Everyone keeps saying the market is slower or weaker, but I don’t think that’s accurate. What actually happened is that the middle disappeared. Right now, you either have projects with clear, predictable revenue strong packaging, obvious buyers, low uncertainty or you have lean, niche-driven projects that survive because they’re directly connected to a specific audience. Everything in between is struggling.
Mid-budget films are becoming the hardest to finance, sell, and actually close. Not because they’re bad, but because they’re unclear. Too big to be flexible, too small to feel safe. At the same time, the rest of the market is reinforcing this shift. Streamers are buying less and relying more on internal production. Pre-sales are softer, slower, and far less reliable. Festivals feel less like discovery and more like validation for projects that are already positioned.
On the indie side, direct audience is no longer optional. If you don’t have one, you’re effectively invisible.
So the real question is simple: are you building for certainty, or for connection? Because right now, the middle is no longer a strategy.
Mid-budget films are becoming the hardest to finance, sell, and actually close. Not because they’re bad, but because they’re unclear. Too big to be flexible, too small to feel safe. At the same time, the rest of the market is reinforcing this shift. Streamers are buying less and relying more on internal production. Pre-sales are softer, slower, and far less reliable. Festivals feel less like discovery and more like validation for projects that are already positioned.
On the indie side, direct audience is no longer optional. If you don’t have one, you’re effectively invisible.
So the real question is simple: are you building for certainty, or for connection? Because right now, the middle is no longer a strategy.
