A point for the argument of why film festivals are an important part of the ecosystem, and also, perhaps, why we should be looking at longer theatrical windows — to protect the power of word-of-mouth! Thanks for this!
Building on this, it's fair to say that this data here would correlate most strongly with films being released by studios in a traditional windowing strategy. Indie films don't necessarily have the opportunity to generate reviews like this way in advance because media doesn't really cover indies outside of a few very specific windows. Most films have three opportunities in which to snag reviews: festival, premiere and release. Indie films may only have one or two if they are lucky. I too would love to have a longer discussion about the need for more indie film coverage and as GG pointed out why the festival eco system still matters! As a filmmaker and someone who does marketing and PR for indie films for my day job, this is constantly on my mind!
I would love to see a data study on who reviews true independent movies. Where does that happen - if at all? Is that an untapped market/readership? What happened to film criticism? etc., etc.
My definition would include films not backed by a studio or distributor, films that are made without presales and made under a sub $1MM budget. A24 and Neon films are called "indie" films but those companies have huge valuations and large budgets for production and P&A, with access to funds most filmmakers don't have.
A point for the argument of why film festivals are an important part of the ecosystem, and also, perhaps, why we should be looking at longer theatrical windows — to protect the power of word-of-mouth! Thanks for this!
Building on this, it's fair to say that this data here would correlate most strongly with films being released by studios in a traditional windowing strategy. Indie films don't necessarily have the opportunity to generate reviews like this way in advance because media doesn't really cover indies outside of a few very specific windows. Most films have three opportunities in which to snag reviews: festival, premiere and release. Indie films may only have one or two if they are lucky. I too would love to have a longer discussion about the need for more indie film coverage and as GG pointed out why the festival eco system still matters! As a filmmaker and someone who does marketing and PR for indie films for my day job, this is constantly on my mind!
I would love to see a data study on who reviews true independent movies. Where does that happen - if at all? Is that an untapped market/readership? What happened to film criticism? etc., etc.
Good idea. How would you define "true independent movies"?
My definition would include films not backed by a studio or distributor, films that are made without presales and made under a sub $1MM budget. A24 and Neon films are called "indie" films but those companies have huge valuations and large budgets for production and P&A, with access to funds most filmmakers don't have.
Kla's answer is pretty good but I would lower the budget threshold considerabily.