As Hollywood Faces Worst Summer in 8 Years, Dynamic New Film HOLY GHOST Poised to Disrupt Entertainment Industry Business Model
Driven by unprecedented consumer demand -- the #1 most funded faith-based film in Kickstarter history leapfrogs movie theaters and traditional retailers with futuristic direct-to-audience strategy
CHICAGO, August 18, 2014 /
Christian Newswire/ -- Wanderlust Productions – the independent film studio behind the cult hit trilogy FINGER OF GOD, FURIOUS LOVE and FATHER OF LIGHTS – is poised to disrupt the entertainment industry's long-established business model on September 6th with the 48-hour world premiere of its dynamic documentary film,
HOLY GHOST. Fueled by more than 2,500 consumer-investors who surged to support Director Darren Wilson's
Kickstarter campaign, which raised a record-breaking $360,000 in just 45 days, the film's producers are deploying a futuristic, direct-to-audience strategy that will fundamentally change the way movies are consumed.
"HOLY GHOST is a film that breaks all kinds of barriers. We shot it with no script and no plan; we just showed up and allowed ourselves to be led on an adventure. Our distribution model is equally unique," said Darren Wilson, director of HOLY GHOST. "We put our audience – the fans – in the driver's seat. They are the investors, marketers, promoters, distributors and the consumers in this new model. Technology has changed the way people are able to consume entertainment products, and with HOLY GHOST we are setting out to prove that the future is already here."
HOLY GHOST is the #1 most- funded, faith-based film in Kickstarter history, and #11 for all films funded on Kickstarter.
Rather than pursuing a traditional theatrical or direct-to-home entertainment release, Wanderlust Productions is staging a one-time, world premiere event on September 6th during which fans from all over the world will have the opportunity to view
HOLY GHOST directly on any digital device, free of charge. The film's producers – banking on a rapidly surging social media campaign (in which 2.4 million have already seen the trailer) and a dedicated fan base from their first three film offerings – believe that the one-time, global event will attract viewers from all over the world and drive future VOD, DVD and Blu-ray purchases.
Wanderlust already has preliminary data to support its innovative distribution model. Last week, the company partnered with the direct-to-fan, high quality video platform VHX to offer an exclusive pre-screening of the film. Despite the fact the film will be offered for free in just a month's time, tens of thousands of fans signed up and paid $5 to see it early. And of those who viewed the pre-screening, a significant number did so multiple times.
Metrics Demonstrate Viability of New Model
· Nearly half the people who watched the exclusive pre-release of HOLY GHOST saw it on mobile devices, and just 55% of purchases were in the United States.
· 400 churches are already signed up to show the film on the upcoming U.S. Premiere Tour immediately following the September 6th World Premiere event.
· Fueled by popular demand from Tugg -- a website that empowers consumers to bring a film to their local theatre -- 40 theaters are already signed up to show HOLY GHOST and many more are expected.
Polling Indicates HOLY GHOST will succeed
A recent,
widely publicized Christian News Service survey by American Insights for the upcoming historical thriller film NICAEA indicates a strong interest in "films that explore questions about God." This survey was conducted May 1-8, 2014 on a randomly selected, representative nationwide sample of 1,200 adults. It was conducted via landline (50%), cell phone (20%) and online panel (30%). The margin of error is +/- 2.8%.
· 80% of Faith Driven Consumers are likely to see a movie that explores questions about God. 43% are very likely to see such a movie
· 68% of Faith Driven Consumers at least occasionally see movies that explore questions about God. 22% frequently see such movies
· 49% of Faith Driven Consumers would go to movies more often if there were more movies that explored questions about God
· 65% of Faith Driven Consumers would invite a non-Christian friend to see a movie that explores questions about God
About Wanderlust Productions Wanderlust Productions was founded by Darren Wilson in 2006 when he began work on what would become his first feature length film, FINGER OF GOD. The company currently concentrates on creating feature films that are both creatively exciting and spiritually engaging.
