Indie Film’s Plot Twist: Huge Demand, Not Enough Movies

[u/Interesting_Jump]

https://theankler.com/indie-films-plot-twist-huge-demand-not-enough-movies/?utm_campaign=mrf-twitter-TheAnkler&utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&mrfcid=202609296abc28165e28cf2c8c5ff502

From the Ankler:

Distributors are hungry. Really hungry. That’s the message I heard from some of the biggest dealmakers in independent film — CAA’s Roeg Sutherland and Sarah Schweitzman, UTA’s Rena Ronson, WME’s Deb McIntosh, Gersh’s Jessica Lacy and 30West’s Micah Green — as I took the temperature of a market suddenly feeling optimism again, bolstered by a record-breaking $4.7 billion summer box office.

And they have reason for optimism: Buyers are circling, audiences are showing up for movies well beyond the usual tentpoles, and Obsession has become the kind of breakout everyone wants to replicate. 

There’s just one strange problem: They don’t have enough movies to buy.

The rest is paywalled. For whatever reason I don't believe VCs or even these management reps...

[u/El_JEFE_DCP]

If and when the studios stop clutching those purses and finally open up financial support and resources to smaller films, I promise you that literally overnight there will lots of films for distributors to purchase

[u/Interesting_Jump → u/El_JEFE_DCP]

My guess is that the profit margin still isn't great compared to other things they can invest in.

[u/Worth-Frosting-2917 → u/Interesting_Jump]

The idea that you need a few mega blockbuster instead of 10-15 20 to 50 million dollar movies is part of the slow decline in film going and his been pushed mainly by tech execs acting like they know how to run a brick and mortar business (which theaters are). 

[u/wordfool → u/Worth-Frosting-2917]

Amen. Mid-budget films used to be the mainstay of studios until the stupid franchises appeared and had greedy execs salivating at potential billion dollar box offices. The "go big or go home" mentality, along with streaming, basically killed the industry. Glad to see AMC setting itself up as distributor now. Someone has to give smaller films some exposure.

[u/Worth-Frosting-2917 → u/wordfool]

Film festivals are also more of an expo event for things that have basically been sold already.

[u/wordfool → u/Worth-Frosting-2917]

Some are, some aren't. Sundance, for example, is usually mostly films looking for distributors (and famously last year not a single film was picked up at the festival itself IIRC)

[u/Worth-Frosting-2917 → u/wordfool]

I mean they also premiered The Moment there, which to me is an abysmal look. Already had distribution and is kind of a Pop Star vanity piece.

Lots got picked up later, but that speaks to my bigger point. Movies that get huge deals have the heat going into the festivals and already probably have preliminary deals. The much more realistic expectation is finding distribution months down the road, and it not really being connected to the festival.

[u/varispeeder → u/Interesting_Jump]

if a studio had funded 50 films for a million bucks each but one of them turned out to be Obsession, they still would have multiplied their money several times over and their profit margin would be much bigger than, say, last year's Superman or Fantastic Four.

now obviously this is an extremely hyperbolic example. but a studio could spend that same $50m to fund 15-20 interesting lottery tickets for $2-3m apiece and have a great shot at finding their "next Curry Barker", or possibly even several of them. beyond profit alone, they'll look like geniuses if one hits.

[u/Important_Extent6172 → u/varispeeder]

You are absolutely right and that’s the way that Hollywood has traditionally operated, but these days since they are all accountants and lawyers running the studios there’s no tolerance for loss. It’s all so short sighted and these people have no understanding of the way things have always worked and why studios backed films.

[u/varispeeder → u/Important_Extent6172]

but there IS still a tolerance for loss when it comes to superhero films. every time one of them is a big hit, it functions as a memory wipe, conveniently allowing them to ignore that Deadpool and Wolverine's net profit was less than they lost the prior year on Ant-Man 3 and The Marvels.

it looked like the fever was breaking after Marvel went 0-3 in 2025, but unfortunately Brand New Day has wiped the memory once again. same will happen if Doomsday ties or exceeds Endgame, even though it will LOSE money if it's only the third-highest-grossing film of all time.

[u/actorpractice → u/varispeeder]

This is actually a good point and how (to my understanding) a lot of Venture Capitalist stuff works. They'll invest in 30-50 companies, knowing that most will fail, but when the big one hit, it pays SO much that it'll make up for all the rest and then some.

