Opening the Door to More Equitable Film Funding: OneDoor Studios Raises $2 Million in Successful Revenue-Share Crowdfunding Campaign for “Calculated” Film Development Fund

Hollywood successes may come and go, but one company, OneDoor Studios, is opening the door to a new and more equitable way to fund film projects with its recent revenue-share crowdfunding success, promising to have a lasting influence in the industry.

The Santa Barbara-based company recently raised an impressive $2 million on Wefunder, providing the complete development costs for the upcoming major motion picture of the top-rated young adult novel, “Calculated.” For a mere $100, investors were invited to invest in the development of what could be the next YA blockbuster film franchise, which has an estimated production budget of $45 million to be provided through bank financing.

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“Calculated’s” powerful novel series on which the film is based, by author Nova McBee and released by Wolfpack, one of Amazon’s leading publishers, is a present-day action-adventure thriller.

Many independent films have been funded using a crowdfunding model through the years, but what sets apart the “Calculated” campaign is a unique investment opportunity where investors:

• recoup 110% of their investment before filming begins
• then, after the studio releases the film, investors make 50% of the development company’s ongoing profits

“The typical way films have been funded on crowdfunding sites is for investors to provide production funding, then the film is produced. This most often leads to projects that fail to get distribution,” said Jay Brents, CEO of OneDoor Studios.

Brents explained that what makes their company’s investment process different is that the investor is investing in the development of the film — not the production.

“This may be the first time that a fan base of a major studio released motion picture will be able to brag that they played a role in supporting the inception of this project as investors,” said John J. Lee, Jr., the company’s executive chairman.

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Still, the company admits it does take some convincing prospective investors.

“Because our business model is very deep and sophisticated, some misunderstand and even confuse it with the simpler, ‘invest in the production‘ type of investment,” said Stephen Wollwerth, company president. “Others may not understand the concept of collateralization of the project which opens the door to bank financing.”

OneDoor Studios’ talented team has extensive experience in the film industry working on 23 studio-released movies and series released by entities including Sony, Universal, Warner Media, Disney, Viacom/CBS/Paramount, and Lionsgate, earning more than $4 billion in revenue.

In keeping with “Calculated’s” themes of empowerment, the company’s founders have committed 25% of their profits from the campaign to the National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE) to help them in their fight against human trafficking.

On the heels of its recent crowdfunding success, OneDoor Studios is looking ahead to launching a $6 million Reg A offering early next year to fund additional film development of the other novels in the “Calculated” series.

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