{"id":649,"date":"2017-01-24T02:36:49","date_gmt":"2017-01-24T02:36:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ramolawpc.com\/?p=649"},"modified":"2017-02-02T02:40:36","modified_gmt":"2017-02-02T02:40:36","slug":"buyer-or-seller-selling-a-movie-at-sundance-2017-is-more-complicated-than-ever","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ramolawpc.com\/new\/buyer-or-seller-selling-a-movie-at-sundance-2017-is-more-complicated-than-ever\/","title":{"rendered":"Buyer or Seller, Selling a Movie At Sundance 2017 Is More Complicated Than Ever"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"indiewireOn Friday in Park City, the bidding wars opened for business. Fox Searchlight co-president Nancy Utley began and ended her day at the Eccles Theatre, where the Sundance premieres culminated with the big acquisition title, \u201cThe Big Sick,\u201d directed by Michael Showalter and produced by Judd Apatow. Appetites remain high for Sundance titles, but last year proved to be a teachable moment for indie distribution: There\u2019s a big difference between being able to compete for a title, and successfully gauging what will work in the marketplace.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe marketplace is always changing, but now it is changing more rapidly, both on the production and consumer side,\u201d said Searchlight co-president Stephen Gilula. \u201cThe bar for theatrical viability keeps going up. While we are talking about other models, Searchlight is still a global, theatrically driven company, trying to make money on each individual title. We haven\u2019t changed our acquisition calculus, but we are more rigorous in considering what is viable.\u201d<\/p>\n

With the benefit of that global distribution, calculating viability used to be easier for Searchlight. It\u2019s long been the cock of the walk at Sundance, from big buys \u201cLittle Miss Sunshine\u201d and \u201cNapoleon Dynamite\u201d to Oscar contenders \u201cBeasts of the Southern Wild,\u201d \u201cBrooklyn,\u201d and \u201cThe Birth of a Nation,\u201d the $17.5 million acquisition that skidded into ignominy and a disappointing release as its writer-director-star Nate Parker was tainted by a rape scandal.<\/p>\n

Truth is, none of the studio specialty distributors had a strong 2016. It was an off year for Searchlight, Sony Pictures Classics, and Focus Features, not to mention struggling indies Weinstein Co. and Broad Green. Among the smaller indies, Magnolia, IFC, and A24 hold their own against deeper-pocketed studio competitors, with more freedom to maneuver in the multi-platform space.<\/p>\n

Smaller companies are also pushing their way into the market. PBS Distribution hired two new executives just in time for Sundance who will be looking to acquire theatrical, non-theatrical, home entertainment and VOD rights of films, and Tim League and Tom Quinn\u2019s recently named Neon also announced its presence just before the fest.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Amazon Studios has emerged as the top studio distributors\u2019 primary competitor, proving with \u201cManchester by the Sea\u201d (partnering with Oscar-savvy distributor Roadside Attractions) that it can acquire, market, and release with all the bells and whistles of a major awards campaign. (Competitors are astounded by their lavish ad spending.) Its willingness to abide by theatrical windows before going SVOD gives it an edge over Netflix, which is investing heavily in original series and documentaries that do not rely on theaters to reach viewers.<\/p>\n

When Netflix does buy, its hunger for originals often means buying something pre-festival and slapping the Red \u201cOriginal\u201d logo on the film\u2019s opening credits before it gets to that Eccles premiere. But even when a pre-festival Netflix deal doesn\u2019t happen, Netflix can still loom large. During those festival bidding wars, Amazon and Netflix often will give theatrical distributors a rough estimate of how much they\u2019re willing to pay for SVOD rights \u2014 a key figure in calculating what an all-rights distributor will bid.<\/p>\n

This can have devastating effects, as Business Insider reported last month last month in a cautionary tale about documentary \u201cDo Not Resist.\u201d When the filmmaker turned down a pre-festival premiere offer from Netflix, the company then let it be known that they weren\u2019t interested in the film\u2019s SVOD rights and effectively cratered the film\u2019s value overnight.<\/p>\n

