*For more than a century, Hollywood studios perpetuated a myth that movies with all-black casts wouldn’t perform well financially.
“We were literally told that having even two black people on screen wouldn’t sell,” confirms Edward Sylvan, CEO of Sycamore Entertainment Group, a black-owned, publicly traded film distribution company. “With its all-black cast, ‘Black Panther’ blew away every single myth about black Hollywood.” Sylvan predicts that filmmakers and investors will continue to see huge profits from black films.
He points out that minorities make up the largest percentage of movie attendees.
“For years, I’ve said that if African Americans were not only in front of the camera but behind the camera making stories about people who look like us, the market would be receptive,” says Sylvan. “Black Panther has set the stage to blow the marketability of black films through the roof.”
In addition to Black Panther, which made $192 million domestically and $169 million internationally upon its release, Sylvan says Academy Award Best Picture Moonlight and Academy Award-winning Get Out are among the films changing Hollywood’s acceptance of black films.
“Girls Trip, with its all-female black cast, broke box office records. Hidden Figures showed the contribution of black ingenuity and perseverance in American history.”
Blacks comprise about 24 percent of the U.S. population, and their buying power is estimated to be in the trillions.
“The number-one thing African Americans spend their money on is entertainment,” says Sylvan. “There are also three times more African Americans using social media than any other ethnic group. So, when they embrace a film, they have the power to make it a box office hit. That’s good news for investors looking to grow their money.”
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Why black films are so lucrative
Sylvan says that black films are better investment options than non-black films.
“Dollar for dollar, films about African American teens, made by African American filmmakers, outperform movies about their white counterparts.”
To understand why, he explains that you need to know the understory.
“The black population in America has so few opportunities to see themselves on the big screen that whenever a movie comes out where the lead actors look like them, they support the movie in droves. Then, the movies cross over into other audiences which continues their box office appeal.”
Black films also outperform other films financially because most of them are made with small budgets.
“There are no explosions. There’s no CGI. These are primarily movies driven by dialog and character interaction, which aren’t expensive to make.”
Sycamore Entertainment occupies a unique position because it distributes and markets films from an ethnic perspective.
“There are not a lot of companies finding these untold stories and bringing them to the market in a profitable way,” explains Sylvan, whose latest project is a film called Scouts, about all-black Boy Scout troop 242.
These movies are causing Hollywood to question the status quo
Audiences are drawn to today’s current line-up of black films because of their positive messaging. “For years, the studios ignored the cries of the black Hollywood community. They have a long history of portraying blacks only as criminals. That’s not who we are as a people. Now, we’re seeing more positive films about us and our accomplishments. Moonlight is about father/son bonding. Scouts will have a positive message. Audiences are seeing: This story is just like my story regardless of skin color. No race has a moratorium on family love.”
Still, Sylvan is consistently asked these questions about the black film industry:
- Will black films’ themes translate to non-black audiences? “Yes! A universal story is a universal story.”
- Will the industry now back big-budget movies with all-black casts? “Clearly, this is where we need to go, where we are going and where some of the greatest returns on investment will be.”
- Can black movies win awards? “Moonlight, a movie about a father’s love for his child, won Best Picture. Get Out won the Academy Award this year for best original screen play.”
- Can you show black romance on screen? “Yes! We are all people.”
He adds, “There are tons of high-quality movies that now have the opportunity to be shown on the big screen and pull in high dollars.”
“We told you so!”
Sylvan laments that the studies have said for years that you can’t make a movie with a black lead because no one will buy it.
“We have fought back against this idea. Now the studios have had this epiphany that black movies matter. What can I say, except we told you so!”
The power of films to support social change is also important to Sylvan.
“These films can create a healing among races. By focusing on stories of inclusion and equality, we are creating a level of acceptance we’ve never seen before.”
Sylvan predicts that in the future, we’ll see more movies that have diversified casts which will translate into strong monetary success.
“The Fast and the Furious cast, for example, includes every race and sexual orientation. That’s the real world we’re living in today. We’ll see more inclusion … more stories about other cultures and races so that everyone can take something from the movie. We’ll see the pendulum swing closer to the middle, where it needs to be.”
To learn more about Sycamore Entertainment Group, visit www.sycamoreentertainment.com.
Biography: Edward Sylvan
Edward Sylvan, CEO of Sycamore Entertainment is a 30-year veteran of the financial markets working as both a retail stockbroker and trader for Scotia Mcleod and Marathon Securities. Ed has also served as management to several startup technology and mining companies providing his expertise in corporate structure, strategic partnerships, acquisitions and finance as well as assisting in becoming publicly traded companies. Ed demonstrates great leadership in being on the forefront of new innovations in the investment industry and applying them to the current business environments. Over the last 10 years, Ed has used his financial network to develop strong relationships within the film industry with a focus on marketing and distribution of independent films. He is currently applying the latest developments in Blockchain technology to the film distribution business.
source:
Tsering Yangchen
Publicist
Media Relations, Inc.
[email protected]
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