Gathr Films wants to help movies that raised money online appear in movie theaters, offering $500,000 to crowdfunded movies if they will use its theatrical on-demand service. Gathr is offering a $20,000 advance to as many as 25 films that crowdfunded resources, provided they grant Gathr the exclusive rights to distribute their movie in theaters.
Films that raise at least $50,000 from at least 1,000 backers are eligible, and Gathr will also mount an online advertising campaign for the movies. It will recoup the advance from ticket sales.
Like Kickstarter and Indiegogo enable filmmakers to crowdsource financing, Gathr enables movie fans to crowdsource movie screenings. Gathr acquires the rights to a movie, and then offers it up to fans in myriad markets to book screenings on Gathr's website.
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Gathr has already helped movies such as ‘The Anonymous People” and “Girl Rising” gross hundreds of thousands of dollars, and now it aims to help crowdfunded movies do the same.
“Crowdfunded movies have demonstrated they've done the legwork,” Gathr CEO Scott Glosserman told TheWrap. “If they have a large numbers of backers, it means there's a proactive and engage community that can also be called to action to crowdfund. Now they can be called to crowdsource theatrical screenings.”
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While companies such a Vimeo have offered a similar advance to crowdfunded movies, Vimeo sells movies online. Gathr believes people in smaller markets will still pay to see a movie in a movie theater.
“Online marketing ensured anyone to whom a film is relevant will know about it,” he said. “The shame is the guy in Knoxville, Tenn. doesn't have a prayer of seeing it.”
The post Gathr Films Offers $500K to Crowdfunded Movies (Exclusive) appeared first on TheWrap.
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