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Are Indie Releases the Key to Attracting Older Demographics?

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  While the blockbuster slate for September and October has not really performed as we’d hoped, we’ve seen some fantastic performances (in their class) from specialty and indie releases of late. As we get stuck into the demographics for these films, one thing is surprisingly clear- they lean toward older demographics, the same people that have been reluctant to return to theaters in the wake of the pandemic closures. Blake & Wang P.A. entertainment attorney , Brandon Blake, takes a look at this fascinating revelation- and what it could mean for theaters domestically.                                                                              Brandon Blake   A Thriving Specialty Market   Despite the slightly lackluster performance of Venom: The Last Dance this weekend, it is notable that four of this weekend’s top films were indie titles. Five, if you are willing to include The Substance . Conclave even worked its way into the weekend’s No. 3 spot.                  
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Amazon Brings Ad-Supported Prime Video to New Markets

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 Last week, Amazon announced its intention to bring the opt-out Prime video ad-supported ‘upgrade’ to 5 new major markets in 2025. This will build on the once controversial but remarkably lucrative introduction of ads to Prime Video in key anchor markets that began this year. Our Blake & Wang P.A. entertainment lawyer , Brandon Blake, has all the details.                                                                                 Brandon Blake 5 New Markets Brazil, India, New Zealand, the Netherlands, and Japan will be added to the ad-supported version of Prime Video sometime next year. This tier already operates domestically and in Australia, France, Germany, Austria, Canada, Italy, Spain, Mexico, and the UK. As with these earlier rollouts, users who want to keep their ads-free experience will also have the option to upgrade to the new premium tier. An Unusual Strategy Amazon’s decision to use an opt-out model for their ad-supported tier, rather than the opt-in new t
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Scripted Production in LA Drops: What This Means for the Industry

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 According to the latest data from FilmLA, only a fifth of scripted projects released in 2023 were filmed in the greater Los Angeles area. However, more than a quarter of industry workers still call LA home. Brandon Blake, our entertainment lawyer Los Angeles and industry insider from Blake & Wang P.A., looks at this thorny issue in greater depth.                                                                           Brandon Blake A Talent and Incentive Mismatch As of 2023, 18% of scripted productions released were filmed in LA. This is a notable drop from 2022 (22%) and 2021 (23%). However, 27% of industry workers still operate from LA. Of course, some of that can be attributed to the strikes, but low tax incentives/rebates and high location costs are also key issues. Plus, the strikes weren’t local to LA alone, and other areas have maintained, or even boosted, their numbers in the same frame. In a state where entertainment is one of the primary industries, that’s a cause for
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Irish Film Scene Fights Back with Tax Incentives

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 It’s been a year for competitive tax incentives, as both states and countries seek to compete with the “classic” choices and get themselves a share of the entertainment industry’s budgets and spending. Now Ireland is joining the fray. Brandon Blake, entertainment attorney  at Blake & Wang P.A., analyzes this latest competitor on the tax incentive scene.                                                                          Brandon Blake Boosting Homegrown Talent Dublin will introduce a 40% tax incentive for its 2025 budget. Interestingly, this incentive is aimed at mid-range and lower-budget films with a maximum budget of $22M (€20M) and will need a significant management presence from Irish talent. This would boost the existing Section 481 film tax incentive by roughly 8%. The broader Irish film scene has been buzzing of late, with Small Things Like These featured on the Berlinale and Kneecap taking home the Berlin Film Festival’s Audience Award and Sundance awards. It’s curren
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New Joker Movie Gains Chinese Release Date

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  Joker: Folie à Deux has managed to net itself a Chinese release date, which is still notably difficult for many newer Hollywood properties to leverage in the post-pandemic entertainment environment. This new development is, perhaps, most notable because the original Joker movie itself was never launched on Chinese shores. Brandon Blake, entertainment attorney at Blake & Wang P.A., has the full details for us.                                                                          Brandon Blake October Release The movie will open in Chinese cinemas on October 16, two weeks after its widespread release date, shortly after the so-called Golden Week for that market. The film, starring Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga, made its global debut at the Venice Film Festival, earning a 12-minute standing ovation. It's slated for an international rollout starting October 2, with a US release on October 4. What is particularly surprising about the announcement is that the film has an
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Are Wide “Specialized Releases” Becoming the New Norm?

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 Traditionally, the film industry saw appealing popular fare head to a default wide release, while more specialized, genre, and indie projects would seek out only limited runs. This dynamic seems to be shifting fast in Hollywood as we see more and more “specialty” projects conquer wide-release models. Industry expert from Blake & Wang P.A., entertainment attorney Brandon Blake, gives us some insight into this new development.                                                                                Brandon Blake A Year of Wide Releases In 2024 alone, we’ve seen Megalopolis , Conclave , The Apprentice , and now also The Substance opt for wide releases, even on short runs. Previously, these would have seen a Los Angeles and New York debut at best. In the case of The Substance , this is also a first for a niche streamer, MUBI. Its widest release before the nearly 2k screen debut for The Substance was Passages , which played in 114 theaters.   This shift to broad re
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It Ends with Us Takes Its Own Box Office Milestone

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  In a year packed with box office milestones, another has fallen—this time, from a much unexpected source. The “little film that could,” It Ends with Us , has set its footprint in the record books. Our best entertainment attorney in Los Angeles from Blake & Wang P.A., Brandon Blake, has the happy news to share.   Brandon Blake Top-Grossing Romantic Drama It Ends with Us is now the top-performing romantic drama since the 2018 edition of A Star Is Born . With its total global ticket sales now sitting at a hair under $310M, it may even unseat the latter film’s global total if it continues to hold strong. This puts the film ahead of films such as Crazy Rich Asians, The Fault in Our Stars, and Anyone but You . Sony’s latest push into attracting more female demographics to its movies seems to be paying off for them. A Social Success? Some of this success can possibly be attributed to its remarkable quirk of timing. Releasing shortly after a much-anticipated blockbuster lik
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