The Freakonomics movie that premiered this spring at the Tribeca Film Festival is released to the public today — but only on iTunes (and on some Video on Demand cable systems), nearly a month before it hits theaters.
This is a unique release strategy, and we are being given credit for it even though no credit is due. (The same could be said for the film itself: yes, we appear in it, but all the real work has been done by the producers, directors and distributor.) This pre-theatrical release was cooked up primarily by producer Chad Troutwine, Magnolia Pictures (the distributor) and the folks at Apple.
“This is the first real pre-theatrical release for us, and I think it’s a big deal,” Glenn Bulycz from iTunes Marketing told me. “I believe consumers feel like there is some cachet to being able to talk about a film that’s pre-theatrical (the premiere or ‘screener’ effect). Portability is a key message for us here – iPad, Laptop, etc. lets people get and watch anywhere anytime.”
Here’s Troutwine talking about it in a press release:
Global theatrical attendance remains strong, but the emergence of new technologies and the frantic pace of their adoption have expanded film consumption habits. The Freakonomics distribution model embraces technology, allowing us to engage filmgoers who understandably prefer a theatrical experience, but to also reach a wider film audience who consume content through digital platforms.
It will be interesting to see the effects of this strategy, and whether it’s copied by other distributors and studios — or if, perhaps, they all think the idea is totally daft. It is easy to compile arguments on either side of the issue. On the pro side, there’s: accessibility, buzz, and “cachet”; on the con side, there’s — well, I’ll let you fill in the blanks. Your thoughts?
and 
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I really hope you guys report sales figures related to this new distribution model.
I believe that the days of charging for content that can be reproduced to near infinite levels are over. Regular economics teaches that price drops towards the marginal cost of producing an item. The cost of producing a digital movie is zero. So sales will have to gravitate towards scarcities associated with the movie.
I’m interested in seeing whether the cachet (a nice intangible scarcity), will produce sales. I can certainly imagine a movie generating fans like this by having certain periods of advance viewing.
Is it a one-time streaming, or is it a download?
If it’s a download, is it time-limited / does it expire?
If it’s not time-limited, is it Digital Rights Management (DRM)-free, or is it locked to a computer / iPod / etc…
If it’s a download with no expiration date and no DRM, I’m all over it.
If it restricts me in some way, I can wait for the DVD.
I was looking forward to this for some time, but it’s concerning me that I’m still not finding the film on iTunes, at 7pm on the release date….hopefully this is an idiosyncrasy, and not indicative of a problem with the distribution model
I mentioned this film in one of my Tweets when I saw how it was being released (the tweet was picked up in Techdirt and DocumentaryTech). I personally think it is genius to release this way for many low budget indie films and I too hope that sales data will be released on how it did because it is useful for all in the indie world to be aware. Traditional theatrical is NOT the way of the future for us and I think this is a perfectly viable option.
I know I will buy it because Freakonomics is not going to play a theater near me and I don’t want to buy physical DVD anymore, but I do want to see it.
$10 for a rental? Really?
I will rent this “Pre-Theatrical Rental” not because of a perceived “cachet” of any kind, but because there is nothing in the theater anywhere near me that is of any value. The social aspect of movie going is lost on me in the same sense.
Let’s consider a new marketing angle here. People who rent this may not have the opportunity to see it anywhere else.
@Dan: I believe the Amazon version is video-on-demand (streaming).
So, what the hidden meaning of a post saying ‘iTunes-only’ when obviously Amazon isn’t a niche player?
It’s up on iTunes now. And it’s 9.99$ for the SD rental version and 10.99$ for the HD rental.
In related news, I can’t wait for the Blu-ray release!