IFC Films, one of the biggest names in the specialty distribution space, is announcing a rebrand as the Independent Film Company. Additionally, the rebranded distribution vertical will now move under the newly named umbrella IFC Entertainment Group, along with the IFC Center movie theater, RLJE label, and the horror streamer Shudder.
While the change in moniker may appear small, the head of IFC Entertainment Group Scott Shooman, tells The Hollywood Reporter, “As consumers are more savvy and associate the types of films with the purveyor, it felt important to really shape and fill out that consumer face.” The Independent Film Company (or IFC for short, sans “Films”) has debuted a new logo, in addition to an audio theme from Adam “Adrock” Horovitz of the Beastie Boy.
The new branding comes as the indie distributor that backed titles like Richard Linklater’s Boyhood and Noah Baumbach’s Frances Ha turns 25. Recent releases include the Oscar-nominated animation Memoir of a Snail, drama Blackberry, period romance The Taste of Things and the horror title Late Night with the Devil, which notched its biggest opening weekend ever with $2.8 million. Upcoming IFC releases are horror offering Clown in a Cornfield and shark movie Dangerous Animals, which was recently announced as a selection for Cannes’ Director’s Fortnight. Says Shooman, “The Independent Film Company takes what the curators of the past built: quality, filmmaker-forward titles, noisy fringe content — and overlaying it to a new set of movies.”
The specialty distribution space has seen major box office wins over the past year, including Neon’s Longlegs ($74.3 million, domestically) and A24’s Civil War ($68.7 million, domestically.)
“We believe in theatrical,” says Shooman. “Theatrically, you saw us have our largest opening weekend of our history last year. You saw A24 have their largest opening weekend of their history. You saw Neon have their largest opening in their history. I think there’s an appetite for quality movies, and as long as we’re bringing quality movies, people will show up for them.”
