Independent Film Box Office Remains Strong
Posted by Jim on Monday, November 02, 2009 in Author • Louise Levison - Independent Film Finance Consultant • Film Blogs • Film Revenue & ROI • (0) Comments • Permalink •
The independent film portion of the domestic box office is doing just fine, despite the gloomy predictions of some analysts and other naysayers. I estimate the independent film total at $2.73 billion, as of November 1st, 3 percent ahead of the total from January through October last year and 32 percent of the total $8.56 billion box office (as estimated by Paul Dergarabedien). The indie share is likely to grow by December 31st. Due to what many still call the “Weinstein influence,” distributors tend to release films they consider Oscar and revenue contenders in the last two months of the year. The effect on the box office of films like The Simple Man, Precious: Based on the Novel Push By Sapphire and others with real or PR-driven buzz is still to be seen. Who could have foreseen the stampede of ticket buyers to see Paranormal Activity?
My definition for “independent” has always been whether or not a U.S. studio controlled the creative content for a film by providing all or a majority of the financing. Over the last decade, studios have consistently ceded more of their commanding presence at the box office to indies. Although the trade papers often cling to outdated terms such as “mini-major” or “independent studio” in the case of any new production company with a healthy bank account, those companies are making independent films. No longer is a film with a budget higher than $10 million automatically a studio film.
Where does this leave us in terms of the independent box office for 2009? I estimate indies to be 35 percent of the total by the end of the year. At this point, it is difficult to fully evaluate the effect of the disappearance of the specialty divisions (except for the still functioning Sony Pictures Classics and Fox Searchlight) on indie revenues or the effect of the new players in the market. In addition, for the past year, some of the cash that might have gone into real estate financing or hedge funds has moved into independent production. This source won’t keep up forever, as eventually the domestic economy will turn around. Although we may not know what the constantly shifting landscape will look like in the future, it is clear that independent films will continue to play a big part.
Louise Levison Independent film finance consultant (www.moviemoney.com) and author of “Filmmakers and Financing: Business Plans for Independents”, she also created the business plan for The Blair Witch Project. Louise Levison is the author of Filmmakers & Financing: Business Plans for Independents and publisher/editor of The Film Entrepreneur: A Newsletter for the IndependentFilmmaker and Investors. Her clients have raised money for low-budget films such as The Blair Witch Project, the most profitable independent film in history, and for companies raising as much as $300 million. Levison is President of Business Strategies, a consulting firm that specializes in creating business plans for films and film companies, as well as consulting on other aspects of the independent film business.
