The growth of streaming – not to mention two years of closed cinemas – has further blurred the traditional lines between theatrical films and TV movies while reinvigorating the format.

Historically, it was relatively easy to distinguish between theatrical and TV movies. Aside from the obvious fact they are launched in different media, cinema-bound movies typically had the advantage of bigger budgets, A-list casts, superior VFX and in-demand directors. Even when they reached the small screen, theatrical movies usually stood out from the holiday romcoms, action films and biopics that are typically crafted by US cable networks and European linear broadcasters.

These days, however, the line between the two has become blurred by the emergence of streamer- and pay TV-backed movie originals. For subscriber marketing reasons, platforms like Netflix and Sky don’t like to refer to their big-budget originals as TV movies, but the emergence of this elevated tranche of films has undoubtedly brought a new fluidity to the genre.

For example, producer/distributor Beta Film has just made a TV movie for RTL Germany about tennis icon Boris Becker’s early career, titled Birth of a Champion – The Boris Becker Story. In the wake of King Richard’s success, it’s not hard to imagine this same story being made as a movie original for Sky or Netflix. All it would take is a slight tweak in casting, budget and international distribution terms.

In this sliding doors world of possibilities, content creators have expanded options. This might explain why content studio Fremantle recently increased its movie slate from eight titles a year to 33. And also why it is backing Angelina Jolie’s new movie Without Blood. Five years ago, that level of commitment would have seemed wholly out of character for Fremantle. But in a world where single titles can be made for global box office, local box office, streamers or TV distribution, the movie format has renewed appeal to producers and distributors.

This development is further encouraged by the way compelling stories move so seamlessly between formats and platforms. A case in point is The Immortal, a movie-length prequel to iconic TV series Gomorrah, produced by Cattleya and distributed internationally by Beta. Within Italy, the two-hour movie had a theatrical release before heading for Sky Italia, but in the US it sits on HBO Max.

The emergence of elevated TV movies is of particular interest to studios already producing high-end scripted series. Federation Entertainment co-founder and MD Lionel Uzan says the single format is growing in significance for his firm.

“Business-wise, there is a clear and growing demand from the streamers, so we want to address it,” he says. “They need exclusive originals because it’s important to their branding. Creatively, the 90-minute/two-hour film is distinct from TV drama series, so opening up to this format enlarges the type of stories that we can tell. In addition, talent love to hop from one format to another, so being well placed in movies for platforms allows us to better service the talents we work with.”

In terms of current projects, Federation’s slate includes Classico (produced by Federation France for Amazon Prime), Il Divin Codino (from Fabula Pictures for Netflix) and La Ninas de Cristal (from Federation Spain for Netflix). “We have just delivered Classico, a feel-good comedy set in the world of football fans. Fabula’s Il Divin Codino, meanwhile, was a movie about Italian footballer Roberto Baggio. And we have many more in development,” says Uzan.

Macarena Rey, CEO of Shine Iberia, also sees emerging opportunities for her firm as it expands into scripted. Currently, the Banijay-owned company is working on a miniseries for Paramount+ based on the life of Spanish singer Miguel Bosé. “But we also believe TV movies will play a strategic role in the expansion of the fiction area. We are focusing on biopics, thrillers and stories based on books – and primarily we are looking at originals for streaming platforms,” says Rey.

While the world of elevated made-for-streamer productions is especially eye-catching, traditional made-for-TV films are still doing robust business. Newen Connect’s exec VP of distribution Leona Connell says: “We have a catalogue of around 50 TV movies. It has been growing significantly in the last 18 months, as we’ve picked up more commissions from our shareholder TF1 and our production companies have made TV movies for other channels.”

Predominantly French in origin, Newen’s TV movies sell to French-speaking Europe, SVoD second windows in France and linear free TV in Spain, Italy and Canada. “We’ve also had success recently selling to a smaller US platform and to various channels in Central and Eastern Europe, Japan and Portugal. Slots tend to be either primetime or afternoon on linear channels,” says Connell.

Romantic comedy and crime are the bestsellers. “We have two franchises that do really well: our romcom Love in… collection [Love in Monaco, Love in Bangkok] sells widely around the world. So does our crime collection [Murder in Oleron, Murder in Colmar]. We find that selling collections works best. It helps to have volume. Our single stories, which are less formulaic, are actually harder to sell, even if the content is strong,” she adds.

Connell agrees that an elevated TV movie market represent a new opportunity for studios like Newen. “Some films from TF1 Studios go straight to streamers in some territories. And our production companies have projects in development to suit the streamers. Lately, TF1 has commissioned high-end films for broadcast. A good example is Fourniret – The Showdown (La Traque), produced by UGC, based on the true story of serial killer Michel Fourniret and the mind games the police used to get him convicted. TF1 is also good with topical issues, such as (S)he (Il Est Elle), the story of transgender girl born into a boy’s body.”

