The Popcorn List launched in 2024 as a visibility initiative in hopes of bringing more film industry visibility to independent feature films that had successfully played the film festival circuit and were still without traditional distribution.

It lives as an annual survey of acclaimed feature films recommended by film festival programmers across North America, and strives to:

• amplify independent films that deserve wider release,
• inform the greater film community about practical operational fixes to the current distribution system,
• highlight the discovery nature of film curation, and
• cultivate community and capacity building for new and established filmmakers.

Since 2024, the List has shone a spotlight on 70 films. See Appendix for more details on how the films make the final cut.

The 2025 List:

The 2025 List was compiled based on the recommendations of 30 U.S. film festival programmers. The List, featuring 19 eligible films, was published on our own socials, Substack, and website, as well as with partner outlets IndieWire, Hope For Film, and Letterboxd, on April 23, 2025. The List included:

• 6 Documentaries & 14 Narrative Features
• 13 first time feature film Directors
• 11 Female Directors

By the time of the announcement, we were deep into planning for the Pop Up Series.

Inspired by the many opportunities that exist within the distribution space, we set out to take the 2025 List from the page to the screen with the inaugural Pop Up Series. This audience-facing Series would take TPL from a solely industry-driven initiative and broaden our horizons for supporting filmmakers as they pursue wide distribution.

Our primary goals for the 2025 Pop Up Series were to:

• Experiment with a collaborative non-theatrical distribution model
• Facilitate access for theaters to festival darlings before their wide release
• Cultivate audiences for TPL films fueled by the discovery nature of film curation
• Create capacity-building and networking opportunities for filmmakers
• Serve as a springboard for wider distribution opportunities for TPL films

A Hybrid Structure

Starting out as a scrappy initiative with no funding, we knew the beta must be contained to ensure we could see the experiment through to completion. As we ideated the ideal structure, we opted to pursue a hybrid model, featuring both in-theater and virtual screenings. Ultimately, eight of TPL’s 2025 recommended films trusted us to help bring their films to audiences.

In keeping with our ethos to support films’ overall distribution plan and subsequent windows, we designed the Pop Up Series so as to not interfere with what distributors refer to as “cannibalizing audiences,” or to scare off potential buyers by being too broad or even referring to it as “theatrical.”

In Theaters: 10 cities, 3 Films, 1 Month Only

Selecting three films for the theatrical portion of the Series felt manageable, so we packaged the in-person Series with three films by first time female feature directors, representing a mix of documentary and narrative and an interesting spectrum of points of view and life experience.

Ten arthouse theaters around the country took the leap and joined us in the inaugural Series, agreeing to play all three films as “one-night-only sneak previews” throughout the month of September – but with complete flexibility on their end as to scheduling – since they know their audiences best.

Virtual Screenings: Nationwide on Eventive, 6 days Only

We invited all remaining films from the 2025 List who had expressed interest in participating in the Series. Five films opted in to play virtually for six days at the end of September geo-blocked to the U.S.

Hosted by Eventive, the virtual element allowed us to expand the invitation not only to more filmmakers, but also to more audiences who may not be able to come to a theatrical screening because of geography, childcare, access, or any number of other reasons.

TPL’s ethos lies in the fundamental idea that there is power in the collective. We harnessed this notion as we continued to design a collaborative approach to revenue share and marketing.

Filmmaker Solidarity Pool & Rev Share Structure

We built the economics based on a rev-share structure of box office receipts (both for in-theater & virtual screenings). It allowed us to proceed without funds up front to pay licensing fees, while being as fair as possible to exhibitors, filmmakers, and ideally, ourselves as well. The message was clear: we are all in this together.

The payout structure included a Filmmaker Solidarity Pool:15% of every ticket sold went into a pool which was split evenly among teams at the Series’ conclusion. We hypothesized this would incentivize film teams to support and promote each other’s films, ensure that every film would receive some sort of payout regardless of individual box office, and reflect the collaborative nature of the Series.

