In 2014, PricewaterhouseCoopers released a report stating that video on-demand entertainment services will be the biggest revenue contributor to the American film industry by 2017, reaching $14 billion, $1.6 billion more than earned at the traditional theater box office. It’s good news for the film industry, but a major concern for theatric-focused movie studios with films taking the traditional route into theaters.
In June 2010, Steve Jobs sat down for a 90-minute interview with Walt Mossberg and Kara Swisher at the D: All Things Digital conference. It would be the last of his six appearances; one that foretold a “radical shift” -- a movie industry marketing revolution, much like the music industry had undergone years before.
For filmmakers, studios and film marketers, the future is bright. Consumers’ love for movies isn’t changing anytime soon. Millions of people are deeply engaged in an ongoing, online dialogue around movie choices, themes, topics, actors and film franchises on a daily basis through social media.
The cost of marketing a film today is steadily increasing. In 2014, The Hollywood Reporter shared that the cost of marketing a film was $200 million and rising, an increase from $175 million in 2012 and despite the fact that U.S. box office was down 20% over the prior year with many other territories flat.
In most industries, a 90% failure rate for products you launch every year would be unacceptable. But in one industry, the film industry, it’s considered acceptable practice. It's not surprising that "Big Studio" films are increasingly coming under scrutiny by movie studio execs seeing marketing expenditures increase and increasingly savvy investors evaluating their investments.
