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Apr 28, 2024 · In this excerpt from his new book, The Cheerful Subversive’s Guide to Independent Filmmaking, he tells you how you can financially stay afloat as an indie filmmaker while pursuing their cinematic dreams.
- Dan Mirvish
- 31 min
- Movie Budgets and Costs
- Ticket Price Revenue
- Merchandising Dollars
- Foreign Sales
- Television Rights, Streaming, and VOD
- The Bottom Line
In general, major studios don’t disclose the full budgets for their films (production, development, marketing, and advertising). This mystery arises in part because it costs far more to make and market a movie than most people expect. For example, the production budget for a summer blockbuster like Marvel’s The Avengers is estimated as $220 million...
Theater attendance has been challenging over recent years, making it even harder for studios and distributors to profit from films. Usually, a portion of theater ticket sales goes to theater owners, with the studio and distributor getting the remaining money. Traditionally, a larger chunk went to the studio during the opening weekend of a film. As ...
It all started with Star Wars. Since the George Lucas sci-fi saga began back in 1977, the franchise has made billions in revenue from toys alone, not to mention licensing income from other third-party companies. In 2015, Star Wars: The Force Awakensbrought in $700 million in retail sales. This strategy obviously doesn't work for every film. You don...
When a producer cobbles together the budget for an independent film, selling the distribution rights in foreign territories is crucial. It helps to cover the film’s budget and hopefully brings in revenue. Independent filmmakers can actually make money if they have a great foreign sales agent who can sell their movies in key overseas markets. Produc...
Once upon a time, it was all about DVD sales. Now, it’s far more about television rights, video-on-demand (VOD), and streaming. For some producers, selling TV and international rights is a significant source of profit because the producer doesn't have to pay for marketing and P&A costs. Films have to leave the theater at some point, but they can re...
As the saying goes, nobody knows anything in Hollywood. The film industry is in flux, and ticket sales alone don't drive revenue. There’s merchandising, VOD, streaming video, foreign sales, and a plethora of other distribution channelsthat can help filmmakers, producers, and studios turn a profit. So who knows, the little indie that you invest in c...
- Dina Zipin
As an independent filmmaker, you are able to negotiate these types of deals and should do so if your looking to bring in some extra money on your film. Another way to generate extra income with your indie film is through making other licensing deals.
- Landon Dyksterhouse
The major studios consider under ~1 million to be too low for them, so where do you go to find money to make indie films nowadays? How did you finance your last independent movie? EDIT: This includes budgets of ~500,000 or ~250,000 or ~100,000.
Jun 3, 2024 · Making money as an independent filmmaker often involves juggling multiple revenue streams and maintaining control over as much of the production and distribution process as possible. It requires a balance of creativity in both the artistic and business sides of filmmaking.
Mar 16, 2023 · Before 2011, which is about the time that streamers fundamentally changed the nature of revenue models, an independent film was substantially more likely to break even/make money. It became more difficult between 2011 and 2017 and has grown even more difficult since then.
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Jun 29, 2022 · Independent film producers make money by: Knowing their market; Building and maintaining trusted relationships with investors; Being smart about the budget on the front end of production; Getting their films sold to distributors; Negotiating a good back-end deal; Knowing and avoiding expensive pitfalls