In-Theater: The terms were 50/50 with the theaters, making us partners with an equal financial stake in this endeavor. The full economic split was:

• 50% to theater
• 25% to film team
• 15% to a Filmmaker Solidarity Pool (to be split equally among the teams)
• 10% to admin & overhead

Virtual: Because the exhibitor share was lower for the virtual Series, we were able to allocate a higher percentage to the individual films and design this split:

• 35% to platform
• 40% to film team
• 15% to a Filmmaker Solidarity Pool (to be split equally among the teams)
• 10% to admin & overhead

Marketing Collective

Independent filmmakers don’t have surplus money, but they do have social capital, so we conceived a collective social media marketing campaign in which the film teams would promote not only their own films but also each other’s films and the Series as a whole, creating crossover among existing followers and leveraging their social media to the collective’s benefit. The more tickets sold, the more each film team could:

• Retain a percentage of their own ticket sales
• Add to the overall value of the Filmmaker Solidarity Pool
• Be on the ground floor of building a new approach to marketing
• Form long-term relationships amongst each other & with key industry partners

Assets:

Working with marketing & social media agency Product of Culture, we created a Social Media Toolkit to be used by filmmakers, partners and theaters and a Series Trailer (in both horizontal and vertical formats) which IndieWire debuted. We created myriad promo codes to track ticket sales. All of our social media graphics were created internally in Canva and we ordered TPL stickers to be shipped directly to the theaters. Each theater was offered an additional stipend to collect videos and images.

Campaign:

We began our marketing campaign in earnest on August 15th. Each film team was asked to share two posts that promoted all of the films/Series; and each team was guaranteed 3-4 unique posts. We collaborated on as many posts as possible with filmmakers, programmers, festivals, partners and theaters, and the team at Product of Culture cross-posted our content to Facebook and TikTok. In total, the campaign included 110 unique Instagram posts over the course of about 6 weeks. All in, we spent $4,500 on social media marketing (exclusively on Meta platforms).

Some filmmakers noted that the comms, posting schedule, and collab posts were overwhelming at times – a longer lead time for prep would allow us to streamline that process for ourselves and for participating filmmakers.

For Filmmakers

Throughout the course of the year, we aimed to create community and opportunity for TPL filmmakers. We hosted group Zooms for networking, introductions to field experts and informational calls throughout the Series. Filmmakers got a peek behind the curtains, in real time, at what it’s like to organize a Series, received social media education from Product of Culture, and learned from each others’ strategies, successes, and failures.

Highlighting the Role of the Curator

With no travel budget we pre-recorded short intros for every film with the film’s Director and the Programmer who recommended the film to TPL. This allowed audiences to connect with the storyteller and the curator who championed it – setting up TPL films with context and offering a human face in today’s disconnected world. It was important for the Series identity for audiences to have a better understanding of how and why they were watching these films.

Screenshots from the pre-recorded intros

Key Partners Stepped In

As it garnered more visibility, in-kind partners and donors came aboard to support the Series and our own capacity. Thanks to our fantastic partners, who made the Series happen in record time and who trusted us to try something new, together.

Hope for Film/Ted Hope

Ted Hope’s and his Hope for Film Substack have been partners since the first iteration of The Popcorn List in 2024. He offered the Series additional visibility and offered to match $5,000 in donations.

Eventive

Eventive came on as an in-kind partner to host the virtual portion of the Series. They also participated in the cooperative marketing campaign, doing a matching ad spend on socials, and showcased The Pop Up Series as a featured channel on their homepage for all of September.

Facet

In June, Maida Lynn and her philanthropic Facet LTD swooped in with a donation of $25,000, which gave us the ability to do paid ad spends on social media, hire extra muscle to implement our social posting calendar, cut a Series trailer, print stickers, compensate ourselves, and more.

Product of Culture

Product of Culture came on early as in-kind partners, designing our collaborative social strategy, implementing a robust calendar of posts throughout the month and beyond, and providing comprehensive analytics and follow up.

Roseade Wine Spritzer

Our very first brand partner, Roseade collaborated with us at Vidiots to offer a special combo price for spritzer and popcorn for anybody attending the LA screenings.

Simple DCP

Simple DCP came on as an in-kind partner to help us author DCPs for the filmmaker intros and the trailer to package each film’s deliverables into a neat, one-click download for theaters.

