One Movie, Many Markets: How Films Are Sold in India

India is carved into roughly 5-7 major film territories plus overseas, each sold separately

Outright, minimum guarantee and commission are the three ways a territory gets sold

MG deals pay the producer upfront; the distributor only profits after recovery and overflow

Studios and PVR-Inox now book films directly, shrinking the old independent distributor's role

A film can clean up in Nizam or Mumbai and still bleed in Bengal or Mysore