I meet so many debut filmmakers who all ask the same question: How does a filmmaker make money in movies? It’s the same question I have been asking since I started Raindance in 1992! Wow, was I naive.
A good Parisian-based friend, the producer Zachary Miller begged me to go to the Cannes Film Festival that first year of Raindance. I remember walking down the Croisette and into the Marche du Film for the first time. I thought I was in the middle of the London Stock Exchange. Banners, posters, movie screens everywhere. And throngs of people pitching their guts out. And clumps of people huddled in sales agents’ booths crowded around monitors. Racks and racks of movie one-sheets everywhere. Everyone was either selling something. Or negotiating a purchase.
Then it hit me, like a cool breeze from the east.
Filmmakers make products. You make money in filmmaking by selling your product. And to sell your movie you go to a film market like Cannes (Marche du Film), Berlin (European Film Market), LA (American Film Market) and the TV markets like MIPCOM, Natpe, MipTV and Filmart
How to Make Money In Movies
Technological advances have changed the way movies are made, sold and distributed. But my good friend Dov S-S Simens will tell you there are three fundamental tactics for making money in filmmaking:
- make a great movie,
- sell to a distributor
- get a great lawyer to handle the paperwork
Dov will be the first person to say that that it’s not as easy as that.
Do you want to make money in filmmaking?
Making money in filmmaking is more than simply making a movie. For sure, making a movie is the first step. But selling it means a whole lot more.
Here is the reality of film production today: The proliferation of technological advances has made it easier and cheaper to make a movie than ever before. And the marketplace is flooded with independent films from all over the world. This makes it hard to find your movie.
How do you get noticed? You need to make a movie that is remarkable. And use the tools of publicity to let your movie shine brighter than the rest.
Planning a strategy for making movie money
Over my decades at Raindance I have seen many filmmakers develop successful movie businesses. How do they do it?
Assuming they have a great film, successful filmmakers know how to focus on the business aspects. They know how to combine their creative elements with the harsh commercial realities of film budget, the impact of cast and genre. They also become expert at developing relationships and connections in every area of the movie business.
To sum up, filmmakers make money by developing and testing a strategy. And most filmmakers fail to plan the commercial side of their film at all. They literally swan around saying ‘I just want to get my film on Netflix and the BBC” and “I don’t want to make money from my film, I just want people to see it”.
Grrr.
Every distribution platform, every distributor, every sales agent, every financier wants to make money.
Until you care about how to make money in filmmaking you won’;t make any money. and your career will suffer. And you will likely abandon your dream.
How Independent filmmakers make money
The film industry is opaque. It’s hard to see how films, or products, are launched onto the marketplace, and even more difficult to see how or why they succeed (or fail).
Add to this the fact that the industry is known for secrecy.
From your investors’ point of view, many other industries offer a far safer ROI than the movie industry. Thus, your main priority is to de-risk your film for your investors.
Here are the three basic tips for making money in movies:
- Choose genre
The film distributors don’t buy drama. They buy genre. The most popular genres are action, sci-fi, horror, and family-friendly films. - Choose name cast
Having a name cast helps sell your film. And the name actors spend their career developing their ‘name’ ie personal brand. - Attend film markets and festivals
Festivals are the launch pad for your movie. It’s where you generate the buzz for your film. The more people talking about your movie, the easier it will be for distributors to find you. Attending a film market is the ideal place to meet and network with sales agents, distributors, financiers and film festival programmers.
Successful filmmakers who strike gold with their movies follow these three steps.
Don’t forget to check out the Cannes Villa Party in May
Submit your short, features, documentary or VR project to Raindance Film Festival
Check out our Producers Foundation Certificate
