Hey,
I'm looking to take my micro-budget feature on the road and looking for some tips. I have a dark comedy that is geared towards former Mormons so I plan on taking it to Utah, Idaho and Arizona in early 2022. I'm looking for tips from those that have done it before and I'm also interested in chatting with others that are planning on taking their film on the road.
For every event I plan on having someone from the local community hosting and then I will be there for a q&a session.
Have you found it best to find venues that split the profit or a flat fee rental? What is the average flat fee rental?
Did you sale more or less merchandise than you were expecting? What was the most popular merchandise?
Any good books, articles or videos on the subject? I watched the Bite Me series on Youtube, which was really interesting and regularly listen to Alex Ferrari which I get a lot of good info on.
Brent.
1 person likes this
It's called "Four walling" ... go to a theater. Ask them how much to rent out one screen for a day, a week, etc. You talk to the manager about showing your film on that one screen, and what the fee is. If you pack all seats, for all shows for the one screen you should be in the green. If you can't get butts in the seats you'll still have to pay the theater so you'll be in the red. Also look into local universities as they have theaters as well.
Thanks for the tips!
GREAT question, Brent Bokovoy! I look forward to hearing others' answers, but to start, I would recommend checking out a documentary called "Official Rejection". It's specifically about the film festival circuit, but a lot of the information pertains to choosing your location for exhibition and marketing to get people to the cinema. Also, be sure to check out the Alamo Drafthouse for how they host their events.
And Alex Ferrari is a great place to start! Just a couple of other thoughts.
1) We were just talking about vacant small theatres that are hurting due to the pandemic. They are everywhere and would love to work with special events like yours. You may have to do some grunt work and cold call to get the info you're looking for, though. That's really the best way.
2) If the film is about _former_ Mormons, you may want to consider doing a few screenings in a few places that don't have traditional Mormons nearby (DC has a fairly large Mormon community). Is there a way to search cities to see if they have a significant ex-Mormon population? Or cities where "The Book of Mormon" musical has done well?
Keep at it and keep us posted on your progress!
1 person likes this
Hey Karen, thanks for the reply!
I saw that Doc awhile ago but I will check it out again as I don't remember much.
I really do learn so much for Alex Ferrri and his guests.
I know I can find people on facebook that have liked The Book of Mormon musical, but I really should look more in to that since that is the closest thing to my movie that I can compare. I have even thought about giving away free tickets to the musical in a raffle for people that sign up for my email.