Indie Horror comedy
Because the film is set in a single room with just a few main characters, the majority of the budget is going to go towards talent, set design, practical effects, and post-production.
The Room would ideally be built into a set that the filmmakers could have full control over, with the exterior shots being sourced elsewhere.
The target budget would be between $600,000 on the absolute low end to ideally $1.2 Million.
Estimated Budgetary Breakdown
Film Festivals
Before the film is even completed, we should start talking and having discussions with some major film festivals to see if we can arrange to screen the film. This will not only help promote the film and build up good word of mouth, but it will put us in direct contact with distribution platforms to potentially negotiate a deal to release the film.
So, while the film is in rough cut and still being worked on, we need to start laying the groundwork with sales agents and festivals.
Unfortunately, film festivals require exclusivity in order to screen your film there it usually needs to be the your film’s premiere. That means you could potentially have your film sitting on the shelf for months waiting for the festival date. To avoid this, we will specifically target only a couple major Film Festivals and try to coordinate directly with them through a Sales Agent who can make sure the film gets screened to the right people.
not looking for just any distribution deal, but the right distribution platform to maximize the reach of the film
There is a lot of good content that gets buried on streaming platforms without achieving it’s maximum potential. We need to develop a smart release and distribution strategy before even starting production. Ideally, we could see the film release theatrically in major markets such as LA followed up by a release digitally. The market is changing though, so to get the best distribution deal possible we should explore a few major film festivals to see if we can use that as a platform to promote the film and talk to interested platforms.
The most financially lucrative option in the long run is not to sell the movie out right to a streaming platform, although if we are in a position where one of the major streamers (Hulu, Netflix, MAX, etc..) offers a deal to buy the movie outright we will absolutely explore it as that would give us the fastest return on our investments.
It’s best not to chase just any distribution deal, as distributors can offer predatory terms that leave filmmakers totally unaware as to how their film is actually performing in the market. We need to find the right distribution platform and method that’s the best fit for this film.