Some friends just got a distributions deal — a substantial deal — $20M — in Cannes last week for a feature film they’d finished. Not bad — but it’s a great STORY. And that’s not a universal. Taste is a funny thing in America. Some gets it right and some can’t get within a 100 miles of it. Some gets P&A and some don’t gets P&A.
I suppose if your film sucks, ie, there’s no real story to work from… so will your ability to attract a distro deal with enough P&A dollars to release your film on a wide basis. If the film distributors determine that your film doesn’t really have an audience, you can expect a platform release at best with really small marketing dollars allocated. Think Minnesota. Waxahachie.
Making a film is one thing, but paying for the adverts and distribution is quite another. The P&A dollars spent on blockbuster films is staggering. A film distributor isn’t going to allocate much money to a film they think has a limited audience. A film that gets small P&A dollars — means the film is already dead, for the most part — yes, there are exceptions. And that’s what the distributors are fishing for… The distributors are taking a very calculated risk — they’re trolling to see if fractional dollars stimulates interest and a possible ROI. P&A can match or exceed the films budget on most promoted films but again, no one is going to throw money at something in which there’s no chance of them recovering their investment.
It just doesn’t work like that.
Glad my friends pulled it off — a great film with a great STORY.