VOD Numbers - At long last?

Eric Boellner

Eric Boellner

Well-known member
From Deadline:

Producers Distribution Agency, which has released a half dozen titles including 2010′s Banksy title Exit Through The Gift Shop in 2010, opened Escape from Tomorrow from first time feature filmmaker Randy Moore in 30 theaters. The theatrical number is so-so with just over $66K ($2,204 PSA). More importantly: entertainment lawyer/sales agent John Sloss has vowed that this film will be a template in transparency.

Sloss told me last week and again this morning that VOD/digital numbers will be reported and he hopes this will encourage others to do the same. VOD numbers have remained a mystery in box office reporting, though it’s widely accepted that they are a huge chunk if not the bulk of many given films’ overall gross. I told a rival distributor at the closing night of the New York Film Festival last night that Sloss/PDA said they would disclose VOD/digital numbers and that person conveyed sympathy for filmmakers, agents etc. for wanting or needing to know the numbers. He also thinks it could be a disservice because the “general public” naturally gravitates to what is popular in terms of numbers and they’ll be exposed to “spin” by the media…


When the VOD/digital numbers for Escape From Tomorrow emerge (Sloss said some should be available this week), they’ll be included in subsequent week’s box office reports or in the Specialty B.O. Preview which is typically published Thursday’s on Deadline. In the meantime, Sloss said that on the theatrical side, he was “pleased” with the numbers for Escape From Tomorrow, pointing out that most of the film’s weekend runs were midnight showings. “We played for cult status and there are obvious limitations for day and date,” said Sloss Sunday. He shared a quote he had heard over the weekend referencing the film’s Disney connection: “Like our friend Mickey, we’re looking at a long tail there.”
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Sorry, Sloss, but Nolan Gallagher has been doing this for at least a year now. I could care less what EFT's numbers are -- the film is small potatoes outside of the industry world, and tonally not something I find myself interested in. Still, hopefully this is just the tip of the iceberg - I'd love to see real numbers on Magnolia's releases, or even Millenium's or TWC-Radius'.
 
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