One of the arguments for collapsing windows and releasing everything simultaneously is that the industry will then be able to compete with pirates. If a consumer faces the choice of downloading a questionable version of a movie or clicking on the TV and VODing the same selection for a minimal price, then a significant number will choose the latter, or so the theory goes. Read More
Roughly 1-in-4 specialty films from 2009 were DIY releases. And by that I mean they were cases in which the producers released the film into theaters themselves (“four-walling”) or did so through a distributor-for-hire (“service deal”). Not surprisingly, there were some noticeable differences between DIY and non-DIY films, as the following table illustrates: Read More
One of the sixteen narrative films in competition at this year's Sundance film festival was a film called "Holy Rollers". Starring Jesse Eisenberg of "Zombieland" and "Squid and the Whale" fame as well as the groom from last year's smash comedy "The Hangover" Justin Bartha, the film was made for just over $1 mil and nabbed one of the coveted slots at the premiere American film festival. In terms of subject matter, good news: a crime drama about running drugs out of Amsterdam, always a popular genre. Not so easy news: the running was being done by a group of Hasidic Jews. Therein lay the marketing challenge. Read More
Throughout the first half of the year I have been reading about the “collapse” of independent film. Yet the domestic box office for independent films was 5.3 percent ahead of the same period in 2009 as of June 20th as well as holding at 35 percent of the total box office which showed a 4.1 percent gain over the same period. Did the whole sector really collapse, or were a few of the larger companies that pick up and distribute films getting a bit too loose with their checkbooks? Read More
What are the odds of making a profitable U.S. indie film? Good question. Let’s give it a shot using specialty films as a proxy for “indie films.” READ MORE
It’s a simple statement. At the two prestigious film festivals that have opened this year, Sundance and Berlin, buyers were heard to say, “We are looking for good films.” In stating how they were changing Sundance this year, Festival Director John Cooper was quoted as saying that in taking the festival back to its roots, they would be picking “good” films. Buyers evidently were in sync with festival organizers and filmmakers, as the independent film market continues to look good two months into 2010. But what makes a good film? Read More
If you are like most independent filmmakers, you will be raising the money for your film almost exclusively from investors. Perhaps you may be able to cash flow some government incentives or secure a postproduction deal, but even in these cases, investors will be carrying the bulk of the budget load. Read More
At first I thought this blog entry would be an examination of some of the smaller festivals out there and which ones might help a specialty film more than others (click here for a refresher on “specialty films”). So I looked at all the specialty films released last year and whittled it down to those that debuted at festivals other than Sundance, Toronto, Cannes, Berlin, Tribeca, Venice, or SXSW prior to their domestic theatrical release. Read More
Despite a number of the studio's specialty divisions essentially being shut down in the last year, despite coming off several festivals in a row where a dearth of big deals existed, Sundance 2010, after a careful start on the part of the distributors, is showing a great deal of life. Read More
The across the board DVD pricing scheme, along with WalMart and RedBox are devaluing the movie proposition overall, and are creating expectations in the mind of the consumer that all products are alike, when they are not all alike. Great foreign films, great independent American films should be marketed and sold like the fine wine and artisan foods they are. Read More
