For many, 2024 feels slow and stagnant, with countless doom and gloom headlines wondering if this is the “end” for the entertainment industry. It’s important to remember that like any other industry, this industry has periods of contraction and expansion, and it’s constantly evolving, but people always need entertainment (especially when they’re feeling “down”).
But for those who think studios and production companies aren’t interested in making new stuff, a flurry of major spec script sales in just one month may prove the naysayers wrong.
From late October to November, five spec script sales events were held to attract the attention of writers and buyers. Towards the end of the year, you don’t typically see a lot of big movie deals because a lot of the top executives go on vacation.
But if these sales are any indication, 2025 may already be on the upswing for writers. Here’s what we can learn from the recent sales…
what do they buy
The first thing to do is look at what people are buying, so let’s get started:
- Make an alliance Natan Dotan was snapped up. This means that scripts are sent to a handful of companies (rather than sent to the entire town in hopes of sparking a bidding war). Season 5 and Makeready struck a deal before the script was taken to larger markets, where they would likely have to spend more to lock it down. Season 5 purchased the script for $1.25 million, or $3 million if/when the movie was produced. Season Five is known for low-budget/indie projects, but this project aims to expand on the types of projects the brand will be known for in the future. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the script tells the story of a board member at a booming artificial intelligence company who contends with corporate politics and twisted incentives as he tries to prevent his colleagues’ willful ignorance from causing global catastrophe. struggle.
- Searchlight Pictures arrested Clean and tidy Produced by Ryan Brennan and produced by Scott Free. When a fiercely independent pool hustler finally meets her match, another pool shark, their irresistible yet destructive attraction leads to fatal consequences from which she can’t escape. This is Brennan’s first major dedicated auction.
- original action specs test drive The film directed by Matt Venne has arrived at 20th Century Studios in partnership with Safehouse Pictures. According to Deadline , Wien’s screenplay fetched seven figures and earned him six figures. Weiner is not a new writer, having worked on Showtime TV shows Dexter Spin-off and sale of his series before cruel summer to Legendary TV. He also set these functions before black box Entertainment at Dark Castle and dark star In sugar 23.
- Lionsgate locks rights to action comedy three killers and a baby Authors: Dave Matalon and Matt Altman. There’s no published synopsis, but I’m sure you can guess what it’s about from the title. 87North is producing. Matalon previously worked Total killer Working for Blumhouse and Amazon, Altman sells a female-driven action drama red widow STX engages in bidding war.
- Amazon wins bidding war love of your life Author: Julia Cox (who wrote the critically acclaimed New York AD) approximately US$2 million. Ryan Gosling joins the production via general admission admission along with Jessie Henderson. The script follows a young woman who loses her young husband and follows her on a journey to get back on her feet and find a reason to keep going, similar to eat pray for love.
“Eat, Pray Love” (2010)
3 lessons learned from selling on these specs
So what trends are we seeing in all these scripts?
1. Idea is king
All of these scripts have strong concepts so they will stand out even if you haven’t read the scripts. For some of them you don’t even need the log line, like Three killers and a baby. You know what that story is, the tone, general characters, setting, etc.
in the case of love your lifeit doesn’t necessarily have a big scenario or conceptually clear structure, you can still refer to successful “comps” e.g. eat pray loveexciting studios and big-name actors.
for Make an allianceThrillers are usually very strong concepts, but when you combine that with the currently hotly debated themes of artificial intelligence and “global catastrophes,” it gives people a sense of urgency to see the movie as early as possible.
When a script goes to a producer, they usually don’t have much time to read it and make an offer before their competitors. Therefore, the stronger and more marketable a concept is, the better.
Read more: Does your film concept have a ‘weird appeal’?
2. Relationship-locked sales
When we talk about “relationships,” we are talking in scripts through the important players in the speculative market.
To put it simply, when a rep has a script they want to “bring to town,” they reach out to a contact who has a deal or a strong relationship with a specific studio. Producers can also give spec scripts to other producers with studio deals, or directly to the studio if they have a relationship.
That’s why you’ll see producers and studios listed on all of these deals, or in the following cases, financiers: Make an alliance.
Now back to the relationships within these scripts. If the concept is what draws people to the script, then the relationships in the script are what locks in their interest.
Clean and tidy is a clear hand, Make an alliance is a time sensitive thriller margin call The cast is small; three killers and a baby Centered around three killers and a baby, among other things. The heart of any story, no matter how “loud” the concept, is its characters’ relationships and arcs. You don’t want to win over senior executives just by flashing your skills.
3.International action movies
A hot topic over the past year has been the withdrawal of film production from the United States. This is because of cost, but also because the audience is international. Subtitles don’t hinder viewers as much as one once thought. So when companies are thinking about projects, they think about where they can film them and how they can be viewed by the most people.
Typically, the genres that perform best internationally are action and thrillers. Comedy can be trickier because humor tends to be more suited to a certain niche, but action comedy can cross borders more easily.
That’s why three of the five specs we saw on sale were either action movies or thrillers (Aligned, three killers and a baby, and test drive). But even Clean and tidy Has a thriller/crime element as it is about a pool hustle if love your life similar eat pray lovethen it may include a range of desirable international locations.
Read more: ‘Speed’ screenwriter Graham Yost talks about the beauty of ‘containment and persistence’ action scripts
Our key takeaways from these spec sales
So what does this mean for you? First and foremost, it means there is money to spend, and industry may finally come out of hibernation to spend it.
2. Author Make an alliance There was a great entertainment connection and they worked very hard on a script to make sure it was ready and had a very strong concept. If you haven’t “broken into the industry” yet, don’t beat yourself up or worry that it’s impossible. Make sure your script is tight, has a strong concept, and that you’re making your connections when you’re ready.
While you shouldn’t write to chase trends, it’s clear that action and thrillers often still perform well. While they’re not part of this round of sales, there’s still a large audience for horror scripts (the genre is consistent in terms of day-to-day performances), and the comedy market has been growing with the return of rom-coms and comedies over the past few years. The erotic thriller on the rise. A well-written script will always find an audience.
As you approach the new year, look at it with clear eyes and hope that the industry might not be the same as before, but these spec sales suggest it won’t be any different.
Learn more: 101 Action-packed Story Prompts
