Skip to content
What's After the Movie?

Jump to
What's After the Movie?
Industry Studios, festivals, awards, release strategies and box office vocabulary.

Advance Copy: Meaning & Definition in Film

An advance copy of a film, often called a 'screener,' is a version of the movie distributed before its official release to a select audience, such as critics, awards voters, or distributors.

  • 3 sections
  • 2 min read
  • Updated
On this page 3 sections

The Core Concept

An advance copy, most commonly referred to as a screener, is any version of a film that is sent out to a specific, limited audience before it is made available to the public. These copies are a crucial tool for a film’s awards campaign, critical reception, and potential sale.

Purpose and Audience

Screeners are distributed for several key reasons:

  • Awards Consideration: During ‘awards season,’ studios send screeners of their most acclaimed films to the thousands of voting members of guilds like the Academy (for the Oscars), SAG, DGA, and WGA. This ensures that voters have the opportunity to see the film, even if they cannot attend a theatrical screening.
  • Critical Reviews: For critics and journalists who are unable to attend a formal press screening, a studio will provide an advance copy so they can review the film before its release.
  • Festival and Market Consideration: Filmmakers submit advance copies of their films to festival programmers for selection, or to potential buyers ahead of a film market.

Advance Copy: Key Characteristics

Because they are pre-release versions of valuable intellectual property, advance copies almost always have visible security features to deter piracy:

  • Watermark (or ‘Bug’): A persistent, semi-transparent text overlay on the screen, which often includes the name of the recipient, their affiliation, or a unique identifying number. This ensures that if the copy is leaked online, its source can be traced.
  • Disclaimers: The film may begin with a title card that reads ‘For Your Consideration,’ ‘Property of [Studio],’ or ‘Work in Progress.’
  • Unfinished Elements: An advance copy, particularly one sent out early in awards season, may be an early cut with temporary visual effects, sound mixing, or music.

Historically, screeners were sent as physical media (VHS tapes, then DVDs), but today they are almost exclusively delivered via secure, watermarked online streaming portals.

See the vocabulary at work in real films

Look up any movie for its ratings, cast and crew, box office run and where to watch, or read the full plot with the ending explained.

Browse movies
Industry

More Film Industry & Awards Terms

Entries filed on the same shelf as Advance Copy, each with the one-line answer first. They are the words that usually come up in the same conversation.

All 835 terms

  • TV Spot

    A TV spot is a short commercial advertisement, typically 15 to 60 seconds long, promoting a film on television networks.

  • BO Sleeper

    A BO sleeper is a film that achieves unexpected box office success after a modest opening.

  • Wet-Gate Transfer

    Scanning through a refractive liquid that optically fills scratches for cleaner, more stable images.

  • Intermission

    An intermission is a scheduled break in the middle of a long film, during which the projection is paused to allow the audience to stretch, use restrooms, and visit concessions.

  • Focus Group

    Small round-table discussions dig deeper than quantitative surveys to uncover audience motives and emotional triggers.

  • Chain of Title

    Chain of title is the documented history of ownership and rights for a film’s underlying intellectual property.