The Series was just a twinkle in our eye on February 9, 2025 and was in the bag by September 30. In order to analyze our success we collected the following:

• Filmmaker surveys: 7/8 film teams responded
• Theater surveys: 9/10 theaters responded
• Audience surveys: 69 respondents from across 9 cities and nationwide virtual
• Social media metrics: Product of Culture synthesized Meta metrics
• Box Office Receipts: From all theaters and Eventive

This year served as a beta; thus our metrics of success focused on participant satisfaction versus financial return. Note: with 7 film teams, 9 theaters, and 69 viewers responding, we don’t have the data to support a full statistical analysis. However, the anecdotal evidence included below is still valuable for us as we revise the Series for 2026, and informative for the field at large.

Overall, the general feedback we got from filmmakers, theaters, and audiences as to their experiences with this new model was very positive.

Goal #1: Experiment with a collaborative, ‘non-theatrical’ distribution model

Regarding the collaborative model, 100% of filmmakers agreed that the Filmmaker Solidarity Pool “was an asset”, though the question “collaborating with other filmmakers was to build audiences and support for each other’s films was useful” received mixed reviews, with 3 responding “Strongly Agree,” 3 responding “Somewhat Agree,” and one responding “Disagree.”

From our filmmaker survey, all responding films indicated that they would recommend participating in the TPL Series to fellow filmmakers, and their satisfaction scores averaged 8.14/10. What are the top things they took away from this experience?
“Understanding that marketing assets are very important.”

• “Understanding local press and outreach/community are necessary.”
• “We could directly see that you get what you put into it!”
• “I thought this was really interesting to include a solidarity pool and I thought it helped share the love amongst everyone.”

A major metric that is not to be overlooked is that the Series worked: the filmmakers trusted us with their projects, the theaters and Eventive came on board to exhibit the films, and the audiences showed up.

Goal #2: Facilitate access for theaters to festival darlings before their wide release

One of the Pop Up Series’ main goals was to help exhibitors access these films, and to support these films with a marketing push. 88% of theaters said that the level of marketing support they received from TPL was “Greater Than” the “amount of support they typically receive from small distributors or individual filmmakers.”

100% of responding theaters said they would be interested in participating in the Series again and expressed a general sentiment that the Pop Up Series is very mission-aligned for them. Open-ended feedback included the following notes:

• “We feel it is important and worthwhile to support independent filmmakers and give them an avenue in which to show their art.”
• “The Popcorn List Pop Up Series was exactly the breath of fresh air we needed as a small non-profit arthouse theater in the Midwest. You can tell they (TPL organizers) care as much about finding creative solutions to the problem of independent movie theaters and IRL audience attrition as they do about uplifting great films & filmmakers.”

Anecdotal feedback also indicates that not only was this goal clearly communicated, it was successfully achieved:

• “TPL lets us bring the films that matter—those the world hasn’t seen yet—directly to our audience, expanding the path from filmmaker to viewer. We look forward to bringing it back next year!”
• “TPL is a brilliant idea to spotlight overlooked gems on the festival circuit, particularly in a time of uncertainty in theatrical distribution.”
• “We loved hosting! There are so many amazing films that don’t get picked up post festival and this is a wonderful way to ensure that these important films don’t get lost in a void. We look forward to future events!”

From the filmmaker point of view, while the virtual had value, the ultimate goalpost remains big screen exhibition. In designing the Series, we did our best to create equal opportunities for all participating films, but we must acknowledge that just by the nature of a hybrid series, the three in-person films got outsized benefit compared to the virtual titles. This is a potential direction to develop the Series moving forward:

• “I never thought a theatrical release would be attainable for us before TPL.”
• “Access to the film from anywhere in the country was super beneficial!…[but] in person events are always appreciated. I think that’s the best way to support us.”
• “You could be of assistance by connecting us with a group of theaters that you have connections with so we could work alongside them to get screenings.”
• “I’m hoping that by getting on the list… it would be enough of a boost to convince theaters to program the film.”

Overall, a combination of in-person and hybrid access for films seems to be the best path forward to achieve the most opportunities for TPL films, reaching audiences that don’t have access to art house theaters, but still leaning into the traditional art house circuit and the importance of the communal viewing experience.

