The Business Plan: Market Analysis
March 17, 2009 by S David Acuff
Filed under Box Office News, Editorials, Headlines
So you’ve finally optioned/written that script that’s going to change life as we know it in the film industry. Now it’s time to do some honest homework because your potential investors will want to know many, many things before they write that check. One of which is, “How have similar style and budget films performed in the theater?”
Wired4Film is here to help! By spending some time browsing the interwebs (especially BoxOfficeMojo.com and IMDb.com) we were able to compile a list of theatrically released Independent films with budgets ranging from $60K to $10M.
Don’t be mislead. These are not all Faith-based films by any stretch of the imagination. But, if a film on this list has a bunch of similar qualities (genre, locations, casting requirements) to what your script is, then it’s easier to forecast similar results. Not that your film will achieve similar results, but right now the burden of proof is on you to show that your idea could conceivably work in the marketplace.
Unless your investor is just looking for a write-off. In which case, just grab your buds, a handicam from school and knock that thing out over your Spring break.
These films are listed in order of their Production Budgets. It’s also a fair assumption that because they were shown in the Theater, that half of those Box Office Receipts stay with the Distributor. Just something to think about. It’s not all gravy.
|
FILM |
DISTRIB |
Released |
Theater Gross |
Budget |
|
End of the Spear |
Rocky Mountain Pictures |
Jan 2006 |
11,748,661 |
$10M |
|
Omega Code |
Providence |
Oct 1999 |
12,614,346 |
$8M |
|
Pulp Fiction |
Miramax |
Oct 1994 |
213,928,762 |
$8M |
|
Monster |
Newmarket |
Dec 2003 |
60,378,584 |
$8M |
|
Juno |
Fox Searchlight |
Dec 2007 |
143,495,265 |
$7.5M |
|
Crash |
LionsGate |
May 2005 |
52,772,342 |
$6.5M |
|
Diary of a Mad Black Woman |
LionsGate |
Feb 2005 |
50,633,099 |
$5.5M |
|
Bottle Rocket |
Sony/Colombia |
Feb 1996 |
1,040,879 |
$5M |
|
Lost in Translation |
Focus Features |
Sept 2003 |
119,723,856 |
$4M |
|
Waiting For Guffman |
Sony Classics |
Jan 1997 |
2,923,982 |
$4M |
|
Loves Abiding Joy |
The Bigger Picture |
Oct 2006 |
252,726 |
$3M |
|
Hustle & Flow |
Paramount Classics |
July 2005 |
20,654,561 |
$2.8M |
|
Garden State |
Fox Searchlight |
July 2004 |
35,825,316 |
$2.5M |
|
Thr3e |
The Bigger Picture |
Jan 2007 |
1,008,849 |
$2.4M |
|
Get on the Bus |
Sony |
Oct 1996 |
5,754,249 |
$2.4M |
|
The Last Sin Eater |
The Bigger Picture |
Feb 2007 |
$388,390 |
$2.2M |
|
Boys Don’t Cry |
Fox Searchlight |
Oct 1999 |
11,540,607 |
$2M |
|
November |
Sony Classics |
July 2005 |
192,186 |
$1.5M |
|
Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels |
Gramercy |
Mar 1999 |
3,753,929 |
$1M |
|
Junebug |
Sony Classics |
August 2005 |
2,678,691 |
<$1M |
|
Saints & Soldires |
Excel |
Aug 2004 |
1,310,470 |
$780,000 |
|
Mercy Streets |
Providence |
Oct 2000 |
173,599 |
$600,000 |
|
Open Water |
Lions Gate |
August 2004 |
30,610,863 |
$500,000 |
|
Fireproof |
Samuel Goldwyn |
Sept 2008 |
33,456,317 |
$500,000 |
|
Brick |
Focus |
Mar 2006 |
2,075,743 |
$475,000 |
|
Napoleon Dynamite |
Fox Searchlight |
June 2004 |
46,118,097 |
$400,000 |
|
Facing the Giants |
IDP |
Sept 2006 |
10,178,331 |
$100,000 |
|
Blair Witch |
Artisan |
July 1999 |
140,539,099 |
$60,000 |