Absolutely MASSIVE news…

AMC just launched Leawood Films, an indie distribution label for movies that are fully financed or already completed by their filmmakers, and the key detail is that filmmakers keep their IP and downstream revenue. That is the thing independents have never been able to buy: placement in front of people who already go there, without surrendering ownership to get it.

The hardest problem in independent anything is not visibility for its own sake. It’s getting your work into the places people already go, in a financially viable way. That’s why creators sell their rights off. They’re not buying a studio, they’re buying distribution, and they overpay for it with ownership. We solved the same problem in publishing through our Hachette deal, because Barnes and Noble, Target, Walmart and the international market do not open to you directly no matter how good your book is.

Caveats included: no titles until 2027 or 2028, AMC carries about $4 billion in debt, and they tried this once before with Open Road Films.