Releasing an Oscar-Worthy Movie

Apparently, having an Oscar-worthy movie isn't just about the script, the cast, or the director - it's also about how the movie is released. Market Match published this great story last week, that describes the two approaches to releasing movies:

A wide release is usually pursued when a distributor believes a movie will be an immediate hit, on the basis of its existing fandom or a major marketing campaign.

The platform release, on the other hand, can be used to gauge a film’s appeal. “A platform release takes a lot of planning. The strategy usually changes on the fly through the response of public and critics,” said Paul Dergarabedian, a senior media analyst with comScore.

This year, only three of the Best Picture nominees used a wide release approach: Dunkirk, Get Out, and The Post. The rest (Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, Darkest Hour, Lady Bird, The Shape of Water, Call Me By Your Name, and Phantom Thread), used the platform release approach.

And in a fantastic visual display that you really need to see for yourself (scroll partway down), the authors demonstrate that, over the last 8 years, 7 of the Best Picture winners used the platform release approach.