How often are women hired in key film departments?
In the most recent issue of The Hollywood Reporter, they covered the efforts being made to increase the representation of women in below-the-line roles. As part of this coverage, I was asked to crunch the data on the number of women working in specific film departments. So I built a dataset of all feature films […]
How wide was the theatrical release of ‘The Irishman’?
Martin Scorsese’s new film The Irishman has been ruffling feathers throughout the film industry. Most notably for its unusual release pattern. The film was funded by streaming giant Netflix, meaning that it was available on SVOD just 19 days after it first hit cinema screens. This is a highly unusual ‘collapsing of the theatrical window’. […]
After Die Hard, what’s the next most contentious “Christmas” movie?
Last year, I used a variety of data-led indicators to assess the claim that Die Hard is a Christmas movie. If you don’t want any spoilers as to the result, stop reading this now and head on over to that article. I used three categories of indicators through which a movie’s “Christmasness” could be judged […]
Which famous actors have a worse career than Al Pacino?
In an interview last week, Al Pacino revealed that he enjoys starring in bad movies as he views it as a challenge to improve them to the point of mediocrity. As Al put it… Sometimes they offer you money to do something that’s not adequate. And you talk yourself into it. And somewhere within you, […]
Can the film industry halt the decline of young audiences in cinemas?
Industry watchers (and regular readers) will know that there is an increasing concern in the film business about the declining cinema attendance among young people. Teenagers and young adults have always formed the biggest group of cinema attendees and yet we have seen a decline in many countries in the current decade. Last week, I […]
Why do cinemas hate long movies?
Last week, I was chatting with a cinema owner who was angrily complaining about Martin Scorsese’s new movie, The Irishman. The movie has proved controversial on a number of fronts: It has a very short ‘release window’, thanks to it being entirely funded by Netflix. This means that it will available to stream only 19 […]
How many independent films are based on previous films?
If you ask the average movie-goer what they don’t like about Hollywood movies, they are likely to mention the seemingly endless production of sequels, prequels and spin-offs. Last week, a filmmaker asked me how common these were among independent movies. I didn’t know offhand, so I decided to find out. I used my database of […]
What percentage of independent films are profitable?
The profitability of independent films is a complicated topic for a whole variety of reasons. The indie film sector is: Decentralised. It relies on a constantly shifting chain of third parties across the world, with no requirement to report to a centralised body, no third party verification and lacks even agreed reporting standards. Opaque. Some revenue streams […]
Do you need a famous actor to get your film into cinemas?
A common belief among sales and distribution professionals is that “names sell”. As in, films starring famous actors (“names”) are more marketable than films without any famous names. But how true is this? Bruce Nash and I teamed up to find out in the latest of our research projects for the American Film Market. Studying […]
What kinds of movies did Distribber attract?
As many of you may have heard last week, film aggregator Distribber looks close to collapse. Their office has been closed, staff laid off, senior figures have departed and filmmakers owed money can’t even get a reply to their questions. I’ve had a number of questions from readers and industry commentators concerning the data behind […]