Jeremy Juuso has an interesting post on Baseline Intelligence that Phillip Lefesi tipped me to. Jeremy analyzes the 1st & 2nd weekend returns of DIY vs other specialized releases. The DIY films hold their own on the first weekend, but are surpassed by the corporate releases thereafter. What is not mentioned however, is that the DIY films are not only probably more profitable, but the DIY films are still owned by the filmmakers (presumably). If the exhibitors take 50% of the gross, the differential for rentals is only $25K between the two over the first two weeks. You have to figure that the corporate releases are spending more than $25K over the DIY films in marketing costs. The DIY team would thus be making more money as well as owning their film and controlling their release. Check it out.
Tag: Jeremy Juuso
By now you’ve probably heard that the US Congress has approved two different film future exchanges, (i.e. commodity exchanges). Variety, among others, have been covering the story in what we have to recognize as an inflammatory way (then again, why should they not be like the rest of the media).
The press has uniformly been very biased in the way the story is told, always positioning the exchages as “a gamble” and a haven for speculation. Sure, I suspect that these exchanges will prove to be a very disruptive influence, but that does not mean they are shouldn’t be allowed. And yes, I am all in favor of far greater government supervision of our financial industries, but again that does not mean new mechanisms shouldn’t be given a chance. There is a great deal more to the story of these exchanges that needs be put on the table, as they offer us many benefits beyond what the press would have us understand is a simply another opportunity to gamble.
I am grossly disappointed in the lack of action from film industry leaders to do anything to help to establish a sustainable investor class for the entertainment industry.
On Baseline Research Blog is an article entitled “DIY Doing You In” (thanks to @Shanipedia for tipping me off to it). The author, Jeremy Juuso, states:
to have a decent shot at breaking $1 million in lifetime box office, your Q2 specialty film needs to open at better than $15,000 per weekend venue. The bad news is, if you’re engaging in a self-release or service deal, this will be a very tall order, as only 5 such films in all of 2009 managed to open so.
