Television, The Big Elephant in the Room, May Be Shrinking The number one single cost in releasing a film to theaters has been the buying of television ads. For many studio films, this can run from $4 million a week to $15 million a week in the month to six weeks
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Comparable Pictures: How to Choose ‘Em and Use ‘Em
I get a lot of clients who find it difficult to choose comparable films right off the bat. I wrote this article to help them, and help others, even if they do not become clients. Bona Fortuna to all! How I Go About Choosing Comparable Pictures In a given year I might
Continue ReadingFilmProfit Glossary of Film Terms
This is a Glossary of Key Terms Above The Line Budgets for films usually begin with a section that covers creative talent such as: actors, directors, producers, and writers. This section is followed by the rest of the budget, or Below the line. This term also refers to the
Continue ReadingKey Risks In Making A Film, & How to Manage Them
If you're in the film business there's a good chance you've read a statement like this before: Statements like this usually go on half a page or more, listing a pile of risks, including competition and the like. But I am focused here on the specific risks a producer
Continue ReadingComparable Pictures: How to Choose ‘Em and Use ‘Em
I have helped producers choose and use literally thousands of titles for comparison to the films they seek to finance and make. When I am preparing projections and financials packages, whether for a single film or a slate of films, the first crucial task for me is to
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Box Office Panic! Part IV
What Chance Do Indie Films Have? Over the last three weeks, I had wanted to explore whether, as some were intimating, the idea of going to see movies in theaters is a dying market. Hi Def TVs, Netflix and Amazon around the world, TV downloadable to mobile devices, couch
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Box Office Panic! Part III
Last week, I discussed box office, primarily by quarters over the last nearly eight years. I hinted that I was going to go in a slightly different direction to see if we can discern if there are fundamental elements causing this to play out the way it does, and who is
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Key Risks in Making a Film, & How to Manage Them, Part II
Be Prepared With a Ready Script! I Have Always Subscribed To The Boy Scout Motto: “Be Prepared.” The purpose of this series is to discuss and study the key risks inherent in the motion picture business. By contemplating, planning for and planning against these risks
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