A few years back, especially during college days, I’d await my Entertainment Weekly magazine arriving by mail on Saturday mornings. I’d immediately turn to the box office revenue page that tracked what movies pulled in the highest profits over the previous weekend. And I enjoyed discovering any surprise hits—the sleepers that hung in there and creeped up the list, and, at times, became the dark horse during award season.
The movie industry has always been art and business. Mainstream movies get greenlighted based on what studio execs and forecasters believe will sell. Even so, box office takes are temperamental, unpredictable, or changeable, like the weather. But it’s a pretty safe bet to say movies don’t get an opportunity to build a theatre audience as they did a few decades ago. Many potential viewers wait for streaming media which is not a long wait these days thanks to Amazon Prime Video, Netflix, HBO Max, Apple+, Disney+, Hulu, YouTube and many more!
Still, the average movie’s run is about four weeks. But we’re not talking the average movie. Typically, it’s the next blockbuster a la Marvel, DC, or Disney productions. And anything that spells s-u-p-e-r h-e-r-o is bound to have a guaranteed audience. Rarely do Indie films get extended theatre runs because they don’t generate enough box office revenue. But there’s always an exception like last year’s Everything Everywhere All at Once that returned quickly to theatres due to its award landslide on Oscar night. And thanks to its theatre run following award season, the Everything Everywhere All at Once crossed over the $100 million mark globally creating a milestone victory for A24 film an independent entertainment company based in Manhattan.
But I’ve seen another trend hitting theatres in the last few years: the one night only movie that gets advertised way in advance via a flood of emails and social media postings. The ultra limited release has two strategies: either generate buzz OR screen a movie with a niche audience. And I’ve gone to a handful of these “here today, gone tomorrow” releases. Some one-night wonders are less than spectacular and would easily translate to a small screen. I, most likely, have been lured in with the second strategy—the niche market. This year I saw a Mexican movie, Mirando El Cielo, that was a compelling story with high-quality production and well-acted. I was glad attended the theater that evening. I’m pretty certain it will not be streamed, although audiences gave it 92% thumbs up on Rotten Tomatoes. There’s only one critic review from Sister Rose Pacatte, a certified tomatometer reviewer, that I had the privilege of meeting at the Turner Classic Movie Festival in Los Angeles.
Many of these one night only movies are faith-based which, most likely, wouldn’t attract a large audience via streaming, unless we’re talking the megahit “The Chosen” a free YouTube phenomenon with more than 1.69 million subscribers. The series is distributed by Angel Studios a streaming video company that was co-founded by Neal and Jeffrey Harmon. In July, Angel Studios will distribute Sound of Freedom based on a true story about human trafficking, specifically the child slavery market. Principal photography began in 2018 and it’s finally being shown and getting good pre-release buzz thanks to a flurry of social media. I’m not sure how long it will run in some theatres, but initially it was advertised locally for one day only. Now it’s indefinite, so there must have been some presales to warrant extended time. Will it get an audience and remain in theatres? Hard to say. Is advertising a one-day release really a strategy that works? I don’t believe some of the movies I’ve seen in the one-day event will ever be streamed, which is why I bothered to attend in the first place.
Speaking of events, there’s another distributor called Fathom Events. Their website at fathomevents.com states they are the eleventh largest distributor of content to movie theaters in North America with over 1,100 participating locations and nearly 1,000 screens. Fathom is also international and like a catchall in the entertainment industry as “largest distributor of documentaries, faith-based and inspirational content” according to their website. And they also bring live performing arts and classic movies to theaters worldwide.
Is Fathom Events the answer to keeping theatres filled beyond the Hollywood blockbuster franchises? I’ve seen a handful of these one night only Fathom Events movies with behind-the-scenes footage, special messages and other content either before or after the actual film. I’m not sure the additional screentime is a big selling feature, but it does give their releases a niche market feel.
One thing’s for sure: the single screen movie theatre is a rarity. Multiplex theatres are here to stay. According to the National Association of Theatre Owners, the U.S. has approximately 40,246 screens total which includes 595 drive-in screens. With respect to each state, the three top theatre businesses are in California, Texas, and New York.
Aside from streaming options and home theatres, I believe movie screens are here to stay, and the one night only event will continue to be an option. Time will tell, because, as I said, the film industry is mostly business, and other times, mostly art, but always both.