MAJORS DISTRIBUTION
If your film gets picked up by the majors, you don't have to worry about distribution -- they take care of everything. What you get up front is what you get, in 99.99% of the cases you don't get the other percentage that the contract "guarantees" (producers refer to these percentage deals as "points," but Eddy Murphy, wisely, calls them "monkey points.")
Now, don't go on crying to everybody about how you got ripped off by the majors if you made a film for $150,000, claimed you made it for "2.5 mil.," got picked up by a major, for an up front $2,500,000 plus points (if movie "recovers negative costs" -- don't hold your breath, it won't,) and then the major went on to make $55,000,000 in theatrical alone ("It was in Variety and they told me the film is losing money and I got nothing! Nothing, zilch!")
What do you want? A billion dollars? You thought your film was going to make a billion and they were going to give it to you? So, you went and blew the $2,500,000 on a Rolls Royce, a $2,000,000 mansion and frittered the rest of the money on garbage, and you didn't pay anybody on your "team" any money, and now you can't even afford the taxes on your estate? You ought to be horse-whipped!
Whatever points you thought you were going to get, are paid if the film doesn't end up being dragged in other studio financial fiascoes, which are going on all the time! Studios are bought and sold every day.
There are mergers, friendly takeovers, unfriendly takeovers, the executive you made the deal with is now working for a rival studio, the new team that is going to run the studio your film is being distributed by is still in New York, the accountants are running the show, a former agent is now head of production and the actor you used in your movie once jilted him -- need I go on? I mean, there are a million reasons why you won't be paid another dime!
So be a good sport, pay your cast and crew who helped you make the movie, deferring most of their salaries, and invest part of the money that's yours wisely, and be sure to put aside another $250,000 towards the next production that you're about to start working on. What else are you going to do, you're a film maker, you're not going to sit on your laurels or something? Go on, make another movie!