2020 Spec Script Sales Analysis: Buyers
Yesterday, we looked at 2020 spec script deals by genre. Today, we break down the numbers per major studios, mini-majors, subsidiaries…
Yesterday, we looked at 2020 spec script deals by genre. Today, we break down the numbers per major studios, mini-majors, subsidiaries, production companies, and financiers to see which were the most and least active in the script acquisition market. The totals:
5
Paramount Pictures
3
Lionsgate
2
Legendary Pictures
Netflix
New Line
1
Amazon
Artists Film Group
Dark Hell
Hulu
LBI Entertainment
Monarch Media
Screen Gems
Sony Pictures Entertainment
TriStar Pictures
Village Roadshow Pictures
Warner Bros.
Look at these numbers from the years 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020 per each major studio:
Disney 5 / 1 / 2 / 1 / 2 / 0 / 2 / 3 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0
Paramount 1 / 5 / 4 / 4 / 12 / 3 / 2 / 1 / 4 / 3 / 5 / 2 / 5
Sony 8 / 4 / 1 / 7 / 9 / 3 / 10 / 2 / 2 / 4 / 5 / 5 / 1
Universal 6 / 6 / 1 / 6 / 9 / 6 / 4 / 6 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 0
Warner Bros. 8 / 8 / 8 / 15 / 7 / 4 / 2 / 4 / 0 / 2 / 2 / 0 / 1
Thank God for Paramount! They acquired five projects: Murder In The White House, The Aliens Are Stealing Our Weed, 2084, Flight, The Blue Afternoon That Lasted Forever. That represents 20% of all spec script deals in 2020. Several of them were big ticket acquisitions with Paramount topping multiple bidders. Two Science Fiction, two Thriller, one Comedy.
It makes sense. Disney whose development slate is filled with projects from Pixar, Star Wars, and Marvel, all of which the company owns, doesn’t need to traffic in spec scripts. Five years running with zero acquisitions. Paramount, however, has the Transformers franchise and not much else. Their approach feels almost like a throwback to the old days where studios acquired a range of projects to fill out an array of genre ‘buckets.’
Meanwhile, Netflix, Amazon, and Hulu keep testing the spec waters. Indeed, Netflix has already acquired a spec script in 2021 (Void). And lo and behold, a ghost of 20th Century Fox has emerged in the form of Searchlight Pictures which has also picked up a spec this year (The Hound). They are, of course, owned by Disney, but perhaps this is a good sign that shingle will continue to exist and maybe even bring some heat to the spec market.
Now that all of the agencies have come to agreements with the WGA and writers rekindle those professional relationships, maybe that will contribute to more deal-making. Will Paramount continue to be an active player? What about the streaming services? Will their interest in specs grow?
Here’s something which may be of interest. I started tracking spec script deals all the way back in 1991. That year, there were 28 confirmed spec deals. This year: 25. It’s as if over a thirty-year period, Hollywood has gone full circle. Will it follow this trajectory?
1992: 40
1993: 89
1994: 101
For the screenwriting community, we can only hope!
Tomorrow: Agents and managers.