Goal #3: Cultivate audiences for TPL films fueled by the discovery nature of film curation

Audiences enjoyed the experience of the Pop Up Series, both in theater and virtually – and to a significant extent, they were motivated by the same metrics as the theaters:

• 46% attended the Series to support independent filmmakers
• 83% would attend another Pop Up Series screening

The majority of respondents fell into the 35-54 age range, skewed 71% female and regularly attend movies in the theater. Furthermore, the industry has long known that “word of mouth” generates the best ticket sales, and 34% of audience respondents said they learned about The Popcorn List from a friend. But even more importantly, when asked, 89% of respondents answered they were “highly likely to recommend TPL films to a friend.”

We were also excited to see the audience’s love for independent cinemas, who play a large role in the ecosystem and life span of an indie film:

• “(I attended) Because I still adore and prefer watching films on the screens they were intended to be conveyed on, and with an audience.”
• “Great theater, glad to know about it!”
• “The staff was so nice. I love supporting theatres like this one.”

A surprising result was to find that 41% of respondents said they had never been to that arthouse theater before – which shows us that we are successfully reaching new audiences not just for the films, but for the theaters as well.

And a note about virtual: Although virtual has lost some of its luster for filmmakers this far post-pandemic, audience feedback that suggests they still appreciate the access:

• “It was wonderful to access a new indie film. I live in a city with no art house cinema and my young kids keep me closer to home”
• “Excellent selection of interesting films. Streaming option was important.”

Anecdotal feedback from audiences indicates that the curation-forward messaging came across and was valuable to the attendees. When asked “why they would come back to a TPL screening” responses included:

• “To discover cinema gems and support filmmakers.”
• “Great to see a film different from mass releases.”
• “Good film selection.”
• “It was affordable, convenient, and I loved the Q&A with creators beforehand.”
• “It’s a really neat thing! I like supporting programmers doing their jobs and telling me what movie I should see! They’re usually correct!”
• “Because it’s cool to see a movie before it gets distribution and/or goes to VOD!”
• “It was an impactful and meaningful pick, i’d be interested to see other picks from the list!”

Social Media Metrics
Our social metrics told a similar story of broad reach not driven by paid ads or even necessarily by our own followers, but by organic discovery through collabs and cross-promotion. From the report generated by Product of Culture:

• Reach:
  • Total Accounts reached: 133,841
  • Total views: 568,526 (0.8% from ads)
  • Total interactions: 7,577 (48.8% from followers / 51.2% from non-followers)
  • Profile activity: 3,454 actions (+66.6%)
  • 3,137 profile visits (+62.7%)
  • 317 external link taps (+118.6%)

More than half of all engagements now come from non-followers, showing strong organic discovery and shareability.

• Engagement Sources:
  • Followers: 48.8%
  • Non-followers: 51.2%
  • Accounts reached: 133,841

High share and non-follower rates suggest content is traveling beyond the core audience.

Box Office:

While the Box Office for 2025 was relatively modest, it was within the range we anticipated for a first-time Series that is still building its brand. Box office results were:

• In-person: 773 Tickets sold, $7,712.61 box office gross
• Virtual: 291 Virtual views, $3,001.15 virtual gross
• Total hybrid: 1,064 audience members, $10,713.76 gross
• Of the top 3 grossing films, one was virtual

As part of our commitment to transparency, we did our best to update a live shared BOR Google Sheet, so that the film teams had visibility into sales in real time. We also received some donations through Eventive’s portal, which we opted to split with the filmmakers.

Ticket sales were correlated directly to the level of social media engagement on each film team’s side and their consistent outreach on socials drove significant ticket sales leading up to and during the virtual window. The most successful in-person screenings had filmmakers in attendance, or were eventized (e.g. The State Theatre offered a catered Vietnamese dinner to compliment NEW WAVE). The 3 sold-out screenings at Vidiots microcinema took place all in one day, allowing us to concentrate promotional efforts to a small window of time, create urgency around the scarcity of tickets, and draw audiences with a filmmaker Q&A–making this “mini-fest” a Series highlight.

Goal #4: Create capacity-building and networking opportunities for new and established filmmakers

One of our top priorities in the inaugural Series was filmmaker solidarity, both financially and in practice. We wanted the teams to feel like a cohort, to support each other (on socials and off), and to feel like they all had an equal stake in the Series.

