From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia

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Wide release is a term in the American motion picture industry for a motion picture that is playing nationally (as opposed to a few cinemas in cities such as New York and Los Angeles) and on 600 screens or more in the United States and Canada.

In the US films for adults only (NC-17 rating) almost never have a wide release: Showgirls has been the only one.

The term is sometimes used informally in relative terms. For example, a documentary or art film promoter might speak of a film expanding from a few New York and Los Angeles screens to cinemas in major cities across the U.S. as moving into "wide release" even though it might be playing on a single screen in as few as 15 or 20 major cities.

See also

• Film release
• Limited release
• Art film