How much are micro-budget / low budget feature films selling for currently?

[Anthony Moon]

Anyone have any numbers on what distributors are paying currently for micro-budget / low budget feature films with no big names in them?

 

[Ryan Sims]

20K... But you have to wait 2 years and file a lawsuit to get even that.

 

[Mike P.]

20K... But you have to wait 2 years and file a lawsuit to get even that.

Oh sweet jebus, this sounds like a horror story... please elaborate.

 

[Wesley Scoggins]

Depends on what type of movie it is and how good it is and how well a studio thinks it could do.

Paranormal Activity for instance meets all of your criteria (budget of about 15,000, no big actors, shot on prosumer equipment by an amateur filmmaker), sold for 350,000. Clerks also meets your criteria and sold for 1,000,000 on a $26,000 budget (adjusted for inflation that would probably be closer to the equivalent of 50-70,000 today, and that doesn't factor in post work that amounted to a couple of hundred thousand.)

 

[Pawel Achtel]

anything from nothing to tens of millions....but, most commonly nothing.

 

[rod bradley]

I think Pawel has it half right (at least here in the US) -- the most commonly nothing half.

The tens of millions does not happen. In rare instances the distributor may make in the tens of millions, but believe me, the original producers/filmmakers, never get that up front -- and what you get up front is what you get period.

Oh yeah, there's the rare "bidding war" that might get into low seven figures at Sundance or somewhere. But this is rare rare and getting more so. It's a very very long shot horse to even break even -- even longer to make a bit over the poverty-line money. But the dreams and myths persist. And every so often a "paranormal" freak success spawns a whole host of myths and fresh dreams. And every so often a filmmaker of merit and talent is propelled into the arena by an original piece of work. And then makes a living and sometimes real money.

There used to be the straight to video genre pieces that could make you a little money if you could do them quickly and cheaply enough. Ie you could make a sort of living doing the formula. Not sure where that is any more. I imagine pretty much consumed by the internet and Netflix (which it is said, at many times, is taking up a full 50% of the internet bandwith in the US). So there's some food for thought. (Don't know if that's true or not, but seems conceivable.)

 

[Dominik Muench]

how long is a piece of string ? same scenario.

there is no proper answer to this question as there are many factors to be taken into account.

firstly whats a micro budget movie ? for Australian standards a 5mio$ feature is probably reasonable...for hollywood...that's about the average directors coke budget for a 8 week production ^^

It depends on the distributor....what the distributor is intending on doing with the movie...theater release ? straight to dvd ? selling to a tv channel ?
how big of a distributor are we talking....Sony pictures has a different reach to say...arc light or palace films.
will they release it in other countries or just locally.


but most importantly and this is probably the factor that matters the most...whats the actual quality of the feature.....low budget doesn't necessarily mean low quality....if the movie has potential....wonders can happen and even a small budget production can get a wide release.

in times like these most distributors probably wont take the same risks and chances they did 5-10 years ago, not to mention that the market is flooded with no/low budget feature films.

 

[ANIL K]

It Seems.. A Lot Depend On The Script... I have Seen a Lot Of Low budget Film Which Are shot In Such A way that The Low Budget or No Much Expense Gives An Added Advantage to The Look and Feel Of the Film.. At Times It looks More Artistic and Realistic..

 

[Bill Anderson]

EDIT: Yes, anywhere from less than one, to bucket loads of the green stuff.

 

[Lliam Worthington]

"Figures" are incredibly hard to find. There's any number of reasons why people don't advertise them, some of them worthwhile, but it's a big hurdle to Indie film makers in general as we all struggle to learn form each others mistakes and successes and carving out best practices for production and sales models.

It's of course as everyone says though, how long is a piece of string, and how good is your work. I've seen severals books and spreadsheets over the years giving sales prices per territory and market etc... but even those are normally inaccurate by the time they are even printed. But there might be a pretty current one floating around somewhere.

That said, I've lately read some really good references, and I searched for a large case study document I had on several feature films which included all figures. But I'm so sorry, I seem to have trashed it. I suggest when you search around for your info Anothony seacrch under Indie film low/micro budget case studies. Such as this series.

http://independentfilmblog.com/arch...-budget-profits-via-traditional-distribution/

To counter the loss of straight to DVD. I think one of the things that is a major plus is that finally with the advent of online distribution, even though you may fail to find a distributor as many films do, there is at least a genuine way for those innovative enough to be able to generate at least some small return. Though some are even doing quite well out of it.

