Abstract

The conflict between exhibitor and distributor arises due to the limited number of slots available in the exhibition market, constant new introductions, business relationship and also the downside risk of a film’s demand. The inter-connections and the conflicting nature of these factors renders the screen management decision difficult. The study models this complexity on nature, by relating the Post Darwinian natural selection process to the variables involved. It focuses on selection of the fittest exhibition contract among many potential contracts within a given environment. Genetic algorithm is used to perform the search process. The study found that, there are two roles that a contract should perform in order to be chosen besides being the profit maximizer; to encourage play and to share risk.

Key words: Evolutionary selection, genetic algorithm, opportunity costs, learning and sharing rule.