There are many attorneys who specialize in entertainment law and understand the fine points of distribution contracts. You will be well served by doing some serious homework before selecting an entertainment attorney to handle the legal work of a distribution agreement. Your contract will be the deciding factor in whether or not your film production, your investors, and, of course, you will see profits, regardless of whether your film becomes a hit. Your attorney will be your closest ally in securing a beneficial distribution deal, so hire the best legal help you can find.

Distribution contracts should explicitly define the finances a film produces in terms of gross and net returns. Gross returns are all of the income that a film generates. Net returns are the funds that are left after the distributor deducts their share and expenses and other profits from the total gross. It's important that the amount of money to be used for the expenses of distributing your film be negotiated up-front, preferably with the aid of your attorney. This will help dissuade distributors from simply racking up sometimes unsubstantiated distribution expenses to the point that you never see a penny of net returns.

The cost to your distributor for distributing your motion picture can be substantial. The first cost, and one that you'll be interested in negotiating, is the advance that you'll be paid. This advance is an up-front payment for the film, and will generally be deducted from profits before you are paid any further. For feature films with strong commercial value, the advance can and should be substantial. Expenses will also include the cost of marketing the film, which will entail designing and printing magazine and newspaper advertising, posters, and promotional mailings and flyers. A promotional movie trailer will also be edited and printed from the production footage.