How does movie distribution work?

I read this article an article that says that

• The film is completed and sent to the studio.
• The studio makes a licensing agreement with a distribution company.

However in one other site they say that In imdb it reads that sony is a distribution company to the film "Machete", not a production company


So does the distributor company finance the movie like they say in that quote or does the distribution agreement happen after the movie is completed?

Thank you

Distribution only distributes the film... Production company finances the cost.

If that is so, why in this site it read that Rodriquez indie financed Machete with $20 million from selling international rights to Sony and Sony was not a production company?

because sites are wrong sometimes?

__________________
"The greatest danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it, but that it is too low and we reach it." - Michelangelo.

They are not wrong. The major studios have their own distribution companies. They make movies and distribute them. There are also independent producers that finance their own movies then find a distributor, which could be one of the biggies or a smaller company.

And it's not at all unusual for the domestic and international distribution rights to be divided between two Studios.

__________________
"Film is a disease. When it infects your bloodstream it takes over as the number one hormone. It bosses the enzymes, directs the pineal gland, plays Iago to your psyche. As with heroin, the antidote to Film is more Film." - Frank Capra

Distributors are apart from movie producers they are only distributors. Its depends upon the company profile whether they having their own production house or not.

I work at Sony and Sony is capable of acting as either as a production company or a distribution company, or as both. However, the distributing company does not finance the cost of a movie, that is what the production house does.

Hello,

Sometimes a producer will work out a deal with a distributor to put up some of the cost of production for the distribution rights in advance. This sounds like the deal with Rodriguez's "Hatchet" but of course cannot say that for sure.

Internationale distribution rights are often sold prior to production as a method of financing movies. It is quite common in fact. Major Studio Distribution deals (like the Sony deal above) often are limited to the US Only, and International Distribution is handled by the producer's separately.

Here in Nigeria its a different ball game entirely. Movies are distributed guerilla style, hawked on the streets and in traffic. The 'marketers' most of the time have control over the content cause they are the ones that know what sells. The movie director discusses his idea and plans with them and then they veto it. Once vetoed, movie goes into production and within 2 weeks, the master is handed over to the marketers. They inturn do their process of replication and the movie finds itself on the street. Movie distribution nollywood style!