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Kodak Films vs Kodak Eastman Films - What's Going On?
Those of you who spend lots of time online might have noticed a recent uptick in rumours about Kodak. Specifically there is lots of speculation that European supply of your favourite Kodak films is under threat from a big commercial fallout. This is not true - but it does highlight some important complexities of the global film production chain that is worth exploring. So come with me on a fascinating journey of corporate structures and how they impact our hobby! 😂 (I promise to make it fun...)
Important Context 1 - why trust me?
You might be thinking 'how can I trust Paul and Analogue Wonderland over any other source?' and that's a great question.
Fortunately there's a simple answer: we are a direct customer of Kodak Alaris and have been for years. We talk every week about different ideas, evolving markets, and plans for the future, and I have similarly strong relationships with the other key players in the industry (which you will see is very relevant later...)
Titans of industry! Giles from Harman Tech and Andy from Kodak Alaris. Taken by Paul McKay on a Pentax 17 and Kodak Gold 35mm at the AP Awards dinner
Another important point is that my motivation in this discussion is to bring clarity and calm to the chat. I'm NOT trying to win online views or engagement or upvotes - all of which are highly correlated with 'hot takes' versus reality.
This doesn't mean I have perfect insight, and I obviously can't predict the future, but I do have those direct lines.
Important Context 2 - what's the difference between Kodak Eastman and Kodak Alaris?
There is a longer answer that goes back to the famous 2012 Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing but I won't recap the past 15 years here. Instead I'll summarise life 'today' in a little table:
| Name: | Kodak Eastman | Kodak Alaris |
| Founded | 1892 | 2013 |
| Responsible for: | Manufacture of all film Marketing and distribution of movie film (including 'mass market' formats like super 8) | Marketing and distribution of historic (still) films - 35mm, 120 and sheet |
| Owns historic IP: | All movie films, some still film | Some still film |
| Direct business with Analogue Wonderland: | Yes | Yes |
The most important point for the rumour mill today is that Kodak Alaris has a global network of distributors and retailers for getting their films into the hands of film photographers, and Kodak Eastman fully manufactures those films from their Rochester base in the USA. The companies rely on each other to get you your film fast and fresh 😉
So without further ado, on to the questions currently filling certain parts of the internet!
Has Kodak Alaris 'Fired Everyone'?
No.
You must have been on Reddit recently 😅 where some helpful person announced the mass layoffs of a workforce...that never happened. So the short answer - NO. None of this is correct:
In fact when I phoned my contacts to commiserate on their misfortune 😂 they were rather surprised to learn that they weren't meant to be at work, especially as they were in the middle of a budget meeting agreeing future sales targets with Kodak Eastman!
Has Portra been discontinued?
No.
But someone in the community is taking rather strange delight in regularly updating the Wikipedia page for Portra, claiming that it's done. It keeps getting corrected back, but some people have more time than sense and so the cycle continues.
So please don't panic-buy Portra or any other Kodak film from this unfounded fear.
(The salesman in me has to add: feel free to normal-buy Portra though! 😂)
yummy!
Are other people buying master rolls and finishing different Kodak emulsions in [country/city/secret location]?!
No.
The number of factories able to 'finish' a film master roll can be counted on the fingers of one hand. It is sadly not as simple as taking a ruler and stanley knife out to the car park under cover of night 😂
You won't be surprised to hear that the owners of all these factories talk to each regularly (legally) and would absolutely know if someone was Walter Whiting the global film supply.
So is ANYTHING changing?
As far as Kodak Alaris are concerned - no. They continue to hold the licence to sell their films worldwide. They got new owners in August 2024, who are doing what new owners often do: poke around for a bit and then make some changes to improve the business health. I know this involved some organisational change (not recent) and some complicated property deals designed to release cash - but they bought Alaris to make money from selling film, and that's not changed.
For Kodak Eastman they have taken the opportunity to make some of their own-branded films! Which is awesome: more emulsions is nearly always good news for film shooters.
I don't know if there have been any formulation changes between films marketed 'Kodacolor' vs 'Gold' or 'Ektacolor Pro' vs 'Portra' - recipes are confidential information but we can probably make some smart guesses.
My personal opinion (different from the facts I've been reporting so far) is that it's a sensible move for a manufacturer to have the ability to make their own-label products. In most industries it is common practice and provides a diversified income in case of an unexpected external issue (trade wars, tariff issues, government regulations).
And I'm not surprised that the past few years have provoked enough concern about 'unexpected external issues' for them to make this move now!
What's the future for Kodak film?
In the short-term: absolutely the same as the past ten years!
Specifically I think we'll continue to see the fantastic portfolio of colour and B&W films available around the world, hopefully with some new additions/upgrades along the way.
In the long-term: harder to tell. Will the partnership between manufacture (Eastman) and distribution/marketing (Alaris) remain exactly the same forever? Probably not - just because very few things last forever! But that doesn't mean your film supply is going to be affected overnight (who would that benefit?!) and any corporate changes would happen as they usually do...in a slow and boring way that minimises day-to-day disruption for their consumers.
