Sundance Film Festival 2011: Reading the tea leaves
Sundance 2011 is over and by all accounts this was the most successful one in terms of distribution deals in at least a few years.
So what does that mean?
Could it be Hollywood studios have decided to open up the purse strings?
Do they sense a rebound in the indie / specialty movie market?
Is this a decision on the studios’ part to increase the flow of product into the marketplace, reversing a contraction of the number of films produced and distributed of late?
Or is the number of deals at Sundance merely a blip, a reflection of the quality of movies available this year?
Have the studios decided to hedge their bets about the possibility of consumers developing a case of sequelitis, especially in light of the fact that a record 27 sequels are slated to roll out into theaters 2011, and therefore using specialty movies as counter-programming throughout the year?
And hope against hope, is this a sign the studios might also be willing to spend more dollars this year in terms of script acquisitions?
I’m hopeful 2011 will mark a reversal in the spec script market which has seen a decline in sales the last three years: 2008 (87), 2009 (68), 2010 (55). I’m guessing greater acquisition dollars have been allocated overall by the studios. Of course in large part, what transpires in terms of actual sales will depend upon the nature and quality of spec scripts submitted. But I feel like both the interest and need is there to replenish development slates.
What about you? What’s your take on what the 2011 Sundance Film Festival means? What’s its significance? Any reflection on the possibility of increased dollars for script acquisitions? And if you’ve read any articles with worthwhile analysis of Sundance 2011, please provide the links in comments.
UPDATE: IndieWire is reporting 38 movies sold at this year’s Sundance. Some analysis in the article, too.