- Joined
- Jan 3, 2026
- Messages
- 13
Short films are everywhere in festivals, yet almost invisible in revenue reports.
After uploading multiple award-winning shorts to Filmhub, the total income was barely enough to buy a coffee.
I’d like to share a very honest experience regarding short film distribution.
I uploaded several short films to Filmhub. Some had festival selections, awards, different genres, and solid production quality. In theory, they should have had at least some commercial potential.
In reality, the revenue was almost nonexistent. After multiple titles and months of availability, the total income ended up being roughly around one or two dollars not per film, but combined.
This is not meant as criticism of Filmhub specifically, but rather an observation about the market. Monetizing standalone short films appears to be extremely difficult across most platforms. Visibility, licensing opportunities, and buyer interest often seem to favor feature-length or packaged content.
After that, I tried a different approach. I created an 85-minute compilation from my short films, invested in a proper poster and a strong trailer, and positioned it more like a feature project rather than separate shorts.
Interestingly, this version was licensed relatively quickly.
Of course, one case does not define the industry, but the contrast was significant enough to raise questions.
Curious to hear other filmmakers’ experiences. Have you managed to generate meaningful revenue from standalone short films, or do longer / packaged formats perform better in your case?
After uploading multiple award-winning shorts to Filmhub, the total income was barely enough to buy a coffee.
I’d like to share a very honest experience regarding short film distribution.
I uploaded several short films to Filmhub. Some had festival selections, awards, different genres, and solid production quality. In theory, they should have had at least some commercial potential.
In reality, the revenue was almost nonexistent. After multiple titles and months of availability, the total income ended up being roughly around one or two dollars not per film, but combined.
This is not meant as criticism of Filmhub specifically, but rather an observation about the market. Monetizing standalone short films appears to be extremely difficult across most platforms. Visibility, licensing opportunities, and buyer interest often seem to favor feature-length or packaged content.
After that, I tried a different approach. I created an 85-minute compilation from my short films, invested in a proper poster and a strong trailer, and positioned it more like a feature project rather than separate shorts.
Interestingly, this version was licensed relatively quickly.
Of course, one case does not define the industry, but the contrast was significant enough to raise questions.
Curious to hear other filmmakers’ experiences. Have you managed to generate meaningful revenue from standalone short films, or do longer / packaged formats perform better in your case?
