The films generating the greatest return on investments in 2014 were from the categories of Horror, Faith-Based and Young Adult. The Young Adult category was of no surprise, as it always generates large audiences in the most sought after demographics. The real news was the dramatic increase in Horror and Faith-Based market profitability.

Both categories thrive on ultra low budget films and have enough higher budget films to skew the profit margins for the industry as a whole. For years, Hollywood banked on the common laws of averages that drove one film out of every eight to make enough money to cover all eight films and then some. But today, with the number of other entertainment venues reducing the audience, Hollywood looked to the big blockbusters to cover the costs of all other portfolio films.

Independents typically don’t have the luxury of producing a hit rate of 8:1 to cover the expenses of all its films. To compensate most production companies reduced the budget on each production to force profitability. However, packaging films for distribution is still wise when films such as “God’s Not Dead” becomes a domestic breakout hit with $61MM at the box office and $26MM in video sales to date – Not bad for a $2MM budget.

The Horror genre also has skewed elements in its numbers. With 900 Horror films made in 2014, only 30 received proper distribution. Of those 30, three films (Annabelle, Ouija, Deliver Us From Evil) generated two thirds of the $255MM box office revenue for the Horror category (A hit rate of 10:1). However, far more Horror films will contribute to the bottom line in video and television sales, which is on the rise.

The Faith-Based market had more breakout hits (Heaven is for Real, God’s Not Dead, Son of God, When the Game Stands Tall) in 2014 than the Horror market. The genre saw 470 films made, 23 get proper distribution and had four hits (a 6:1 hit rate). The four films generated $212MM of the $277MM box office receipts, which equates to 76% of the genre’s revenue.

From an investor’s standpoint, Faith-Based films are the best opportunity for investment when the films are packaged. It’s been proven year after year that Horror and Faith-Based films are still risky investments when they are not packaged. Yet, that’s exactly how most are produced, driving up the risk factor for the investors.

Both the Faith-Based market and Horror market took a dive in 2015 with only a couple hopefuls to be released in the fall. Most analysts are suggesting the drop is due to shifts in the marketplace. The Horror genre is getting more studio financing for direct to television releases and the Faith-Based market released more poorly constructed films thinking their audience would watch anything with the “right” content.

It’s still my passion to package 6-8 great stories using high production values for the general market with great moral and wholesome themes. I firmly believe that is still the best way to drive the greatest revenue and the largest audience for any genre. But, we’ll see what the future holds.

Copyright © 2015 by CJ Powers

I was in high school the first time I talked to Ron Howard on the phone. He shared a handful of Easter eggs with me and it permanently changed my perspective on directing. I’ve since taken time to learn from every director I meet, as each one has something of value for my utility belt.

The one thing that I’ve heard from many big box office directors that I haven’t heard from independents can be summed up in one of his quotes…

Ron Howard said, “Trust the audience is with the story.”

In other words, the audience is smarter than what we think and we need to present things to a intelligent audience, rather than dumbing down our material. Personally, I hate films that spell everything out for me, as if I’m an idiot.

Dr. Jenkins, my journalism college professor, agreed with my sentiment when he said, “Television and the news is written for the average 14-year-old, which is probably why big stars only do motion pictures.” Years later, television has become more complex and interesting, while sports, horror and faith-based films are still aimed at a sixth grade mentality.

Film is also an emotional medium, which must play at the appropriate emotional age level or the audience will be lost to the story. Unfortunately, many independent producers do not see film as the emotional medium that it is. Instead, they force facts and information into the story, destroying the very structure of the emotional format.

Ron Howard said, “When I was acting with John Wayne and I was talking to him a lot about (John) Ford…Ford had told John Wayne, ‘Don’t ever cry on screen. A good movie provides two thirds of the emotion and allows the audience to complete the other third themselves,’ and, sort of experience it themselves. If you do it all for them they just sit there, cross their arms and watch.”

The idea of hinting at a plot point in such a way so the emotional tone of the film plants the idea into the audience’s perception is valuable. It allows the audience to perceive or come up with the idea on their own. This in turn strengthens their sense of ownership of the idea that they just thought up.

I don’t remember who shared the idea, maybe it was Robert Zemeckis or Steven Spielberg who said, “The goal of film is to have the audience come up with your idea for themselves.”

If the message is overt, the audience has no recourse but to cross their arms and not consider your idea. However, a message that is subtly sprinkled into a film allows the audience to come up with the idea for themselves and own it.

The only reason this is possible is due to the intelligence of the audience. They are indeed smarter than most independent filmmakers give them credit for. Or, put another way, a filmmaker has to be pretty arrogant to dumb down their story and overtly put it into the faces of their audience.

Film is an art form that requires finesse. The more subtle the message, the more the audience must work for it and the longer they will deeply hold the message that “they came up with.”

The best way to leverage the medium of film for getting a strong message into the hands of the audience is to trust that they are following the story and don’t need to be hand fed. Then, and only then, shall the intelligent audience find ways of implementing the message into their own life.

Copyright © 2015 by CJ Powers

It’s my goal to introduce a new line of entertainment products that are wholesome and moral, while also being edgy. Some say it isn’t possible, but I believe it is – That is, only with your help.

STEELE BLUE is my first novel. It follows a maverick female detective into a drug lord’s dark world. Cassie is forced to make difficult decisions that will impact her relationship with her teenage son, while fighting to survive in an undercover world where her life is at risk.

When I was growing up, PG-Rated films were filled with action and adventure, and G-Rated films were for a tamer general audience. After PG-13 Rated films came into vogue, G-Rated films included content for little children and PG-Rated films were filled with sappy stories for all ages. This forced families to increase their tolerance for bad language, graphic violence and sexual content in order to watch well-made stories that received a PG-13 Rating.

I’m a firm believer in wholesome and moral content. I’m also convinced that there are tactful ways of sharing the wrong choices in life without dragging a person into it. The new line of entertainment that I’m working on does exactly that. The stories reveal the good and the bad, the right and the wrong, all through the character’s choices.

The STEELE BLUE storyline is written to entertain the reader. There’s no moral message forced down his or her throat, but I make it clear why each character makes the decisions they do – Giving the reader an opportunity to accept for themselves the various choices made by their favorite character.

Cassie isn’t perfect and makes a few mistakes, but readers can relate to her difficult choices and see the ramifications of her good and her bad ones. Some of her choices include issues faced by single parent homes, while others become moral dilemmas in her quest to take down the notorious Diaz.

These insightful moments are subtle and lightly salted in around a lot of action, adventure and some humor. The story is entertaining and I have completed the novel and the screenplay with the hopes of making the book into a movie some day.

But, none of this can happen without you believing with me that wholesome and moral entertainment can be placed within an edgy storyline. It hasn’t been done before and I believe that with your help we can launch a new genre of entertainment products that are thrilling and gutsy, without taking us down a destructive immoral path.

Please join me in this last week by supporting my Kickstarter STEELE BLUE novel campaign by clicking here. If every person who receives this link donates $1 the project will be over funded. Please consider joining those who are already believing that I can accomplish what’s never been done before. Thanks!