Yesterday we looked at 2014 spec script deals by genre. Today we break down the numbers per major studios, mini-majors, subsidiaries, production companies, and financiers to see which were the most and least active in the script acquisition market. The totals:

10

Sony

8

20th Century Fox

4

Universal

3

New Line

2

Disney

Lionsgate

Paramount

Screen Gems

Warner Bros.

1

26 Films

Addicted Pictures

Amazon Studios

Audax Film

Benaroya Pictures

Centropolis

Cheyenne Enterprises

Chickie the Cop Productions

Emmett/Furla Films

Envision Media Art

Focus Features

FilmNation

FlickBag

Leff Entertainment

Linsefilm

Nu Image

Pantelion Films

QED

Radar Pictures

Relativity Media

Route One Films

The Solution

Turtle Bag Productions

Vandal Entertainment

Vegas, Baby Productions

Voltage Pictures

The Weinstein Company

Wonderland Sound and Vision

Look at these numbers from the years 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, and 2014 per each major studio:

Disney 5 / 1 / 2 / 1 / 2 / 0 / 2

DreamWorks 6 / 4 / 1 / 2 / 1 / 0 / 0

Paramount 1 / 5 / 4 / 4 / 12 / 3 / 2

Sony Pictures 8 / 4 / 1 / 7 / 9 / 3 / 10

Twentieth Century Fox 5 / 3 / 1 / 7 / 3 / 3 / 8

Universal 6 / 6 / 1 / 6 / 9 / 6 / 4

Warner Bros. 8 / 8 / 8 / 15 / 7 / 4 / 2

Two notable jumps in spec script activity among the major studios: Sony Pictures and Twentieth Century Fox. To be expected as both had significant regime changes, so the new people in charge typically make a splash by acquiring spec material, both to make a mark on the company’s development slate and to announce to reps, “We’re buying, bring us your A material.”

Last year, the major studios were involved in 28 spec script deals. If we combine that total with those of Lionsgate, New Line and Screen Gems, we end up with 35 out of 62 deals. That represents a whopping 56% of all acquisitions which is more than double what the percentage was in 2013 (23%) and the highest percentage on record since I started the blog in 2008.

What does this mean? Since studio deals tend to be straight acquisitions, the dollars involved can be more than transactions with non-major studios. Moreover the chances of a competitive bidding scenario increase when the major studios are active in the spec market. Indeed there were several big spec script sales in 2014 which we will detail on Friday.

Conclusion: Even though spec script deals were down in 2014, the heightened activity of major studios represented a bright spot in the spec marketplace.

Here is a breakdown of acquisitions by genre at major, mini-major studios and subsidiaries:

Sony

Captain Nemo — Action Adventure

Eternal — Action Fantasy

I’m In Love With The DJ — Comedy

In The Deep — Drama Thriller

Leviathan — Science Fiction

Ricki and the Flash — Dramedy

Shadow Run — Action Thriller

The Bringing — Horror

The Eden Project — Science Fiction

Winter’s Night — Adventure Fantasy

20th Century Fox

A Better Place — Thriller

Boston Strong — Drama

The Long Run — Action Comedy

Low Tide — Thriller

The Forger — Spy Thriller

Understand — Science Fiction

Vacation Friends — Comedy

Universal

Berliner — Action Spy Thriller

Mena — Crime Drama

Terminal Point — Drama

Work It — Comedy

New Line

North of Reno — Crime Thriller

Partners — Action Comedy

Road to Oz — Drama

Warner Bros.

The Garden at the End of the Earth — Science Fiction Thriller

Untitled Arabian Nights Project — Fantasy Adventure

Paramount

ARES — Action Adventure Science Fiction

Matriarch — Thriller

Disney

In the Land of Imagined Things — Fantasy

Nottingham & Hood — Fantasy Adventure

Screen Gems

Padre — Drama

Scarecrow — Horror Thriller

Lionsgate

Terrestrial — Science Fiction

The Three Tenors — Comedy

The Weinstein Company

Plus One — Romantic Comedy

Relativity Media

Untitled Joe Gazzam Project — Science Fiction

Focus Features

Untitled Amy Welsh Project

Amazon Studios

The Wall — Drama Thriller

FilmNation

Aether — Science Fiction Thriller

QED

Yellowstone Falls — Action Drama

Wonderland Sound and Vision

The Babysitter — Horror

What do you take away from this information?

Tomorrow: Agents and managers.

Thanks to Wendy Jane Cohen for her help with this year’s spec script deals market analysis!



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