Throughout the course of the Series, when the filmmakers came together (in-person and online) a lot of great energy, inspiration, commiseration, and innovative ideas were born. The film teams told us that it was encouraging to hear that other filmmakers were going through the same struggles.

Filmmaker surveys showed us that all of the film teams are keen to be part of a TPL peer mentorship program and anecdotal feedback around community-building included that filmmakers gained:

• “A feeling of solidarity with other filmmakers without distribution.”
• “New connections in the industry.”
• “A sense of accomplishment.”
• “I’d be happy to connect with new audiences and other filmmakers however possible.”
• “What a wonderful way to be in community w/ some badass indie filmmakers white knuckling their way through this.”
• “Loved the camaraderie with our cohort. Wish there was a bit more!”

Connecting filmmakers in a cohort to discuss their journeys, their struggles, their questions – and also of course their successes and hopes and goals – was a breath of fresh air for everyone. Every film benefits when others succeed and vice versa. A rising tide lifts all boats. We make the tide together.

Goal #5: Serve as a springboard for wider distribution opportunities for TPL films

One of the primary goals of The List and the The Series is visibility for recommended films: visibility to audiences (we sold over 1,000 tickets and passes across the Series), social media presence (we had 568,000 views on our socials alone), and visibility within industry (IndieWire, Hope for Film, Filmmaker Magazine, etc.)

Many filmmakers reported having had conversations with distributors that were generated directly by their participation in the List and/or Series. We fielded some outreach from theaters interested in booking films outside the scope of the Series – we put them directly in touch with the film teams. One film even scored a two-week theatrical run in New Zealand. We’re tracking the film’s journeys as they continue to release wider into the world and are excited to see them making moves that are outside the conventional paths for independent films.

Anecdotal feedback from filmmakers does indicate that they learned something about distribution (in particular, self-distribution) from participating in the Series, and that they came away from the experience more empowered than when they went in. When asked “what does the term “not having distribution” mean to you at this moment?,” responses included:

• “Freedom.”
• “Opportunity.”
• “Control.”
• “Being a Punk Rock Muthfkr.”
• “The journey with this film isn’t over.”
• “We are letting go of a traditional distribution pathway. Our dreams have shifted organically and TPL has been a part of that journey.”
• “Made us more aware of other routes to get eyes on the project that don’t include aggregators or needing to take “the least crappy” deal.”
• “Being able to retain theatrical rights.”

As we move into the next iteration of the Series, we’re thinking about building our audience-facing brand, expanding opportunities for TPL films and fundraising for additive and supplemental elements. Some of the things we’re taking into consideration include:

• Expanding theatrical opportunities to more films and more cinemas.
• Hiring a publicist is always a gamble, but earned media is valuable.
• Lengthening promotional timeframe with a focused spend to & asset to build audience engagement.
• Offering travel support for filmmakers to attend screenings brings out audiences.
• Offering ‘Popcorn Stipends’ so theaters can provide free or discounted popcorn to audiences as part of our brand.
• Scheduling the Series to take advantage of theater’s more available months, and strategize the virtual window accordingly.
• Cultivating more collaborative opportunities to grow networking and capacity-building opportunities for and within the TPL Filmmaker cohorts.
• Expanding our budget. What would be ‘enough’ to execute this Series at the highest levels, checking all the boxes on this list? Our current estimate is over $150k per year.
• Being mindful of labor bandwidth: We’ll be more effective and intentional with how we spend our time and allocate resources.

For TPL, successful distribution means connecting films to audiences who would otherwise not find them; engaging in collaborative marketing and an incentivized financial model, introducing audiences to new filmmakers through the trust of known film curators; and building a community of networked filmmakers who uplift each other on their film’s distribution journey.

As the initiative and experiment grows into something bigger and better in 2026, we’re aware that we sit in the unique position of straddling lines, breaking boundaries, and participating in the discussion around redefining distribution. We know these parameters will continue to evolve with the times, and we want to keep The Popcorn List flexible, reactive and proactive to the industry’s ever-changing needs.

Stay tuned: The third edition of The Popcorn List drops January 5th, 2026.

Stay fresh, stay hot! 🍿🍿🍿

Lela Meadow-Conner (mamafilm) & Kathy Susca (The Film Collaborative)

(with special thanks to Maida Lynn for her invaluable guidance)