An anthology film (also known as an omnibus film, package film, or portmanteau film) is a single film consisting of several shorter films, each complete in itself and distinguished from the other, though frequently tied together by a single theme, premise, or author. Sometimes each one is directed by a different director or written by a different author, or may even have been made at different times or in different countries. Anthology films are distinguished from "revue films" such as Paramount on Parade (1930)—which were common in Hollywood in the early decades of sound film, composite films, and compilation films.
Anthology films are often mistaken with hyperlink cinema. Hyperlink cinema shows parts of many stories throughout a film, whereas anthology films show story segments of one at a time. Some mistaken examples include Pulp Fiction (1994) and Amores Perros (2000), distributing their storylines non-chronologically, separated by segments.
