Data for DVD and Ancillary Markets.

Dean

Dean

Hello,

I'm looking for Market data on Direct to DVD movies. A potential investor has asked us the following questions,

"How many indie horrors are made each year in the sub 500k range. How many break even, make a profit or hit pay dirt?"

Simple questions but most sites only have theatrical release data so sites / services like baseline, imdb, boxoffice mojo are no help. Can anyone answer the above question or point me to a service / company that can?

I want to be able to tell them something like this: - In 2008, 250 American horror films were made in the 200-500k range. 50% haven't found distribution 30% were sold as negative pickups and broke even, 15% made 200%+ ROI and 5% were picked up for theatrical distribution and made a $hit load of cash.

Thanks so much!

Dean
 
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Dean, welcome to the dilemma. I've had the same question finally I took the approach of what markets (U.S. and foreign) would pay for licencing added it up and gave investors an idea for potential returns and we raised our budget for a direct to DVD film. And from talking to several filmmakers and producers that have make horror films it seems that there is a glut of product right now. Distributors don't have to pay as much to get product so profits are not going to be as good. Of course if you attach an A-list actor or a genre favorite you can do it. Good luck and let us know what you find.
 
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agcamerasound said:
Dean, welcome to the dilemma. I've had the same question finally I took the approach of what markets (U.S. and foreign) would pay for licencing added it up and gave investors an idea for potential returns and we raised our budget for a direct to DVD film. And from talking to several filmmakers and producers that have make horror films it seems that there is a glut of product right now. Distributors don't have to pay as much to get product so profits are not going to be as good. Of course if you attach an A-list actor or a genre favorite you can do it. Good luck and let us know what you find.
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Agcamerasound: Thanks for replying. I'm amazed how hard it's been to find an answer to such a seemingly simple question, I keep hitting dead ends. Everything seems geared around theatrical distribution.

How did you calculate what domestic and foreign sales might bring?

You've given me a thought though, maybe someone in distribution or a sales agent could give me a ball park?

Thanks again,

Dean
 
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Use a professional researcher

This type of question is rather specific and detailed. If you want such answers, then I really recommend that, if you are willing to spend some money, you will get what you want from an experienced, professional researcher. I would recommend calling someone from AIIP (Association of Independent Information Professionals). If money is an issue, then go and discuss this with the Reference Librarian at the nearest major public library.
 
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Dean said:
Agcamerasound: Thanks for replying. I'm amazed how hard it's been to find an answer to such a seemingly simple question, I keep hitting dead ends. Everything seems geared around theatrical distribution.

How did you calculate what domestic and foreign sales might bring?

You've given me a thought though, maybe someone in distribution or a sales agent could give me a ball park?

Thanks again,

Dean
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Yea it's like pulling teeth (lol). I got my information from Stacy Parks (filmspecific.com) it is a subscription type site and you could prob. get the information with enough research but it was worth the money for a year sub. Her numbers are usually updated every market and covers both domestic and foreign. There may be a member here on indieTalk that has this type of site I'm not sure. If so I would imagine they will respond. Yes you could hire a sales agent or consultant that can help you it really depends on your budget. We didn't have a lot of development monies so we put together our business plan ourselves. I would really research and see how the market for your genre is first. If it is stale maybe put the project on the shelf and choose a project from a genre that is selling. I know one distributor ask if we could change our zombie movie into a creature feature because that is what they were looking for. We were too deep into production to pull something like that off. But the next project we do we will probe the market and see what is hot with distributors. Dean good luck with your film.
 
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agcamerasound said:
Yea it's like pulling teeth (lol). I got my information from Stacy Parks (filmspecific.com) it is a subscription type site and you could prob. get the information with enough research but it was worth the money for a year sub. Her numbers are usually updated every market and covers both domestic and foreign. There may be a member here on indieTalk that has this type of site I'm not sure. If so I would imagine they will respond. Yes you could hire a sales agent or consultant that can help you it really depends on your budget. We didn't have a lot of development monies so we put together our business plan ourselves. I would really research and see how the market for your genre is first. If it is stale maybe put the project on the shelf and choose a project from a genre that is selling. I know one distributor ask if we could change our zombie movie into a creature feature because that is what they were looking for. We were too deep into production to pull something like that off. But the next project we do we will probe the market and see what is hot with distributors. Dean good luck with your film.
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Excellent suggestion agcamerasound! I'll definitely check out filmspecific. Looks like they'll have what I'm after. Thanks so much for the recommendation. Great find.

Dean.
 
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Blade_Jones said:
Someone said that SoundScan does not keep track of video sales but I am not sure of that. I believe they do. One thing you CAN determine is how much competition there is. There's at least 18,000 or more video (of all genres) released every year. More info on this page....
http://www.junkyardwillie.com/webpages/filmmaking.htm
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This is just part of the low down on getting your indie film made!! Whoa--you don't go into this endeavor with your eyes shut, or never having done your homework!!!
 
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It's deceptive to most beginning filmmakers. You hear about the big movies making millions and then think how hard can it be to earn back your money if your budget is only say $200,000? It's anything but easy.
 
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