Beta Film chief distribution officer Oliver Bachert manages around 25 traditional TV movie titles a year. “Linear broadcasters in continental Europe are still big commissioners, and so are US cable platforms like Hallmark and Lifetime,” he says. “Germany alone is producing around 500 TV movies a year and there are many more coming out of France, Italy and Spain.”

In terms of distribution value, he says: “TV movies continue to be useful for broadcasters because they can fill gaps in schedules relatively easily and are good for picking up casual viewers. And there’s a growing number of global and regional streamers that want content they can position as originals.

“Typically, we find, two types of movies work, either very commercial titles such as romcoms, holiday films and action, or the kind of IP/issue-driven productions that public broadcasters favour. An example of the former would be ZDF/ORF’s Vienna Confidential, directed by rising star Barbara Eder. Typical of the latter would be Honecker Und Der Pastor, a ZDF film about former GDR leader Erich Honecker. But there’s also a market for TV movies that tackle tough contemporary issues like violence against women, the environment or the challenges of parenting.”

Bachert’s TV movie slate is a mix of US- and European-originated titles. Asked if the balance has shifted one way or the other, he says: “Not noticeably. We tend to invest in both because they do different jobs in schedules.”

That said, he identifies a couple of trends that could push the balance one way or the other. In support of US exports, he says: “We tend to get involved with US titles earlier now, to make sure we are getting the elements that will work in Europe. We need a certain kind of cast. So a US reality show star or country singer is not going to cut it for us. And we tend to prefer winterish settings.”

Countering this shift towards Euro-friendly US TV movies, however, is the fact that “all platforms and producers are making efforts to hit the EU’s quotas on local production, so this potentially could benefit European studios.”

Amazon Prime Video recently unveiled seven originals in France. These include coming-of-age movie Hawa from Bien ou Bien Productions and Federation’s Classico.

Newen Connect’s Connell notes that her company recently acquired Canadian studio Reel One, a leading provider of English-language TV movies. “It’s fair to say that European originated TV movies do not sell as extensively as English-language ones – Reel One has developed a successful business, for example. Having said that, there has never been a better time to sell European content. Platforms and channels need to source content elsewhere and with production values getting stronger, European content is a great alternative.”

Shine Iberia’s Rey is upbeat about the potential of elevated European TV movies. “European content is very popular in the US market, so it would be logical for them to buy TV movies from the region,” she says. “While it may be easier to sell English-language content than German, there is strong interest in Spanish productions, because this is such a widely spoken language in the US.”

One factor that potentially boosts the position of European TV movies is the recent trend for Hollywood-backed streamers to repatriate all in-house content for their own platforms. Viewed broadly, this move could also include Fox Entertainment’s acquisition of prolific TV movie producer MarVista Entertainment, which has been charged with creating originals for Fox’s AVoD platform Tubi. With US studio content being used to bolster their own global SVoD and AVoD platforms, it suggests an enhanced distribution opportunity for European content.

Marcus Ammon, MD of content at Bavaria Fiction, shares Bachert’s opinion and says: “We produce around 20 made-for-TV movies each year. A series gives you the opportunity to dive deeper into characters, but the storytelling of a movie is more condensed and less time-consuming for the viewer.”

As for customer base, Ammon says: “Our public broadcasters [ZDF and ARD] are traditionally strong when it comes to commissioning movies for broad audiences. However, streamers have started commissioning movies which has opened up the market for more niche material. Fortunately, movie production for streamers allows more flexibility in the budgets than with public networks.”

Among Bavaria’s standalone TV movies, Ammon singles out “the Sky original film Der Kaiser, a biopic on Franz Beckenbauer that will premiere at the end of this year in time for the Fifa World Cup, and the young-adult horror movie The Privilege for Netflix. We develop content across all genres, from crime and thrillers to comedy and romance. The universal hunger for content is high.”

While the traditional TV movie model has a fairly simple distribution pattern, the growth in movies for platforms is potentially more complicated given the streamers’ preference for global rights deals. Opportunities exists, however, particularly for originals that are primarily intended for local markets. Uzan says: “It really depends on the client and the stage at which you partner up. But we manage to control some distribution rights on a good chunk of titles.”

Sky is a potential rights partner, given its primary focus on Europe. While some movie original rights go to sister company NBCUniversal Global Distribution, Zai Bennett, Sky’s MD of content for the UK and Ireland, did raise the prospect of coproductions when unveiling a new slate of 25 movie originals last year, including Save The Cinema and A Boy Called Christmas.

With coproduction comes the possibility of a shared rights scenario. At Bavaria, for example, Ammon says: “[International] copros obviously help to finance high-end content and we are in fruitful discussions with our commissioning partners on this matter.”

In terms of trends, Beta’s Bachert says traditional TV movies can do well in tough economic conditions “because commissioners have lower budgets and look to distribution for tactical acquisitions.” He also says: “I’m seeing more TV movies that are linked thematically, so they become a kind of grey area with limited series. Each movie has a stand-alone story, but there is something in common that connects them. That way you can amortise cost.”

