Concentration of the Theatrical Distribution Market in Spain

Abstract

Globalization has been re-opened the debate on the concentration of media companies. Whereas some authors consider that the dominant position of U.S. companies comes from the higher identification of American films with the tastes of the European audience, others, on the contrary, argue that is the control of the distribution system what explains the Hollywood success. This paper analyses the Spanish film market, focused on the theatrical distribution sec- tor. For this, it addresses a triple aim: first of all, to identify the degree of concentration in the Spanish film distribution market; secondly to analyse the links between U.S. movies’ box office success and the dominant position of the Hollywood majors; and, lastly, to evaluate the effects of this situation on the performance of Spanish and European films in the domestic market.