Summer was hard on smaller movies

Small movies from independent distributors fared reasonably well considering they were up against a stronger than usual mainstream slate, according to Variety.

Fox Searchlight and The Weinstein Co. pulled out a handful of movies that brought in decent box-office. But the fact that bigger movies stuck around in theaters for longer than in previous years means there weren’t as many screens available for off-beat films. Other studios had hits as well but Weinstein and Searchlight had the biggest groupings.

The smaller movies also found advertising space wanting as well. The late spring and summer months were dominated by billboards, TV spots, banner ads and other promotions for the biggest of the big movies. So when a smaller studio like Searchlight or Picturehouse went looking for ad space I imagine they found it in short supply. And the remaining inventory, I’d guess, was priced out of reach for smaller movies.