Can Smaller Indie Films Survive Today’s Box Office?

In merely three weeks since its release, The Last Black Man in San Francisco has been widely hailed as one of 2019’s best pictures. Director and Sundance winner Joe Talbot’s feature-length debut has since expanded its exhibition from 7 to 155 theaters nationwide and grossed a small $1,500,000 at the box office.

The production budget for the independent film from A24 studios, the same minds behind Oscar winner Moonlight, has yet to be publicized prompting the question of whether Talbot’s feature is as commercially successful as it is critically praised—chances are it hasn’t made its full budget back. However, what is of chief interest to A24, as their 75 produced films seem to suggest, is not huge box office returns but clearly the promotion of quality, more artistic films which focus on voices and people which are largely ignored by Hollywood. In its diverse filmography of horror films, ‘slice of life’, character study, quirky and coming-of-age features, only 4 films have been released in over 2000 theaters (Hereditary, Ex Machina, The Witch, and It Comes At Night) and none of its films have made a domestic gross over $50 million. 

Most A24 features have released similarly to The Last Black Man in San Francisco opening at a very small number of theaters and, if the film is met with positive critical reception, expanding to a couple hundred theaters nationwide. Since its formation over 7 years ago, A24 has trusted in this business model seeking profits elsewhere in the form of digital releases and a streaming deal made with corporate giant Amazon back in 2013.

The independent studio’s attempt at a return to form is crucial to the current state of cinema, especially as American film grows more stylistically conservative, but its business operations do leave some uncertainty for its longevity. More artisan and character-driven films such as The Last Black Man in San Francisco deserve to exist and meet wider audiences, but it’s questionable if Talbot’s film, and the few features like it, can exist in a Hollywood decorated by sequels, reboots, and franchise installments which frequently stress profit over quality—the antithesis of A24’s model. 

Since its release, The Last Black Man in San Francisco has been up against Men In Black: International, X-Men: Dark Phoenix, Aladdin, Toy Story 4, and the re-release of the box-office smash Avengers: Endgame. In the weeks to come, Spiderman: Far From Home and the rebooted Lion King will find their way to theaters. All 7 of the aforementioned films are part of large cinematic universes or are reboots and 5 of the 7 are produced by the colossal entertainment force of Disney. 

These studio blockbusters even have deleterious effects on film exhibitors big and small. With the release of Star Wars: The Last Jedi in 2017, Disney announced quite strict rules for theaters to follow when showing the film. According to a Wall Street Journal article at the time, Disney expected theaters to provide them with 65% of all box office returns every week The Last Jedi played in theaters. Additionally, the film had to be played in an exhibitor’s largest auditorium for its four weeks otherwise they were at risk in losing another 5% of profits to Disney. This strict model is certainly unsustainable for independent theaters and proved to be so for AMC, the world’s largest movie exhibitor. 

Realizing the harmful rise of profit-driven franchise tentpoles to both the quality of Hollywood produced films and its own business, AMC has recently announced its own program titled “AMC Artisan Films”. The purpose of the program is to protect smaller-budget films, like The Last Black Man in San Francisco, by supposedly extending their theatrical runs. 

In the weeks to come, Lulu Wang’s feature directorial debut The Farewell will be a film which qualifies for AMC Artisan Films program. Hopefully The Farewell, a film about a Chinese-American family’s return back home after their grandmother falls ill, will fare well at the box office with the help of AMC’s program and the inclusion of rising star Awkwafina (Crazy Rich Asians). 

The Last Black Man in San Francisco is currently available to watch in select theaters and Lulu Wang’s The Farewell releases on July 12th.