Bavaria’s Ammon says linking movies is a tried and tested practice in Germany. “We produce movies for many franchises like the crime format Tatort [ARD] and the romantic drama Inga Lindström [ZDF]. Most recently, we started production of the first two 90-minute movies for Sonderlage together with ConradFilm for RTL.”

Likewise, Red Arrow Studios International’s current slate includes two TV movies in The Blind Detective franchise, originally commissioned by ARD Degeto (Germany) and ORF (Austria). As for single TV movies, Red Arrow is also currently marketing Detour To Love – The Dancer & The Gangster (ITV Studios for Sat.1).

Italian distributor Rai Com has also benefited from marketing TV movies as franchises. As part of its TV line-up at MipTV 2022, for example, it positioned Rai Uno’s new scripted production Vincenzo Malinconico as a series of 4×100’ TV movies. This echoes the approach it took with previous international hit Inspector Montalbano. The idea of linked TV movies also works well in territories like the UK, where there isn’t much of a tradition of original TV movie commissions. A case in point is Channel 4’s I Am… series, created by Dominic Savage and distributed by Sky Studios and NBC Universal Distribution.

Rachel Glaister, exec VP of brands and press at All3Media International, confirms that TV movies remain a relatively low priority in the UK (leaving aside the point about elevated originals outlined above). “We get involved in a few TV movies on an ad hoc basis, a recent example being Help starring Stephen Graham and Jodie Comer. But we don’t really seek them out. Two-hour slots are important to us, but more for detective dramas like Midsomer Murders than TV movies. A TV movie might make sense for us to work around series durations.”

The TV movie format has proven resilient despite the growing popularity of shorter-run scripted series, says Nils Dünker, CEO and producer at StudioCanal-owned Lailaps Films. “The global series trend has not rendered this compact, self-contained format obsolete. Public television programme providers such as ZDF, ARD, Arte, ORF and the BBC continue to produce exquisite TV movies and these are also still offered by distributors. At the same time, made-for-streaming movies sharpen the platforms’ portfolios, enrich the film rights stock, serve as a talent showcase and create a counterbalance to multi-part, time-consuming series,” he says.

Dünker’s view is that the importance of TV movies was reinforced during the pandemic, when cinemas were closed. “When cinema had to take a back seat, the TV film justified its appeal. It remains an established narrative concept,” he adds.

When it comes to genres, Dünker says: “In recent years, we have developed and produced everything from thrillers and romances to human-interest dramas. For instance, we are currently in post-production on the second film in our Lost In… thriller franchise, Lost In Athens. Another recent TV movie is Shadows of the Past, a poignant drama directed by multi-award-winning director Dominik Graf.”

Echoing Bachert’s point, Dünker says true-life stories are perennial favourites in the TV movie space – a factor that perhaps militates in favour of subject matter with a local flavour. One of Spanish broadcaster RTVE’s TV movie headliners this year was 22 Ángeles, which follows the voyage of 22 inoculated young orphans to transport the smallpox vaccine from Spain to the Americas and the Philippines in the 18th Century. Made timely by Covid-19, the TV movie was licensed to RTP in Portugal.

Picking up on a point made earlier, Dünker believes the commercial realities of making stand-out TV movies could further blur the line between streamer-backed TV movies and traditional TV movies.

“Even if the client is Netflix, Amazon or Sky, the entire financing does not necessarily have to come from these players,” he says. “Just like everywhere else, the annual budgets of the streamers are also getting tighter. This pushes producers to use all rights packages and minimum guarantees and subsidies for financing. This, in turn, means that sooner or later these films will also be available to the distribution market.”

The growth of streaming – not to mention two years of closed cinemas – has further blurred the traditional lines between theatrical films and TV movies while reinvigorating the format.

Historically, it was relatively easy to distinguish between theatrical and TV movies. Aside from the obvious fact they are launched in different media, cinema-bound movies typically had the advantage of bigger budgets, A-list casts, superior VFX and in-demand directors. Even when they reached the small screen, theatrical movies usually stood out from the holiday romcoms, action films and biopics that are typically crafted by US cable networks and European linear broadcasters.

These days, however, the line between the two has become blurred by the emergence of streamer- and pay TV-backed movie originals. For subscriber marketing reasons, platforms like Netflix and Sky don’t like to refer to their big-budget originals as TV movies, but the emergence of this elevated tranche of films has undoubtedly brought a new fluidity to the genre.

For example, producer/distributor Beta Film has just made a TV movie for RTL Germany about tennis icon Boris Becker’s early career, titled Birth of a Champion – The Boris Becker Story. In the wake of King Richard’s success, it’s not hard to imagine this same story being made as a movie original for Sky or Netflix. All it would take is a slight tweak in casting, budget and international distribution terms.
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