Updated 4-November-2021
This article explains how to submit release date updates, along with the guidelines for adding release dates for festival releases, limited releases, and more.
Contents
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(Example title year display for 1917) |
Exceptions for adding a release date
Contains - festivals | city specific | streaming | premieres | re-releases |
non-theatrical | limited
The attribute section allows the inclusion of supplementary information about that particular release date. More
information about specific attributes are listed below - A list of the attributes currently being used can be
displayed by clicking on the gray list icon ( ) next to the attribute field.
If a release date applies to a specific film festival, then please record the festival name in the attributes field.
Please use the most general English name of the festival, and do not include the year or number of the festival within the attribute.
Example festival attributes are:
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(Toronto International Film Festival) |
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(Berlin International Film Festival) |
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(Cannes Film Festival) |
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(Sundance Film Festival) |
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(New York International Independent Film and Video Festival) |
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(Miami Gay and Lesbian Film Festival) |
If a release was not at a film festival but was local to a specific city, then please record the city in the attributes field. The convention for US cities is to record the city and state to avoid confusion between cities with the same name in different states. The convention for other countries is just the city name.
Please note that we do not record release locations down to the specific cinema so, for example, a screening at The Odeon Leicester Square in London should only be recorded as (London).
Example city attributes are:
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(Los Angeles, California) |
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(Berlin International Film Festival) |
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(London) |
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(Berlin) |
Content released via a streaming platforms should include the attribute (internet) to indicate such.
This includes (but isn't limited to) titles released on:
For example:
If a release date is a special premiere showing of this title, we indicate it via a (premiere) attribute.
Attributes are always enclosed in parentheses ( ), and multiple attributes must be enclosed separately with a space between each one. When there is more than one attribute, the first one should always be the location (festival name, city etc).
By "premiere" we mean a special event first screening within a country with the cast/crew in attendance. Here are some examples:
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(Sundance Film Festival) (premiere) |
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(Los Angeles, California) (premiere) |
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(London) (premiere) |
If a title is being widely re-released theatrically within a country, this should be indicated via a (re-release) attribute. If a release is of a newly restored version or director's cut and so on then this should also be indicated via an appropriate attribute.
We require complete dates for re-releases, because vague re-release dates can, with films re-released a lot, get various releases mixed up.
Examples include:
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(restored version) |
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(Cannes Film Festival) (director's cut) |
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(TV premiere) (restored version) |
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(Sundance Film Festival) (special edition) (premiere) |
Sometimes, titles which are intended for release in cinemas instead end up going directly to video, TV, or online in certain countries (usually because of poor box office performance in other countries).
We indicate this via the attributes (video premiere) or (TV premiere) respectively. Please don't submit video or TV release dates for titles which did receive a general theatrical release (outside festivals) in the same country as we do not have the resources to track every video and TV screening date in the database.
There's also no need to include the video premiere attribute on titles made for video nor the TV premiere on titles made for TV.
Conversely, sometimes a title that's made for TV or straight to video gets a theatrical release in some countries. In such cases, use the attribute (theatrical release) to indicate it.
If a release was in more than one or two geographical locations in a country, but not wide enough to qualify as a wide (no attributes) release, then please use the attribute (limited) instead. In countries with a larger population such as the USA, if a title is shown in 11-599 screens, this implies a limited release. Please note that once a title has been released widely (no attribute) we do not record further specific city opening dates.
Public festival work-in-progress screenings are accepted with the festival name and the additional attribute (work-in-progress).
Below is some key information for when it comes to release dates for episodic series (e.g. TV series, web series, podcast series):
Contains - adding release | updating release
Navigate to the title page.
Scroll to the bottom of the page and select
Under the heading Basic Data, you will see the option Release Date.
Adding new release dates
Step 4
On the drop-down to the right, click Add 1 Item.
Step 5
Scroll to the bottom of the page and select Continue.
Step 6
Add the date you would like, including the country and any attributes (if required).
Step 7
Scroll down and click Check these updates.
Step 8
If everything's OK the submission will turn green, and you're ready to move on: Continue to the next step. If there are problems, the box will yellow or red and will need correcting before submitting. Read the error/warning that appears and rectify the submission as needed - for example: Follow this up by clicking 'Re-check these updates' and another eligibility check will happen. Repeat this process until the box turns green.
Step 9
Click Submit at the bottom of the page and one of our editirs will review this request for you. Updating existing release dates
Step 4
On the drop-down to the right, click Correct/Delete.
Step 5
Scroll to the bottom of the page and select Continue.
Step 6
Find the release date you would like to change and using the drop-down, select Correct.
Step 7
Scroll down and click Check these updates.
Step 8
Amend the release date of the title and scroll down and click Check these updates.
Step 9
Address any errors or warnings that appear on the page and re-click Re-check these updates.
Step 10
Click Submit at the bottom of the page and one of our editirs will review this request for you. |
For further information about how long it will take for an update to be reviewed and appear on the website, along with how to track your request - see our processing time article.