Best of luck mate,

Lliam

 

[Mark Toia]

You are all right.... The movie selling industry is completely F&%$#*d, There is day light robbery going on were sales agents and distributors should be going to jail..

The facts are simple... The studios or distributors IF! they think your film is good, may give you your money back... but will own all the best territories for ever... But you must have key elements and many boxes ticked before thats a reality.
You must have a name actor in it, it must have a commercial appeai. (forget about some adaption of a love story or book you read when you were 16... It must do well in the film shows... Sundance etc..
If you dont have any of these ticked, then consider yourself screwed.

NOTE: DO NOT LOOK AT BLAIR WITCH OR PARANORMAL ACTIVITY as a model.. they are anomalies. These are like 1 in 5000... and are done!

At the end of the day, making the movie is the easy bit... selling the thing is the hard bit. Sales agents and distributors know how desperate you are and will offer you hardly anything for full buy out. They have thousands of films at there disposal for next to nothing. The market is flooded, you didnt thing that cheap digital cameras and FCP was not going to kill the market.

2000 feature film submissions in the last Sundance and Canne. Does the word LOTTO ring any bells...

The odds of making a film are slim, selling that film is even slimmer, being ripped off by distributers, absolutely you will. Getting your money back... if your very very very lucky. Making profit if it does really well... you wont see anything of it. not a single cent. The studio or distributor will tell you how it made nothing after costs... FACT.

Here is a typical scenario that happens quite frequently..
Your film. 1,000,000 to make.
You sell it for 1,000,000 (very rare) and manage to get a cut of the profits of 5% once the studio gets there investment back.. Rembering that there investment is not just the 1,000,000 they paid for your film, but also the 5 to 10 in P&A +++++

Just say your movie makes 20 million at the box office / DVD / Web sales etc..... WOW!!!! awesome !!! (50 tp 60% goes to the cinema owners) leaving 10 mil..
Sales agents fees, distribution costs and fees, Prints and advertising, etc etc etc.... costs at least 8 to 10 million (Thats what they will tell you, remember there creative accounting), Tax man steps in..
Leaving you a profit margin of 0...

This scenario happens every single day... I shit you not. I've seen this happen to countless film makers. They all tell the same exact story.

I'm sick of talking to the lying cheating bastards... I'm about to kill my movie aspirations because of the conversations I've had with them all lately. I think making films for a living is almost dead for most indie film makers.
These days you just make movie for fun....

Thank god for TV commercials is all I can say.

 

[Justin Marx]

Do all the math, then throw it away.. The fact is: if it's well done and marketable it will sell.. Getting that combo together is the hard part.. Then finding the "right" person to sell it for you is even harder! If your script is that good and groundbreaking you will raise your sale possibility by 1000% by getting a name..

I sold a movie to Lionsgate and we got our money back.. We were happy with that!

 

[Meryem Ersoz]

Anyone have any numbers on what distributors are paying currently for micro-budget / low budget feature films with no big names in them?

for micro/low budget with no names, it is very genre-dependent...you really just need to take it to the markets and find out what they are willing to shop around and take a trailer with you. last November's AFM, grindhouse had a little bump in demand, horror was dead - was what I was hearing. those kinds of genre trends really wax and wane...if you don't have a name, you're asking the sales agent to sell it on two things - its genre and its production value. if its genre is working, that will up your chances to make some sales. if you have some decent production values, that will help, too. throw in as much aerial, underwater, fx (not cheesy), interesting camera movement, and sharp-looking cars as you can....

Toia is right that there's sharks in the water, you have to work to find good honest people who will work with you, without screwing you over. most producers (myself included) go to the film markets at the end of their filmmaking process. if you're smart, you will do this first and gather as many data points as possible before you lift a finger to make your film. the beginning is in the end.

 

[Zack Birlew]

Not all films are the same. One micro-budget wonder could be picked out of a sea of indie dreck and still fail to find an audience. There's a reason why studios are going after a lot of silly remakes and board game adaptations and it's probably because playing needle in the haystack is more dangerous financially these days than to make "Battleship" about aliens. Adding to that is the frugality of studios today. Look at the industry headlines, "Akira", "Paradise Lost", and "Ouija Board" (though recently brought back) all canceled/halted because they want them all to be made for less than $100 million. Can you imagine, they throw $300 million at "Superman Returns" and they want "Akira" for $90 million or less!

 

[Sid Idris]

US distribution is typically zero guarantee. The only upfronts typically require a worldwide buyout. How anyone makes money in indie film is a mystery.