To what extent does digital distribution affect the marketing and consumption of the film industry?

Digital distribution has had impact a massive impact on marketing and consumption of films for both negative and positive ways. 
Over the years distribution of films has changed dramatically from 35mm film reels to being shown and filmed in a digital format. This is shown in the last decade by the huge increase of the number of digital screens that cinemas now made available to us. This change could be based upon the film Avatar which forced cinemas to update so that they could show the 3D film. They did this in order to show other 3D blockbusters, to do this meant buying a digital projector for around £100,000. Due to this increase now 90% of US and UK screens are now digital with Paramount being the first company to produce a film that was only shown on digital. This means that the quality of the films that we, the public consume has increased as we can now view thousands of films in 3D at a wide range of cinemas. However the switch to digital has meant that small independent cinemas have struggled because they can't afford digital projectors which cost around $60,000- $150,000, this means that when films only come out on digital smaller cinemas can not show the film. 
The increase of digital screens was also influenced by both the technological but also the economical factors that face film production today. Distributing a film in a digital way significantly lowers the cost of marketing as it is just simpler to do. The old 35mm film reel cost £1,500 whereas digital distribution cost a mere tenth of that amount. This allows companies to increase the amount of marketing they can do so in turn increasing publicity. To duplicate these film reels cost the companies extortionate amounts, around £100 million with further freight costs of £30 million.  Overall this change to digital allows the film companies to save millions of pounds on marketing and distribution. 
It is also easier to pas son the films to cinemas as the digital copies can be sent to a hard drive which can hold data files up to 200GB. Then the cinemas simply have to upload the film on to their digital projector/s, from there they can easily play the film. A digital key is also used to safeguard the film and stop any piracy from occurring. This download will last for as long as they want it too and unlike the 35mm film reel it does not deteriorate over time.
Not only does it benefit big film companies it also helps independent productions as the high costs of prints and advertising costs were the biggest barrier for independent films. This means that they could be widely distributed. Because of this they were rarely shown on more then 30 screens across the UK which contrasted massively to the major studio releases that showed on 400-500 screens.
The development of digital distribution was supported by the Digital Screen Network Initiative which was run by the UK Film Council. The council is funded by the government to support films in Britain. They gave over £12 million to help 250 screens convert into digital, this especially helped smaller chains of cinemas and independent cinemas.  Because more cinemas would now be in digital it enables independent and foreign films to wider their release range. This increased the availability of accessible cinema for the public to consume, it also created more cinemas with subtitles and audio-description.
The new digital distribution created variety in films that the audience could choose from whether it be independent, cultural or foreign. It has not stopped the UK being dominated by US studios as these releases open on wide release of around 500 screens. This can be strongly contrasted to independent British films such as Ex Machina which piggy back Avengers by only opening on 4 screens and then gradually building up to over 2000 over a six week time period.  
The marketing of the films now have a bigger budget although now it costs more in order to get it everywhere at once but because of digital distribution it has made it feasible to launch a movie simultaneously on tens of thousands of screens across the planet. This means that the distribution is quicker faster and easier to complete. 
There are however set backs for the development of digital distribution because there is not digital preservation medium as there is no physical carrier on which you can put digital information that will last anywhere near as long as the analogue alternative. There is also an increased problem into privacy when a film is distributed digitally it is extremely easier to pirate a digital because it can be as easy of moving it on to a memory stick whereas when using film it was very hard from people to take copies as it was not easy and took time. Because of this film marketing companies have to make it easier for the public to access the films rather than going to the cinema or else the would just pirate the films. This has lead to the increase in the home entertainment market which enables the film makers to still make money on their films and the public being able to watch the films from the comfort of their own home. 
Another benefit that digital distribution has as it allows film makers to review their work instantly and shots that don't work can be re shot quickly  so it makes the filming process alot easier and quicker. This means that film makers can turn out their films quickly and the more films there are the more money they make. 
In conclusion digital distribution has had a major impact upon the marketing and consumption of  the film industry, it has both positive and negative impacts and benefits some and not others. I think that it has made a positive contribution to the film industry as it has made film making cheaper and the films easier to view.