4. Contact order

. Contact order

Sequence matters because each step de-risks the next, and because a licensor's first question will be "which venue, which date, how many seats."

Step 1 — Venue feasibility call (weeks 1–2, before anything else). Ask the events/programming manager: Do you four-wall? Will you play an outside DCP with an outside license? What's the all-in day rate for a 12–14 hour block including projectionist and staffing? What's the F&B minimum? Do you have a DCI-compliant server and can you ingest a drive we ship? Seat count? Insurance requirements? Get two or three venues in play — do not fall in love with one.

Step 2 — Licensor availability inquiry (weeks 2–4). Now that you can name a venue, date, seat count, and ticket price, email the rights holder. Ask three things: is the title available theatrically on that date, what are the terms, and does a DCP exist. Nothing else. Do not sign yet.

Step 3 — Provisional hold on the venue (week 4). Most venues will hold a date informally. Get the hold in writing before you announce anything.

Step 4 — Lock the license terms and total film cost (weeks 4–6). You now know your true fixed cost floor. This is the number your crowdfunding goal is built from.

Step 5 — Sponsors and partners (weeks 5–7). Local horror/genre podcasts, comic shops, breweries, record and video stores, a film society, a university film program, a Blu-ray label. Sponsorship money is cheaper to raise than crowdfunding money and comes with an audience attached.

Step 6 — Launch the campaign (week 7).

Step 7 — Countersign contracts and pay MGs after funding clears (weeks 10–12).

Step 8 — Technical logistics: DCP shipment, KDM request, test screening (final 3 weeks).

Step 9 — Day-of ops.

Step 10 — Post-event: box office report to each licensor (contractually required, and the difference between being invited back and being blacklisted).

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