Sorry to be so non-incendiary! I've just never seen a big company deliberately blow up its distribution network or commercial relationships before, and I can't imagine it's about to start now.
I must also admit some personal frustration that people are choosing to spread false rumours about film. This drives real anxiety - some of my team were texting me late last night saying 'is this going to be ok?' - and we've had customers phone all day wondering what they should do.
So please...don't feed the trolls, ask people with good sources if you're worried, and keep shooting!
Are there any other rumours or fears you'd like me to specifically address? Comment below!
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Kodak Films vs Kodak Eastman Films - What's Going On?
Those of you who spend lots of time online might have noticed a recent uptick in rumours about Kodak. Specifically there is lots of speculation that European supply of your favourite Kodak films is under threat from a big commercial fallout. This is not true
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6 Comments -
Lev Barav • -
Bob Seagar • -
Bob Seagar • -
Ian Fleming • -
Colin •
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Great information. Thank you for consolidating. I have one question, how is a retailer selling film for more than portra considered ‘ripping off’ customers. To me that sounds oversimplified and extreme as there are many factors going into reselling products besides the cost the manufacturer or wholesalers sell it. Also it seems somewhat extreme to say selling something for a dollar or a couple dollars more is ‘ripping off’. Otherwise, I’m grateful for the clarifications in the article. Thank you. 😊
Oh, I forgot the most important bit. #10.
10: Alaris pays approx between $4-6 per roll Portra when buying and cutting up master rolls. Alaris sells for approx.. $16. Eastman is losing out on what works out to be nearly 50% of revenue loss on all their products using Alaris as a distributor. Eastman only ran at a loss of around 10% in 2025 with 1 billion in revenue. With direct distribution cutting out Alaris, Eastman’s revenue will be up 30-50% in 2026 and for the first time in a long time, no longer record a net loss. If you don’t own stock in KODK, I highly suggest you do. There will not be two of the same films on the market, one direct and one from a 3rd party. We’re simply in a time of transition back to in-house distribution. As the months pass, Alaris’s warehouse stock will sell out leaving only Eastman on the shelves.
What’s interesting is, Alaris signed their contracts with Eastman to sell the film at specific prices. When Alaris pissed off Eastman not wanting to sell them the names back, Eastman announced they’re dropping the prices of directly distributed films by approx. 15%. Directly sold Eastman film is being sold below the legally bound price Alaris agreed to sell theirs at, effectively making Alaris distributed film unsellable. Why would any retail shop buy Alaris Portra 400 for $16 a roll wholesale when they can buy it direct from Eastman for $15. Alaris can not price match without breaching their contracts and being sued to oblivion.
1: Alaris is a customer of Eastman. That’s where the relationship ends. They purchase master rolls from Eastman and package/sell them.
1A: Eastman now sells all their film stocks directly. They no longer require Alaris for distribution and no agreements exist between Alaris and Eastman that gives Alaris exclusive rights to distribute Kodak film.
2: Small list of customers that purchase master rolls from Kodak Eastman and handle their own packaging and distribution: Alaris. Lomography. Cinestill. Fuji Film. Flic Film.
2A: FujiFilm has restarted film production in Japan but only distribute in Japan. Fuji has acknowledged but not given a timeline when and if their relationship with Eastman will end for Fuji 200/400 film production and they will reintroduce in-house made films back to the USA market like Superia. Could be 2026, could be 2028. They will do it when they do it.
3: Kodak-Eastman has an entire resale program. Anyone, if you have the cash, can purchase master rolls and package/brand them as their own.
4: Ektacolor Pro films are identical to Alaris Portra. Eastman and Alaris were in a stalemate for months as Eastman was trying to negotiate the buyback of some trademark names like Portra and TMax. Alaris wanted an insane amount of money for the buyback of the trademarks, so Eastman gave up and created new names. As a gesture of “thanks, but no thanks”, Eastman also dropped the wholesale price of Ektacolor Pro films below the contractual price Alaris signed to resell their purchased master rolls at, undercutting them from the market. So, if you see a retailer selling Ektacolor Pro films at the same price as Alaris Portra, they’re ripping you off. On average Ektacolor Pro is $1 cheaper per roll wholesale.
5: Kodak Eastman will directly distribute internationally, bypassing Alaris in the worldwide market.
6: Alaris since Q4 2025 has been selling off all their in-house film related equipment (scanners, film processors, etc) to equipment resale vendors in the USA.
7: Alaris has been suffering massive shortages of stock in the last 3 months, suggesting Eastman is no longer selling them film, or selling them film in a reduced quantity. They have been unable to fulfill orders worldwide.
8: As of 3/26/26, Alaris has introduced an automated ordering system for their products, no more human interaction that was standard until yesterday.
9 and the most important one: Alaris is just a customer of Eastman like you buying food at Booker to resell at your convenience store. Once all master roll contracts are fulfilled and delivered to Alaris, Eastman is under no legal obligation to continue selling Alaris film for distribution. Eastman has no incentives to do so anymore, as now that they have completed their in-house distribution network.
Thanks for the explanation Paul, it’s all good news in reality
Oh, also, I’ve never heard it referred to as “Kodak Eastman”. It has always been “Eastman Kodak”.