If success comes in bulk, then IFC Films can call itself a winner. In all, the Cablevision unit has put out nearly 100 movies in 2009 across its theatrical and on-demand platforms.
Touting its model as the new path for American indies and foreign fare, IFC claims its best year so far in its new hybrid theatrical/VOD incarnation. Four films crossed the $1 million box office mark, two of which, “Che” and “Gomorrah,” ratcheted up another $1.5 million and $1 million, respectively, in VOD sales.
If Nia Vardalos/John Corbett vehicle “I Hate Valentine’s Day” received no traction theatrically (it grossed just $11,000), the pic is among the company’s highest-performing VOD titles. With few big cablers competing in the niche space, IFC has had virtual free reign at international film festivals, picking up multiple high-profile pics (Lars von Trier’s “Antichrist,” Ken Loach’s “Looking for Eric”).
But as more and more companies join the VOD arena and more content floods on-demand, IFC’s period of supremacy atop the VOD mountain could be threatened.
B.O.: $10.5 million
TOP PIC: “Che” ($1.5 million)
TOPPERS: Jonathan Sehring, president; Lisa Schwartz, exec VP, distribution, operations and business development; Arianna Bocco, VP, acquisitions and productions
UP NEXT: “Paris” (Sept. 18), “Brief Interviews With Hideous Men” (Sept. 25), “Antichrist” (Oct. 23), “Mammoth” (Nov.), “Ricky” (TBD)
