God's Glass

Independent cinema is a rapidly growing business, especially with the rise in demand for digital video, online streaming and video on-demand services.  Theatrical output has remained strong, with the independent film market grossing approximately $1.5 billion per year.  In 2014, just a handful of independent, arthouse subsidiary, and mini-major studios grossed a cumulative $755 million domestically:    

 

• The Weinstein Company, $222 million domestic gross with nineteen films ($11.7 million average per film)

• Relativity, $186 million domestic gross with twelve films ($15.5 million average per film)

• Fox Searchlight, $148 million domestic gross with eleven films ($13.4 million average per film)

• Focus Features, $126 million domestic gross with twelve features ($10.5 million average per film)

• Sony Classics, $41 million domestic gross with twenty-two films ($1.9 million average per film)

• IFC, $32.4 million domestic gross on forty-one films ($791,000 average per film)

 

The overall film industry, led by the major studios, grossed a robust $10.36 billion domestically in 2014.  Internationally, the industry has done even better, grossing over $36 billion worldwide.  2014’s top ten highest grossing pictures brought in a combined $7.8 billion worldwide, or an average of $780 million per film.

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Television syndication deals are where studios have historically earned their largest profits.  While we’re hoping for a strong theatrical gross for God’s Glass, the Company fully expects to earn most of its profits through the television and digital distribution marketplaces. 

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The thirst for content on television and digital mediums is growing by leaps and bounds.  Advertising companies, subscription fees, on-demand purchases, and public funding account for well over $220 billion spent worldwide on an annual basis for the right to air and watch filmed content on television. 

 

The combination TV/online marketplace is even more robust.  Netflix has 30 million U.S. subscribers and 50 million subscribers worldwide, with annual revenues in excess of $4.3 billion.  HBO, with 28 million subscribers domestically and 114 million worldwide, earns almost $5 billion in annual revenue.  Showtime and Starz each have over 22 million U.S. subscribers.  Over 32% of U.S. households subscribe to a premium cable channel such as HBO or Showtime, with many consumers watching online via HBOGO or similar services.  Over 27% of total U.S. households subscribe to either Netflix, Hulu Plus, Amazon Instant Video, or a combination thereof — with the demand for digital content growing every year. 

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Video on-demand from iTunes, Comcast, Time Warner Cable, DirecTV, YouTube, and Amazon Instant Video is becoming a hot marketplace for independent cinema.  Below are several modestly budgeted films that more than doubled their domestic theatrical grosses via video on-demand alone:      

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• Bachelorette grossed $5.5 million through on-demand (domestic theatrical gross of $447,954, and international theatrical gross of $11.5 million)

• American:  The Bill Hicks Story grossed $600,000 via on-demand (domestic theatrical gross of $92,234)

• Five Star Day grossed over $1.25 million via on-demand

• For Lovers Only grossed $200,000 on iTunes in its first week of release
   

The Company believes that God’s Glass can likewise earn more money via on-demand than it earns in theaters.