Producing for Profit

Chapter 5The Domestic Market, Festivals, and Market Value

The Realities of the Market

As was mentioned in the previous chapter, the majority of independent films are never released commercially into theaters, a fact that rarely occurs to the general public. The majority of independent films are released first into the domestic home entertainment and ancillary markets, and then to all forms of television. At the time of writing, there were still a few cable networks that developed as well as acquired films from independent producers, though specific to their respective network mandates and genres. Other cable networks, on occasion, simply acquired independent films, again if they were of the right genre and/or had the right cast.

In today’s market, ...