Low Sales. No Standouts. Slow Sundance. Where Does Independent Film Go From Here? – TheWrap

The weakness of independent film has a knock-on effect – and not a good one – on the entire entertainment ecosystemPARK CITY – On Sunday, a group of smart, experienced and passionate film lovers gathered at the Sundance Film Festival to confront an issue that has become overwhelmingly obvious: Independent film does not currently have a viable business model. The producers, financiers, current and former studio chiefs who came together for an off-the-record conversation about solutions to the current crisis agreed on the stakes at hand. There are filmmakers who passionately want to make films. There are sources of financing to get them made (notably wealthy folks). But there is no longer a robust distribution system either of studios or streamers and their downstream partners like home entertainment that are hungry for the kind of offbeat, seat-of-the-pants, high-stakes storytelling that drives the creative energy of the entire entertainment business.

Source: https://www.thewrap.com/state-of-independent-film-sundance-2025/