Neil Chordia Profile picture
Nov 25, 2019 5 tweets 2 min read Read on X
#BlueStory opens with a £1.3m weekend. First off, Vue and Showcase were wrong to remove it from their screens (and have actually give it more exposure via all the news coverage). But let's focus on the business side here.... #film #ukfilm
What it shows is two things. 1) That if you invest in films aimed at underserved audiences, there are people who will spend money to come and see these films in cinemas (99.99% of them won't start a fight either)...
and 2) There is no substitute for a proper P&A spend and a decent sized release. Outside of the studios, there aren't many UK distribs that could have taken a 300+ screen gamble on this project. @ParamountUK deserve credit for that. More studios should invest in local indie films
Most UK indies barely make it past the £100k mark at the Box Office, let alone the £1m. Part of that is because they never play on enough screens but to open at £1.3m is a rare feat. Whilst it probably won't crossover past core audience it should be enough to show what is poss.
I also think it shows that you need to let filmmakers from diverse backgrounds own and tell their stories. One of the key reasons Blue connected with it's audience is the authenticity of @RealRapman directing. It's something producers and financiers need to consider in future.

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More from @chordia22

Aug 14
Callout: I'm looking for horror or thriller film projects that are either set mostly in India, or across UK and India. Details in the thread below, please only respond if you meet all the criteria. Please RT.
Genre: Must be either horror or thriller and easily identifiable as such. Not looking for cross-genre projects. Think Blumhouse tone and style. Not looking for dramas disguised as horror/thriller!
Setting: Needs to fit into a UK-Indian co-pro structure, so ideally set either mainly in India or between UK and India. Preferably not majority UK-set.
Read 8 tweets
May 25, 2023
PRODUCERS - We’re looking for feature film projects to co-produce. Please read this thread carefully as the remit is quite specific. Please RT! #film #ukfilm #filmproducers
1/ Looking for UK producers who have produced at least one feature film above £500k budget.
2/ Projects need to be very clearly identifiable genres: Rom-Coms, Comedies, Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi, Thrillers. We are NOT looking for Dramas, Horror, Coming-of-Age, Grey Pound or Art-House at this time.
Read 11 tweets
May 23, 2023
Random thread of Thoughts on Cannes this year:
1/ First year back here since before COVID and seemed busy if a little more muted than it was. Parties and drinks all felt more restrained (not a bad thing).
2/ Haven't heard of any major deals being struck (many seem to have been done pre-festival) but the sales agents I spoke to said that there was decent business being done, if not spectacular. Seemed to be a good showing from indie distrib buyers.
3/ Some concern over potential SAG strike and how that may affect other markets. Some producers considering moving production schedules back, but no outright panic.
Read 13 tweets
Dec 31, 2022
Went down an AI rabbit-hole this week. In under 30 mins, I had an AI create an original idea for a film, write a treatment, suggest a cast list, build a basic pitch deck and create a poster image. Now...
...whilst all of this was fairly basic, it was impressive that it managed to identify the key things needed in each and if I'd been sent these by a person, I'd have had no idea that it was all created via AI.
On the one hand, this is scary as hell. The number of jobs this type of AI will end up replacing is too numerous to count. I have really mixed feelings about applying this to the film and TV industries but it's clear that it's here and we'll start seeing it in use within a year.
Read 11 tweets
Oct 4, 2020
I’ve met many filmmakers who over the years have told me “they don’t care about the money” and “you focus too much on the business side of things”. There’s a reason for that. Without a viable system of financing and revenues, you won’t get paid. You won’t do this for a living.
The news about Cineworld is devastating and will likely be followed by more chains. It’s not Bond’s fault. It’s not the studios fault. It’s not the general public’s fault. This pandemic has already decimated the aviation and travel industries. It’s just another casualty.
We live in a world where there is now so much audio-visual content that it’s become hard to justify the cost of going to a cinema anyway. Younger audiences are happy enough to watch 2 hours of free tik tok videos rather than £15 to go watch a film in cinemas.
Read 8 tweets
Oct 3, 2020
It’s basic economics. If there’s no product to sell, the business isn’t viable. There’s no way government grants will keep cinemas afloat until Easter. We’re seeing a sea-change in the film business, as models adapt to direct to digital.
It will mean lower budgets as there won’t be the revenues to prop up $200m films. Could also mean digital platforms commission films as opposed to licensing them.
It won’t be the end of cinema, art-house will still be a viable business and perhaps in a few years, after the pandemic, there will be a desire to reopen larger cinemas, but for the immediate future, film won’t be primarily for theatrical.
Read 4 tweets

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