes file or a Blu-ray, filter for theaters that list those.
3. Open a venue to see its booking contact and how it asks to be pitched.
4. Click the ☆ star next to any theater to add it to My Pitch List. When you are ready to send, use Copy List or Download CSV to get every starred theater's contact, terms and formats in one go. The list is saved in your browser only, so there is no account to make.

Every listing shows where the details came from and when they were last checked. A solid gold dot means the theater confirmed its own listing. A hollow dot means we gathered the details from the theater's own website.

Pitching A Theater Well

• Follow the theater's own instructions first. If it has a submission form, use it.
• Keep the first note short: title, runtime, genre, a one-line logline, a private screener link and the formats you can deliver.
• Say why the film fits that room: a horror night, a local angle, a cast or crew tie to the town.
• Offer what you will bring: a Q and A, a poster and trailer, posts the theater can share.
• Give programmers time. Many book two to three months out.

Terms You Will See

Revenue split. The theater and the film share ticket money by an agreed percentage. Often the theater keeps a house allowance first.

Four-wall rental. You rent the room for a date and keep the ticket money. Lowest risk for the theater, most risk and most upside for you.

Flat fee. The theater pays one fixed amount to show the film, whatever sells.

Formats You Will See

DCP. Digital Cinema Package, the standard file set that commercial cinema projectors play. Making one costs money, so check whether a theater requires it.

ProRes or H.264 file. A high quality video file. Many small rooms can play one directly.

Blu-ray. Still common in small and community venues.

35mm and 16mm. Film prints, for theaters that kept their projectors.