*From writer/director David E. Talbert and producer Will Packer, the family holiday comedy “Almost Christmas” is on its way to a domestic take of over $40 million off a production budget of $17M. The film is Packer’s second holiday movie after 2007’s “This Christmas” which earned a combined domestic box office and DVD sales of $73.5M from a $13M budget.
Packer certainly has discovered the secret to Hollywood success, and part of it is finding the right balance and working the right resources — including social media.
“I don’t go into a project looking at it solely from a budgetary standpoint. I think you have to be [budget conscientious] as a filmmaker,” he said. “If you’re not making a Marvel tentpole where the budget of the movie is inconsequential because it’s a billion dollars global (gross), I think you have to be responsible and really conscientious about your margins.”
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He also wants budding filmmakers to note that being cost-effective doesn’t mean you can’t tell the stories you want to, and be a success.
“Spend what you have to spend. These aren’t $5M dollar movies but they don’t have to be $50M movies either,” he said. “The overriding factor for me when it comes to getting involved with a project is the theme, how execution-dependent it is, how castable it is, who the audience for the film is. Once you got a project with all those things that you’re passionate about, then you go back and look at ‘what do we think we can make that film for?’ And if that makes sense based on the profit potential, you do it.”
Deadline reports that one of the biggest social media generators for the film were 14 YouTube videos of the “Almost Christmas” cast on “Family Feud.”
“I always try to make sure that my cast is truly invested in the success of the film so that they are willing to go out and go above and beyond just standard press appearance,” Packer told Deadline. As with all his films, utilizing social media and making public appearances–is Packer’s go-to approach, and an effective business strategy.
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