We were on a telephone conference with a company the other day, and one of our colleagues quietly whispered: “This is big. This changes everything!” It’s not entirely here yet, but soon, in a few months. And it will change the game. It’s called Theatrical Exhibition.

It’s sort of what every filmmaker wants. It’s an intuitive feeling that the environment of the big silver screen captures the attention of the crowd and focusses their energy in ways that reinforce the picture and the presentation of the story. There’s a social psychology to that, but let’s leave that be for now.

The reason that filmmakers can’t get what they want is economic. It costs too much money to own and operate a theater; and the theater operators want a big part of the box office. It costs too much money to tell people that your movie is in a theater; and therefore the filmmaker or his distributor spends far more than they’ll ever make back from a theatrical exhibition or any other simultaneous or subsequent presentation of the film. The economics of that model don’t work. (I’m sorry. I repeat myself. I’ve said that before!)

Digital projection in theaters does not change theater economics in any interesting way. Satellite or internet delivery of digital masters of films for exhibition does not have a material impact on theater operating costs. But clever marketing organizations who use these tools are changing the business. It’s another example of the adage that the technology doesn’t change anything; it’s the business model that uses the technology that matters.

The marketers who are making the difference are those annoying ad networks that show up on screen before the feature presentation. In many theaters, those ads are digitally projected from files that are electronically delivered. That same delivery and those same projectors can show an independently produced film. Here’s how it works.

1. for a few weeks before exhibition night, the network includes the ad for your film in the
   ad roll. (Not so annoying, right?)

2. if the network has electronic/LCD poster boards in the lobby, your film can be on the
   ″coming soon” billboard.

3. participating theaters in the network and several websites will sell tickets to the screening
   at regular ticket prices for a Tuesday or Wednesday showing. Why Tuesday or Wednesday?
   Because the theaters are lightly attended and the theater operator can create a space
   for your film that night.

4. depending on how the ticket sales go, the number of screens carrying your film may go
   up or down. At the high end, 1,500 screens across the country can be involved; at the low end,
   several hundred screens in a particular region will be targeted.

5. In general, the theaters get half the box office; the filmmaker/distributor gets half.
   And the filmmaker/distributor pays the fees and expenses of the exhibition network.

The result is that, on one night, the film plays simultaneously on hundreds of screens around the country.

It absolutely does not matter that some screens play from a hard drive delivered by FedEx and others off a DVD; it makes no difference at all that only a few theaters right now can take a live high definition feed from a satellite transponder; and it is beyond caring that some projectors are not as good as others. All those things will change and improve. For sure. What totally matters is that these ad delivery networks have put together a business model that actually works. People come to the theater, buy tickets, and watch the movie.

For some films, that can be a great launching pad — for a subsequent theatrical run in selected venues, for a targeted DVD release, for educational/institutional distribution, or for some other internet or physical platform. There are lots of possibilities. The opportunity does not come with out costs and it does not come without serious strings. The best business models are built from a pattern of negotiations between parties, and this one will grow and develop with experience. As part of a marketing campaign, however — not a one off, big night out; but a campaign — you can see right now that this could/will change the way indie films get seen and by whom.