This Wired story (12/21/09) and this Time story (12/26/09) are both in the same vein as they talk about the reasons some independent film directors and producers are releasing their movies online for free, though the Time version talks a little more about how online distribution is a good marketing tactic as well as one to get the movie seen by an audience, which is an important point to cover.
Also talking about how independent film is still very much alive is the Los Angeles Times (12/27/09), with this article putting the focus on the performances in those movies, many of which don’t play it safe and often push the audience into uncomfortable territory emotionally.
The fact that forecasts for cinema advertising revenue in 2010 are essentially flat (MediaPost, 12/29/09) is being positioned as positive news considering the state of the rest of the advertising-supported media industry.
Brooks Barnes at The New York Times (12/29/09) has a decent enough recap of 2009 at the theater. As with all such pieces there’s a lot of broad strokes used and some seeing of trends where there aren’t any and he does mention social networking word of mouth, but overall it’s an alright piece.
Time (1/1/10) takes a higher-level look at some of the cinematic trends from the first decade of the 00s.) And a Washington Post (12/24/09) story on the “most important blockbusters” of the decade includes a bit of discussion about movie marketing, though oddly only in regards to The Passion of the Christ and not The Dark Knight, though it was every bit as influential a campaign as the one for TPotC.
Signing digital distribution deals with studios is said to be the way Netflix is going to remain independent despite the constant rumors and reports that some other site/company is going to acquire them.
Walmart is continuing to expand its focus on Blu-ray specific areas within stores (Video Business, 12/31/09) to take advantage of what it sees as continued growth as prices for both hardware and software do and people continue to upgrade their rigs.
The rise of Blu-ray to supplant traditional DVDs and what the technological leaps mean for the preservation of pops, scratches and hisses isn’t entirely clear and gets questioned by Dave Kehr in the NYT (12/30/09).
Not sure why Criterion is having its deal with IFC questioned (Newsweek, 12/31/09) now as it releases some newer titles. I doubt the label’s reputation is going to be irreparably harmed if one of these movies it’s putting out turns out not to have the best shelf live. I outright loathed Benjamin Button but don’t think less of Criterion as a result.
Social viewing is the next big area to watch in terms of distribution and marketing. Forget *how* a movie gets from points A to B, pay attention to how the audience is able to interact during that viewing. As further evidence, there’s this story (New York Times, 1/3/10).
Consumer spending on feature film content in any stage of release – theatrical, home video, digital – dropped .03 percent in 2009 to $28.4 billion (Video Business, 1/4/10), with the theatrical category edging out home video retail dollars. That’s actually bad – or at least worrisome – news for studios who are looking for ways to bump up consumer home video spending. [Chart via BoomTown]
Chris Thilk 