distribution and what this means for indie films

-What is a usual release strategy for Hollywood big-budget films? 

Big films are released into 800-4,000 theaters at the same time in North America. Most of the marketing and advertising budget is spent prior to opening - to bolster that crucial opening weekend. The focus is on 'tentpole' movies which are known as that main pillar in Hollywood studios' major release strategies. These movies are expected to bring in a large proportion of the revenue for the studios.

- What are some examples of Indi films that did really well?

Jojo Rabbit (box office: 90.3 mjllion USD), The Favourite (box office: 15 million USD), Darkest Hour (box office: 150.8 million USD), Won't You Be My Neigbour? (box office: 22.8 million USD), Call Me By Your Name (box office: 41.9 million USD) and Moonlight (box office: 65.3 million USD).

- Why do smaller films like Jojo Rabbit, winning awards, create a problem for awards show ratings?

Small films like these are blamed for the decline of broadcast ratings for the Academy Awards because they do not have big red-carpet stars.

 

- Why do they suggest Indi films are even more vulnerable?

Opening weekend is critical for big films because it will be the biggest weekend financially throughout the life of the film. After opening weekend, a commercial title’s numbers will usually fall 40 percent to 70 percent weekly, depending on genre. This week-to-week box office decline continues for the duration of the film’s theatrical exhibition life. The opposite is true in “independent” distribution. When an indie title is released, the expectation is that the opening weekend will be the smallest weekend financially. If the screen average is high enough on a limited number of screens, the film will receive attention not only from reviews, but also from potential moviegoers and other theater operators. The film, after an initial successful weekend, will then expand by adding more screens in more cities as the word-of-mouth continues. Word-of-mouth is a critical piece of the equation, because these films do not have the large marketing budgets that wide releases have. Films such as Moonlight and Parasite played for 20-plus weeks in many key theaters. Their box office grew each week, keeping these films onscreen in cinemas. This may not be the case if studios keep pushing to accelerate to streaming. I believe the ability of an independent film to grow attendance at a theater when it is competing with the streaming outlets is simply not sustainable. Before this year, getting any independent film made was challenging at best. Now, with new obstacles such as the need to obtain impossible-to-pay-for insurance to cover virus-related interruptions, I think indie film becomes even more fragile. 

1. "Funding majorly impacts the film industry" Explain your view on this.

The distribution of a film is impacted greatly by the funding. Big Hollywood films are usually released into 800-4,000 theaters in North America and this is able to happen because of their big budgets. Majority of a big film institutions marketing and advertising budget is primarily spent prior to opening weekend as this "will be the biggest weekend financially throughout the life of the film". It is said that a commercial title's numbers will usually fall 40% to 70% weekly, depending on the genre. This is different in the case of independent films as when a indie film is released it is expected that opening weekend will be the lowest weekend financially. This can be seen in the thriller indie film Parasite which was released in 2019 with an opening weekend of only $393,216 compared to the giants of Hollywood like Spider-Man: No Way Home which raked $260 million for opening weekend. Parasite went on to receive $263.1 million in box office and many Academy Awards. This to say, as a low budget film there isn't a lot of funds to be able to advertise before opening weekend and therefore they have to rely on word-of-mouth for the success in their films.

2. "Technology is advancing at an accelerated rate" To what extent do you believe this is true?

3. How closely do wider audience trends mirror your own habits as an audience member of the film industry?