Researching Distribution Practices

 Who Produces These Movies?

    Welcome back! In this post, I wanted to explore more about who produces horror/slasher films and how they distribute them. How you distribute your film is a huge part of making sure it reaches the right audience, which ultimately controls a film's success. So, today I will be looking into how Blumhouse, a popular production company that specializes in horror films, distributes its movies. 

~ Blumhouse Productions

    Blumhouse is an American production company, founded in 2000 by Jason Blum, that mainly focuses on producing horror films. It utilizes a low-budget, high-turnover model that prioritizes audience testing to determine distribution. They are mainly known for their films The Purge, Halloween, and The Black Phone. Since 2014, most of its theatrical films have been released through a first-look deal with Universal Pictures, which gives Blumhouse access to major marketing and wide theatrical distribution while still keeping production costs low. 

    Through Universal Studios Hollywood, Blumhouse manages to get their movies to reach the right target audience by including a select few of their movies as themes at Universal's Halloween Horror Nights by turning them into haunted houses. By doing this, people can get to experience and be immersed in the movie, promoting and boosting the chance of getting more people to watch it.

    Films that perform well in screenings are also given a wide release on around 3,000 screens with a large marketing budget, while movies with average results receive a more limited release on about 1,000 screens, with them reducing the money they spend on promotion. Blumhouse will also sometimes do hybrid distribution, where they might release a film in limited theaters while also releasing it on digital platforms to maximize its revenue. For wide releases, they use mostly traditional and broad marketing, but for smaller ones, they rely on targeted, digital, or social media campaigns. 

~ Conclusion 

     Because of this research, I now have a better understanding of I could be able to distribute my own film and what would be the best strategy to do so. I’ve learned that smart marketing is just as important as making the film itself. The goal would be to start small, listen to the fans, and grow my audience from the ground up, just like the pros do. 

Sources

- https://thewaiterspad.com/2022/04/20/blumhouse-business-model/#:~:text=It's%20twenty%20to%20twenty%2Dfive,Each%20movie%20is%20a%20test.

- https://www.emergentmediapartners.com/p/case-study-blumhouses-secret-formula

- https://anandsanwal.me/blumhouse-blueprint-tech/#:~:text=Pre%2Drelease%20audience%20screenings%20determine,trigger%20ancillary%20and%20international%20deals.