I love going to the movies, I am have ever since I was a very young child. There is nothing more magical, more entrancing for me anyways that seeing images flicker on the silver screen (or white for that matter). I went yesterday to see Dead Pool, which I really liked. The trailers that played before Dead Pool were all for movies derived from either the DC or MARVEL universe. Seeing those trailers made me think how much movie going had changed and how polarized the movies had become.

I often ask myself would the films that I loved during the 80’s , movies like Tony Bill’s “My Bodyguard”, Savage Steve Holland’s “Better off Dead” and “One Crazy Summer” and the films of John Hughes have a place in today’s film economy. I sadly I have to come to the conclusion that there would be no place for them on screens that are chockablock filled with CGI engorged comic inspired operas.

I often think on the surface that it’s the ticket price, the overly priced concessions that keep audiences away from going to the movies but I actually think that as of late something else is happening.

When movies stopped being projected in lovely antiquated 35mm and began to be using new emerging technology a blockade was put up on the part of the major film studios in the form of a virtual print fee. Virtual Print Fee(VPF) is the name given to a subsidy paid by a film distributor towards the purchase of digital cinema projection equipment for use by a film exhibitor in the presentation of first release motion pictures. The subsidy is paid in the form of a fee per booking of a movie, intended to match the savings that occurs by not shipping a film print. The model is designed to help redistribute the savings realized by studios when using digital distribution instead of film print distribution.

While on surface this might appear to be altruism but in face the monies extended to the movie theatres represent at most 60% of the savings incurred by the studio. Behind the VPF is the fact that the studios really have the ability to put a financially blockade in place against for independent and arthouse films by demanding as Sony does, that each time a film is placed on a VPF enabled piece of digital equipment a fee of $850 dollars must be paid to the VPF aggregators if the studio is not one of the VPF contributing studios, also know as Universal, Paramount, Warners, Lionsgate, Sony and so on.

In South America and Europe where the VPF model is not in control of the studios , movie going is exploding. In 2015 Argentina has seen ticket sales rise 20%. It can all be traced to a film economy where the ease of access to the new digital is guaranteed for Independents and Arthouse films. There is a huge variety of product and audience who have found studio product a tad banal and un-compelling are now re-discovering the pure joy again of going to the movies.

Here is some good news for filmmakers. The VPF, that financial chastity belt for theatres are starting to come to an end . In 2016, 4000 screens will have finished with the Virtual Print Fee, this will allow them to begin to programming alternative and independent films with far more flexible and without adverse economic impact. In 2017 another 7000 screens will become available.

There is an opportunity if the patterns being shown in the rest of the world are correct for North America to have more variety and more compelling programming. There is going to be a window of opportunity for more independent product to be seen on screens. I long for the days when social commentary wrapped in goopy B movie plots can be seen back on screens. When mindless comedies can glow again from drive-in screens across America. When movies, all movies can find their rightful place back on the big screen.

There is an opportunity arising and independent filmmakers should demand their piece of the film economy. Movies theatres need variety and the studios with their financing structure coupled with agencies packaging fees cannot meet the coming demand.

It’s time to get busy folks. The B movies time may be back