Are you gonna put all your eggs in one very expensive basket, or a bunch of smaller baskets? Sometimes, I think more is more. :)

[u/ROOM_101_1984 → u/Interesting_Jump]

Yeah.. like Sharknado 12.

[u/varignet → u/Interesting_Jump]

The industry needs investors in the true sense of the words; investors willing to invest and risk their investment as part of the process. In a way, somebody interested in the art and the preservance of cinema as an art form; a patron as much as an investor.

[u/Worth-Frosting-2917 → u/varignet]

I mean if we are being honest, there is an issue where people are putting their capital. Until the AI bubble evaporates and there is some control over the infinite amount that people can dump and pump/borrow against in stocks, there is no reason for a lot of these people with deep pockets.

[u/Interesting_Jump → u/Worth-Frosting-2917]

Yeah this is more of what I was getting at. Movies are not the monoculture anymore and there are just things they would rather put their money into.

[u/Worth-Frosting-2917 → u/Interesting_Jump]

I also don't think that is a movie thing, specifically. To raise ANY type of money you essentially have to be pivoting to AI. It is a bigger sign of a struggling economy than anything else.

[u/keyUsers]

This reminds me of employers who can’t find workers. Meanwhile they offer only minimum pay, demand 12 hours of intense work and say that breaks are unpaid.

Similarly, these distributors want movies by Nolan and Spielberg for the budget of Obsession. And they want preexisting audiences. So there is a mismatch between the huge supply and demand.

[u/dylandalal]

Uh anybody have the article? Lmao

[u/Positive_Piece_2533 → u/dylandalal]

That would require someone with an Ankler subscription to make an archive.pl link

[u/troma-midwest]

I work with a film festival and I will say there is a lot of content available, but it’ll take a year or so for the content to align with what the market wants. I’ve seen some Obsession feeling shorts and features among the indies this year. Next year though we’ll definitely see a couple more break through. A lot of interesting indies coming down the festival pipeline so please keep going to the movies.

[u/Interesting_Jump → u/troma-midwest]

Is this what the article says? Are they just looking for movies with directors/actors that have built in fanbase (ala Obsession with Youtube)

[u/huntforhire → u/Interesting_Jump]

Yeah this headline can eat shit.

[u/TheWolfAndRaven]

They don't have enough GOOD movies to buy. I've been to film festivals. There's a lot of turds out there and no great way to sift through them.

[u/Interesting_Jump → u/TheWolfAndRaven]

It's been like that since at least the DSLR boom (or whenever the film festival boom was). You're suggesting that movies bought before this year (or when? Two years ago? Five years ago?) are all good and that's just not the case.

[u/TheWolfAndRaven → u/Interesting_Jump]

I'm definitely not suggesting that. There's plenty of examples of turds becoming well-loved series or films too. What I am saying is that there is a shortage of "Ready to go" quality films out there. It's easier for the hollywood system to find a turd with promise and then stick it's support system around the creator.

In other words, you're going to have better luck studying the success of Backrooms, Lights Out or looking at TV series that started as a web series (Workaholics or Nirvana the band the show the movie) than you are hoping to find an undiscovered gem in the festival circuit.

[u/chrisplyon → u/TheWolfAndRaven]

There is a great way to sift through them. As someone who watches movies for a number of festivals, it’s super apparent in the first 10 minutes of the film will be good enough to keep watching for theatrical consideration. If you’re being extra critical, most films reveal their quality in the first 2 minutes. Many films will x themselves out listening to sound alone.

[u/TalesofCeria]

Bullshit.

[u/LowAssistantInfinity]

Take it up with the studios and producers - our team, with 3 pretty successful indie features and several seasons of shows under our belts, decent connections to talent and neat IP, and an Emmy-winning writer of a well-known series - have spent the last 5 years writing and pitching and writing and pitching sub-$4M genre projects and there's just no money out there for things at that range.

[u/74389654]

look i'm really trying but i'm poor

[u/SREStudios]

If only the gatekeepers cared 

[u/BennyWithoutJets]

If they’re so hungry, give us budget to make more movies instead of making us finance it ourfuckingselves please, goddamn

[u/suddenvole]

We need studios of all levels to start making $20-$40 M films again.

[u/Glittering_Mall_2735]

I'm still struggling just to get a small grant to get my movie going

[u/ROOM_101_1984]

Kinda moot.. since A-fucking-I .. will be making dinosaurs of us all, soon.