When a distributor has leased a movie, they will try to determine the best strategy for opening the movie.
Opening refers to the official debut of a movie.
Sometimes a movie has gotten good buzz, but isn't likely to have mass appeal because of the audience it is directed at. It might also be the wrong time of year for a particular type of movie. For example, a heartwarming Christmas story is not likely to do well opening on Memorial Day weekend. All of these factors help the distributor determine the number of prints to make. Many of the 37,000 screens in the United States are concentrated in urban areas.