Bob Berney
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Hits and Misses: Anthony Kaufman Surveys the Sundance Class of ’17
The headlines said it all: “Hollywood Faces August Death March,” “Bummer Summer” and “Beleaguered Box Office.” OK, Hollywood had a tough year, but does that necessarily apply to independent films? Well, as the saying goes, a receding tide sinks all boats. And so it was in 2017: If people were going out to fewer movies and streaming more episodic content at home, it affected both indie films and tentpoles. But if we look back at the films that premiered at Sundance 2017, there are a few instances to inspire hope: The Big Sick, of course, was the big one; Wind […]
by Anthony Kaufman on Dec 14, 2017 -
Hits & Misses: The Theatrical Performance of the Sundance Class of ’16
How do you measure success these days? When more than two million people vote for you over the other guy and you still lose? When you receive no endorsements from a single major newspaper, your party’s leadership practically ignores you, and you still win? Or, perhaps, when your heralded Sundance acquisition earns a whopping $15.8 million at the box office, but you spend more than twice that in acquisition fees and prints and advertising costs to release it? (i.e., The Birth of a Nation). How about if your film isn’t released in theaters at all, but Netflix paid $5 million […]
by Anthony Kaufman on Jan 18, 2017 -
Theatrical 2.0
Releasing movies in U.S. theaters isn’t going away anytime soon. But indie film distribution is experiencing a significant tipping of the scales. While theatrical distribution has always been an advertisement for foreign sales and ancillary platforms, like VHS and then DVD, a new wave of film companies are shifting the balance even further, where theatrical distribution is a means to a digital end. As Vincent Scordino, senior vice president of marketing at rising distributor Alchemy says, “Ancillary platforms have always been important to a film’s profitability, but now we’re talking about them more with the rise of iTunes and the […]
by Anthony Kaufman on Jul 23, 2015 -
The Berneys Return to Distribution with the Revived Picturehouse and a Netflix Deal
Distribution veterans Bob and Jeanne Berney are returning to the business of releasing movies with Picturehouse, reviving the distribution brand Bob Berney headed in the mid-’00s. Reports Michael Ciepley in the New York Times, the Berneys, along with a group of investors, have bought the Picturehouse name and logo from Warner Bros. and have signed a deal with Netflix, which will release the company’s films following their theatrical release. A first picture is already lined up: “a 3D action movie,” Metallica Through the Never, starring the band. From the New York Times: On Tuesday, Mr. Berney said he is seeking […]
by Scott Macaulay on Jan 15, 2013 -
BOB BERNEY EXITS APPARITION
At Deadline New York, Mike Fleming is reporting that Apparition head Bob Berney, a popular figure in the indie community who previously headed distribution arms at IFC, Picturehouse and Newmarket, has resigned. From Fleming: In a pre-Cannes bombshell, Bob Berney tendered his resignation from the top post of indie distribution company Apparition to its owner, River Road’s Bill Pohlad. I hear Pohlad was blindsided by the move, especially since Berney and his staff were about to get on planes to travel to Cannes and look for pictures to acquire. Pohlad has abruptly cancelled those plans, and now Apparition won’t be […]
by Scott Macaulay on May 10, 2010