But for filmmakers, making a deal with SVOD providers means opting out of the enhanced profile that real market-by-market publicity and marketing can bring. Branding and bragging rights are valuable, but Amazon and Netflix often keep their numbers to themselves. Even so, a filmmaker could well be tempted by the blanket Amazon deal announced this week, which is available to all official Sundance selections. However, filmmakers also have to decide on whether to take the deal in time for their films to stream in September, which doesn\u2019t allow for an exhaustive search for other distribution opportunities.<\/p>\n

There is always the hope of a theatrical breakout, but the more predictable return on investment from theatrical P&A dollars is the unparalleled exposure it gives an asset that the company will monetizing for next seven to 10 years. For Paul Davidson at The Orchard (which recently picked up the big game hunting doc \u201cTrophy\u201d), a theatrical release only makes sense if they are willing to invest in getting the film in over 50 theaters.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a 50-to-400 theater sweet spot for us,\u201d Davidson told IndieWire back in September. \u201cWe\u2019re not interested in a 10-12 theater release. We\u2019ve seen that we can really increase awareness for title based on reviews we get from the top 30 to 35 markets.\u201d<\/p>\n

The financial matrix has shifted from the seller\u2019s perspective as well. \u201cIt\u2019s one of those times where it feels that if you thread the needle correctly, theatrical can be stronger than it ever was,\u201d said Killer Films producer Christine Vachon. \u201cIt\u2019s defining what makes a movie theatrical that is getting harder. It doesn\u2019t mean other movies shouldn\u2019t be made or stories not told. It\u2019s figuring out what is that element that makes people leave their homes? The metrics and economics are different, that\u2019s all.\u201d<\/p>\n

This year Vachon is at Sundance with four low-budget movies with the reunion of Mike White and Miguel Arteta (\u201cBeatriz at Dinner\u201d), \u201cDina,\u201d starring Dina Buno, Andrew Dosunmu\u2019s \u201cWhere is Kyra?\u201d and emerging comic talent Janicza Bravo\u2019s \u201cLemon.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe joke that $5 million is the $10, $3 million is the new $5, $1 million is the new 3,\u201d Vachon said. \u201cThe downward pressure on our budgets is real. That\u2019s become a challenge.\u201d<\/p>\n

Along with many indies, Killer is developing television series such as Amazon\u2019s upcoming \u201cZ: The Beginning of Everything: The Right Side of Paradise,\u201d starring Christina Ricci as Zelda Fitzgerald. Next week, Killer starts shooting a Paul Schrader film starring Ethan Hawke and Amanda Seyfried. \u201cIt\u2019s about having a good sense of, What makes it makable?\u201d Vachon said. \u201cIs it a script that will attract an Ethan Hawke or a director? Does the story feel timely, is it something people will leave their homes to go see?\u201d<\/p>\n

Last year, all four Killer Sundance titles found non-traditional distribution. Todd Solondz\u2019s \u201cWiener-Dog\u201d (IFC Films) was the biggest theatrically, while \u201cWhite Girl\u201d (FilmRise) played New York\u2019s Angelika for two months and Mathew Ross\u2019 \u201cFrank & Lola\u201d went out through Universal\/Paladin. \u201c\u2018Goat,\u2019 starring Nick Jonas, ended up selling to Paramount as a strong SVOD release,\u201d said Vachon. \u201cIts biggest audience was college students; they flocked to it. That\u2019s how they see movies. The movies were well served. Fact is, our investors were able to get out. That was a good thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

View this article at IndieWire<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On Friday in Park City, the bidding wars opened for business. Fox Searchlight co-president Nancy Utley began and ended her day at the Eccles Theatre, where the Sundance premieres culminated with the big acquisition title, \u201cThe Big Sick,\u201d directed by Michael Showalter and produced by Judd Apatow. Appetites remain high for Sundance titles, but last
+ Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":325,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-649","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-indiewire"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ramolawpc.com\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/649","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ramolawpc.com\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ramolawpc.com\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ramolawpc.com\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ramolawpc.com\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=649"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.ramolawpc.com\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/649\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":651,"href":"https:\/\/www.ramolawpc.com\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/649\/revisions\/651"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ramolawpc.com\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/325"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ramolawpc.com\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=649"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ramolawpc.com\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=649"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ramolawpc.com\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=649"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}