BIM56115 - Film and audio products: qualifying films: films intended for theatrical release

The legislation at FA02/S99 and ITTOIA/S144 includes a test of intention, at the time a film is completed, of the person who is then entitled to determine how the film is to be exploited. This person will normally be the person who commissions the making of the film and who is entitled to control its exploitation. That person’s intention must be that the film is genuinely intended for theatrical release.

Theatrical release means exhibition to the paying public at the commercial cinema. A film is not regarded as genuinely intended for theatrical release unless it is intended that a significant proportion of the earnings from the film should be obtained by such exhibition.

It is not necessary for the film to be released for showing to the public at the commercial cinema to meet this condition. However, it is necessary for the person entitled to determine how the film is to be exploited to establish that it was his intention for the film to be so released and that a significant proportion of the film’s income should arise from that source.

Where a feature length film is commissioned for television and, after production has commenced, it is decided to seek a cinema release instead, the condition will be satisfied providing that intention was reached by the time the film was completed.

What constitutes a significant proportion of income will depend on the particular facts of each case.

A film will be regarded as being intended for theatrical release it meets the following conditions:

• the film is a normal full-length or short feature film of a type commonly shown at cinemas; and
• the film is made in a format suitable for theatrical showing at the commercial cinema; and
• the relevant person can demonstrate an intention, held at the date that the film is completed, to seek such a contract, and
• the income expected from theatrical release is not negligible, either as a proportion of total income or as an absolute amount.

Where the production is commissioned by a television company or is clearly more suited to some media other than cinema these tests may not be passed even if the production is shown at a cinema. For example, if episodes of a soap opera are screened at a single cinema prior to transmission on television the conditions will not be met.

Finally, you should note that the theatrical release test is only relevant for films seeking a deduction under the special rules for qualifying British films (see BIM56300 onwards). A TV production may still be eligible for certification by the Department of Culture, Media and Sport. Any film, whether certified or not, which does not meet the theatrical release test will be subject to the special rules applicable to all master versions which is described at BIM56200 onwards .