For decades, independent cinema was financed by a delicate but functional ecosystem: international pre-sales and minimum guarantees (MGs). Sales agents would take a package — script, director and cast — to markets like Cannes or the AFM, and distributors would commit real money upfront. That capital was the engine that allowed thousands of independent films to be made every year. Today, that system has all but collapsed. And unless you attach an A-list star — a near-impossibl

Streaming giants like Netflix, Apple TV+ and Amazon Prime Video have been pouring astronomical sums of money into single blockbuster-style films for their platforms. Movies like Netflix’s The Electric State ($320M), Heart of Stone ($200M) and Apple’s Wolves ($200M) raise an important question: why are these companies willing to invest such immense budgets into standalone films when they could be making five to ten times as many mid-budget films ($5M–$50M) with better story