Where the Small Films Grow

It used to be that the summer movie season was reserved for testosterone-laced flicks and animated kiddie fare, but that’s not true anymore. Specialized “art” and alternative films from smaller studios and distribution houses will be opening nearly every weekend this summer--often two and even three on the same day--competing not only with each other but with multimillion-dollar studio pictures.

Moviegoers in the mood for something other than a big studio blockbuster will have plenty of choices this summer with nearly 70 smaller or “art house” films opening in the next few months. But that also means the battle to get the art-house audience will be that much tougher.

A glance at upcoming weekend scheduled releases shows just how competitive the market is for smaller films:

* On July 14, Artisan is releasing “Chuck & Buck,” directed by Miguel Arteta (“Star Maps”), starring Michael White, Chris and Paul Weitz (director and producer of “American Pie”). The film opens on the same day as another smaller movie, Miramax’s “Wisdom of Crocodiles,” a drama starring Jude Law, as well as Fox’s $100-million “X-Men.”

* On Aug. 4, Fine Line will release the low-budget British comedy “Saving Grace,” a hit at Sundance, which will be up against two other Sundance favorites: Sony Pictures Classics’ “The Tao of Steve” and “In the Eyes of Tammy Faye,” a documentary released by Lions Gate.

* On Aug. 11, Artisan will release John Waters’ “Cecil B. Demented,” which will go up against Fine Line’s “An Affair of Love,” an erotic French love story formerly titled “A Pornographic Affair,” as well as five major studio films.

* On Aug. 18, Lions Gate’s “Love and Sex” competes with Miramax’s Irish film “About Adam,” Artisan’s “The Way of the Gun” and a re-release of Akira Kurosawa’s “Ran.”

And so it goes, from early June into early September.

“For all distributors, either doing wide commercial or specialty, this is becoming a year-round business,” said Steve Gilula, president of distribution for Fox Searchlight.

Because of the phenomenal success of specialized movies like “The Blair Witch Project,” “The Full Monty,” and other modest successes like “An Ideal Husband” in past summer seasons, specialized film in the summer is hot.

“We are providing an alternative to the summer blockbusters but also trying to integrate into the summer season films that are unique. The challenge is to see whether the audiences will take to our films,” said Amir Malin, Artisan Entertainment’s co-chief executive officer.

Some distributors say the sheer number of specialized films is a good thing; the audience is broad enough--and the films different enough, they say--to cater to particular audiences, whether the fare is foreign films, obscure comedies or upscale art-house pictures.

“I definitely think there are enough mouths to feed that we are not cannibalizing each other either on screen, in space or audience,” said Steven Friedlander, head of distribution for Fine Line Features. “I like to consider our films the wedge of lime you suck on after the tequila shot.”

Less Time to Build an Audience

But this glut of alternative movies has caused some problems. Some distributors are picking up fewer films because there is too much competition. For instance, Miramax has picked up only five specialized films this year, compared to about 10 in 1995.

The advent of the megaplexes allowed for more movies to be played on more screens, giving more room for the specialized movies to tap into commercial audiences. But this is also a double-edged sword. Movies that do get released must perform quickly, leaving less time for a strong word-of-mouth campaign to strengthen their theatrical run--the traditional way for building an audience for an art-house film.

“These films need more time to build up their success, but that just doesn’t happen anymore,” said Miramax executive Mark Gill. “Only the very strong survive.”

Distributors of smaller films often do not have the money to push strong television marketing and publicity. With such a quick turnover in theaters, success is often left to chance and the sheer strength of the movie.

“The challenge you face as a distributor is how to bring your film out in a crowded marketplace and make it as unique as possible,” said Malin. “I think we come from a different understanding than many of our compatriots at the studios. For us there is no formula [for success].”

The odds may be long, but there’s always the chance of a breakout success such as last summer’s “Blair Witch Project,” which made Artisan more than $140 million in domestic sales alone. On a smaller scale in past summer seasons, Artisan also did well with the edgy “Pi,” which in 1998 saw a respectable box-office take--making $3.2 million in domestic sales. Last year the studio did extremely well with “Buena Vista Social Club,” in addition to “Blair Witch.”

But other “niche” studios have seen good box-office numbers as well. Miramax and Lions Gate also saw success with some films they released in past summers, such as “An Ideal Husband,” and “The Red Violin,’ respectively. Fox Searchlight hit the jackpot with its August release of “The Full Monty” in 1997.

“The success of individual specialized films provides huge motivation for investors,” said Gilula “It motivates major studios to set up specialty divisions because the rates of returns are immense.”

Already this year, Shooting Gallery’s intense English film “Croupier” is proving to be a sleeper indie hit. As the number of specialty films has expanded, the “indie” film sensibility has become second nature to many mainstream movie-goers.

This invasion of specialized films could perhaps be traced back to the Year of the Indie. In 1996, all but one of the films nominated for best picture Oscars were films made by “independent” studios. There was Miramax’s “The English Patient” (which won), October Films’ “Secrets & Lies,” Fine Line’s “Shine” and Gramercy’s “Fargo.”

This sprouted a new class of brave, perhaps foolhardy, investors with deep pockets who founded distribution companies. In the early to mid-1990s, major studios also sprouted film production branches, like Sony Pictures Classics, Fox Searchlight and Paramount Classics.

“Everybody and their brother got into the idea of making low-cost movies to get awards,” said Gill. “Well, winning an award is sometimes the case but oftentimes not.”