Spec Script Deals By Month: 1991–2014

A lot of effort went into compiling The Definitive Spec Script Deals List [1991–2014] and over time, we have dug into this database to glean whatever insights we can about the spec marketplace. Recently Wendy Jane Cohen took another pass at the numbers: Spec script deals by month. Here are the numbers:

JANUARY — 109
FEBRUARY — 157
MARCH — 253
APRIL — 239
MAY — 200
JUNE — 209
JULY — 150
AUGUST — 145
SEPTEMBER — 142
OCTOBER — 249
NOVEMBER — 174
DECEMBER — 125

I should note these totals don’t include 5 spec deals for which we could find no specific date.

So what can we learn from these numbers?

* Three months stand out as the busiest: March (253), October (249), April (239). It makes sense that March and April would be an active period for spec deals. After a post-holiday lull in January and Hollywood focusing on Sundance in February, arguably March and April offer the first sustained period in which development teams can really focus on acquisitions. As for October, I’m not certain about this, but I believe a number of companies acquisition budgets end during the month, so buyers are motivated to use the funds they have available.

* The period of March-June appears to be the most robust in terms of deals in contrast to another 4 month period — November through February — which is the least active.

* The perception is Hollywood shuts down from the second week of December to the second week of January. The numbers would seem to bear that out as January (109) and December (125) have the lowest number of deals of any month. Summer isn’t much better with July, August and September on the slower side of things.

If there’s a takeaway from these numbers, it’s probably this: Spring is a good time to push out a spec to buyers. Then again, if you write a great script, it won’t matter when you put it out there.

Thanks, Wendy, for your continued work in support of the blog. I’m sure the entire GITS community appreciates your efforts!

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