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Seen quite a few takes on the Apple CODA buy and how it's great for indie film. Selling to streamers can be potentially very lucrative but it's feast or famine.
There are essentially only 4-5 major streamers capable of making these kinds of deals, so to base a financing model on it just doesn't work. No financier wants to see that the film only has a handful of chances to sell.
What is interesting is the amount they're willing to pay. If deals like this keep happening, at some point streamers will realise it's cheaper to develop a whole bunch of films with producers, fully fund the best ones and own the films themselves.
Buying distribution licences for big money is great to entice quick subscriber growth but it's not cost-effective or efficient. And no company wants to be shelling out that sort of money no matter how cash-rich they are. Especially when then can make and own films in perpetuity.
We've seen a move towards owning their content by the streamers and I think it'll carry on in that direction. The opportunity for producers is getting development and overhead deals with the streamers (similar to the studio system) in return for giving up their upside.
If the much rumoured profit-participation deals come to pass, then it's a good thing for producers for all round. It's a sustainable system and better than holding out for the Holy Grail of a $25m Sundance sale IMO.
And for the streamer, for $25m, they could make and own around 5-10 indie films. So even if they only put $100m a year towards the endeavour, they have 20-40 indie films in their library. Put a $500m towards it globally and well, that's something...
