Festivals give accurate indicators of art-house BO success

filmBUZZ RELEASES FIRST COMPREHENSIVE STUDY OF FILM FESTIVALS’
INFLUENCE ON INDEPENDENT FILM SECTOR

Preliminary Findings Show Regional Events Are Accurate Indicators of
Arthouse Box Office Success

Independent film research and tracking firm filmBUZZ released today the first in-depth, nationwide analysis of film festivals, concluding that these events provide important indicators forbox office success of specialty films. More than 25,000 audience members, 419 unique film titles, and 63 film festivals were included in the year-long study, conducted throughout 2003.

filmBUZZ estimates that as many as 2 million movie-goers attend a film
festival in the United States each year, reflecting a loyal independent
film audience that may be currently underutilized by distributors.

“In our exit surveys at film festivals, we discovered that audiences members’
demographics closely mirror those of arthouse patrons,” said Greg Kahn,
filmBUZZ President. “These film festival attendees, the majority of whom
live in close proximity to the events, are pototypical ‘influencers’ who
also actively support independent film outside of the festival circuit.

Kahn added, “our research indicates that film festival audience members
are 2 to 3 times more likely than the typical American filmgoer to see a
motion picture in a theater.”

The report focuses on the “playability” of films among core audiences,
demonstrating the value of tracking word-of-mouth at regional film festivals
in order to forecast the box office potential of a film’s theatrical release.

filmBUZZ’s 40-page analysis also examines the effect of critical reviews on
theatrical revenue. In its preliminary analysis of professional film reviews,
filmBUZZ found no correlation between critical praise and either audience
ratings or box office success.

Also highlighted in the report is an analysis of the relative value of
advertising, publicity, award nominations, critical reviews, and screen
penetration on domestic box office sales for independent and foreign films.
The study collectively addresses several important questions, including:

• How can box official potential be predicted from audience feedback?

• How does the demographic profile of a regional film festival audience
compare to that of an art house audience and the general American public?

• How can U.S. film festival audiences predict trends in taste in the
independent film marketplace?

• How can festivals be effectively utilized to discover new films?