Distribution

I didn't know music biopics did those kinds of box office numbers, Nick Phillips. $51.5MM opening for "One Love," $910MM globally for "Bohemian Rhapsody," etc.

A great read for sure. This is an incredibly important part of the process, and filmmakers need guidance like this!

Very cool Stephen A. O'Hearn. Hope some Stage 32ers in the area take you up on that.

Interested in seeing what happens with this lawsuit and how it'll affect Amazon Prime and other streamers if Amazon Prime subscribers win, Debbie Elicksen.

It is complete bs Amazon is doing this. Everyone is getting so greedy nowadays. Only getting worse.

A friend of mine used to work for a prominent film festival as well. She said they would watch 5-10 minutes of film, and if they didn't like it, it went in a no pile. Then what was left the festival director would decide on. So, similar story. I don't think that's right. To me, if someone pays an entry fee, you watch the entire film. Even if it sucks. Only fair.

Stephen Folker probably same for Oscar voters; there is no way a voter is watching entire movies. Vote on hype and whoever is paying bribes :)

Dan MaxXx sad, but true. Whole business is rigged.

Geoff Hall It began with a T. Not an S. That's all I'll say about the festival I mentioned. The reality is that they can't actually watch all the films in their entirety. You'd need a full time team of 20-30 people watching all day long 7 days a week 60 hours a week in a clockwork orange fashion with nothing but bathroom breaks to get through all the actual entries. And that's just the features. With the amount of shorts they get, forget it. You're not getting in.

That's why Blue Ruin nearly failed. The movie takes about 25 minutes for anything to happen. Only festival to pick that up was Cannes. And that movie is amazing. To this day I think that it's the festival's fault that so many movies have a spoiler in the first 5 minutes of the movie and then jump back in time. Because without some huge tentpole moment in the front of the film, it has no shot at anyone watching the rest of it.

M LaVoie i’ve never heard of the Tundance Film Festival. Haha!

Sandra Isabel Correia thank you, Sandra!

I work with Fathom; in fact just spoke to Ray on Thursday. They are having their best year yet, but they are NOT only faith based. They do a lot of other specialized distro. It all comes down to marketing with them.

Laurie Ashbourne thanks, Laurie. Well, that’s interesting to know and a definite blip now on my radar. This is us on IMDb Pro:

https://pro.imdb.com/title/tt6054692/?ref_=m_nm_known_for_3

Geoff Hall Not sure what you mean by blip on the radar. Best of luck with your project.

Laurie Ashbourne y’know, now I know it exists and I have a bearing?

Karen "Kay" Ross Doesn't Netflix already do this?

I'm not sure, actually, Debbie Elicksen

If you look at the creation of SkyShowtime, they are going to make local titles for local audiences, but if they have potential for breakout success (like The Bridge, The Killing, Call My Agent, Squid Game etc.) they'll release some titles in multimple territories. This could perhaps be the plan here as well.

I feel like that's what I was sensing, Ewan Dunbar. Like Paramount, as an American-based International distributor was like "we'll make American content, and if it catches on, we'll let it out further" and then did the same for all the other satellite locations. I guess what I'm curious about is - what is the savings there?

I think it's great news, Geoff Hall. 25 more indie films are gonna be acquired per year. The indie world needs more opportunities. What's a New York release?

Maurice Vaughan A NY release as in our aim is to give SR its US premiere in New York. I think the crime genre would be well received there. We’ll see how that one pans out! Timing is everything.

Oh ok, Geoff Hall. I think a NY release would be great for your film. Advertising SR in Manhattan would be a great idea -- might be expensive though. There are A LOT of outdoor screens and people.

Maurice Vaughan oh, cool. I like the sound of the outdoor screens. That would create a wonderful atmosphere for the film. I also love the vibe of the Tribeca Film Festival and this article caught my eye.

You're welcome, Robert Russo. I'll put my review on Amazon Prime Video and your Stage 32 post.

Huge congratulations on ROUGHNECK, Robert Russo! Such important topics. Excited to watch it!

Thank you all for the support. It means a lot to me.

Fantastic, congratulations!

https://tubitv.com/movies/100015328/roughneck

It is now also on Tubi for free to watch. I hope if you haven't had a chance to watch it, please watch, share, and review. :) Subject matter includes CPTSD, Psychedelics, and spirituality.

Between Covid and the SAG-AFTRA strike, there is a lot of catching up for the industry. It's not going to happen overnight. Nick Phillips thanks for the share.

Hey, Nick Phillips! Great article - I'll definitely be keeping our feature film distro plan to include a theatrical release. BUT I loved the additional nod to Rom-Coms being not dead. Indeed!

Also, I think it speaks to the psychology of the experience we offer by making films. They are not like books where we prefer to watch them in the vacuum of solitude. Experiencing films in a crowd makes them real, as if providing a secondary experience. Experiencing the story is the only thing we filmmakers can guide, but by allowing them to screen in theaters, we provide a cultural experience, which is once in a lifetime.

Thanks for sharing!

He pose a great question, Why isn't there a major theatrical marketing company to advertise releases on streaming services? This may be a good opportunity for marketers. I wonder why isn't anyone doing this already.

Dan MaxXx That makes me want a barf emoji.

who's matthew vaughn?

Jed Power, he's a well-known screenwriter, director, and producer- https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0891216/

Jed Power very successful filmmaker

I mean... I feel like they have to? Every studio has a quota, right, and more importantly, they have a quota at every price tier. I don't think it has to do with the money, I think it has to do with honoring the real reason people come to watch these high-concept films. If they don't honor the heart of the story in exchange for the seduction of spectacle, then the film, no matter the price tag, will fail. That is the lesson yet to be learned and implemented.

Not just because I love Brad Pitt but that is a great comment Karen "Kay" Ross. Let me refer to my Pinterest binge list to figure out what I may have seen after the fact. :)

The Turn of the Screw (2009)

Soylent Green (1973)

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007)

Kill Bill (2003)

Lord of the Rings trilogy (2001, 2002, 2003)

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas (2008)

I started my producing career on the Ultra-Low Budget level and while I wouldn't promote using prospective longevity as a major pitch point to potential investors, it's definitely something that can be talked about as a "plus" under the right conditions.

If the concept and cast can be considered "timeless" based on past examples or comps, it's always possible. My first production was a horror parody in 2015, which made 10X its budget in the first year until our distributor folded, then was only available overseas until literally this year, when we got an offer from another distributor to re-release it on digital/streaming. Obviously I have no clue how it will do, but with AVOD now a pretty consistent form of late-window distro, our sales agents have given us some encouraging comp numbers! It's mostly due to the concept, but our biggest name has a good cult following in the horror space so that definitely helps.

So I'd say if you're pitching a possible financier and they ask something like "Could this keep making money?" then you can respond positively (but never promise) and it's a little icing on the cake. But always remember the value of concept and cast throughout the development/financing stage, as those are the biggest moneymakers. Every entertainment viewer loves certain genres and stars so they'll watch "recommended" titles based on their interests, and if your little indie pops up next to a studio movie based on a shared cast member, etc. then you can get more longevity if it performs well.

Hey, Tim Ogletree! Long time, no see! How have you been?

I love that idea - acknowledge it as a bonus, but not a leg to stand on. NOTED! Actually, I'm reminded of how Bradley Cooper made a proof of concept short before they made MAESTRO and I think they could show that "timeless" component there.

Congrats on your first horror being so successful! That's really encouraging to hear!