IFC gets into simultaneous distribution
Filed under: Independent, IFC, Distribution, Home Entertainment, Cinematical Indie
I
just got word that IFC Films is about to launch a new distribution banner, aimed at releasing films in theaters and
through On-Demand cable TV, simultaneously. The program will be called First Take, and to it IFC has already attached
six films: CSA: The Confederate States of America, Caveh Zahedi's I Am a Sex Addict, New York Film
Festival favorite Three Times, American Gun, Russian Dolls, and Sandra Oh-starrer and my
early vote for Title of the Year, Sorry Haters. First Take hopes to release an additional 20 films this year.
The basic idea is that by closing the window between theatrical and cable on these types of niche releases, films that
would have only shown on the coasts can get a nationwide release. What do we think about this? Is this a more or less viable plan than the cable/DVD/theatrical simultaneous release program that Mark Cuban and Steven Soderbergh are launching this week with Bubble?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
1-23-2006 @ 5:18PM
futureoffilm said...
Wouldn't a traditional release (theatrical first, then DVD and VOD) give a film a nationwide release eventually? Are film buffs in Montana really losing out because they have to wait to see CSA 4 months after New Yorkers can? I'm interested to hear the filmmaker's perspective on why simultaneous release is better for them.
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1-23-2006 @ 6:38PM
marty said...
I would imagine its better for the filmmaker because they would also get paid simultaneously rather than waiting for 12 months before it gets to cable especially if they consider the film will not do enough business during its theatrical release. In this way, they recoup their costs much quicker and the film gets wider expsoure sooner.
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1-26-2006 @ 2:04PM
lauren said...
As a Landmark Theater employee I am very curious about the effect this will have on our theater. Do you plan to go to the theater or rent/buy the DVD?
Please let us know how you will see Bubble:
http://www.kendallunion.org/node/217
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