INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITIES / RECENT ACQUISITIONS
Publicly reported deals show buyers acquiring films at three different stages of production: (1) before filming, (2) during production, and (3) after production. Every deal below was announced within the last six years making them true comps.
Reported deals announced October 20, 2020–October 20, 2026 · All prices in U.S. dollars.
BEFORE FILMING / SELL THE PROJECT
Before filming begins, a studio or streaming service can buy the project based on its screenplay and the actors and director who have agreed to participate. The buyer pays for the existing team to make the movie, or takes over the project through a sale that returns investors their capital and agreed-upon profit. Below are three recent examples of films acquired at this stage:
Natalie Portman • Writer-director Lena Dunham
Netflix bought the project after competing with other buyers at the European Film Market. FilmNation reported the approximately $55 million worldwide deal in March; Netflix announced the start of filming in July 2025. The sale took place several months before filming began.
A worldwide deal agreed several months before filming began.
Tom Hanks • Director Marc Forster
Sony bought this book-based, character-driven comedy-drama before its scheduled mid-February shoot. SF Studios continued to make and finance the movie, with Sony already secured as the buyer.
Sony agreed to buy worldwide release rights before filming, while SF Studios continued to make and finance the film.
Emily Blunt • Director David Yates
The project sold at Cannes roughly three months before its scheduled August 22 filming start. The buyer committed to a dramatic screenplay with Emily Blunt and director David Yates already involved.
The approximately $50 million deal for worldwide release rights was agreed before filming.
For BATFLIP: the completed screenplay and cooperation from the real people provide a strong foundation. Agreements with actors and a director would complete the project presented to buyers. These examples demonstrate that a film can be sold before filming begins.
How investors get paid: After the production costs are paid, the net proceeds follow BATFLIP’s proposed investor-first payment structure to be negotiated between the parties. Once investors have received repayment of 100% of their original investment plus an agreed upon return on investment, additional profits are split as negotiated between investors and the production company.
DURING FILMING OR EDITING / SECURE A BUYER
During filming or editing, buyers can see the actors’ performances and how the movie is taking shape. A buyer can agree to purchase the film before it is finished, with payments due at agreed stages—for example, when the finished movie is handed over. Below are two recent examples of films acquired at this stage:
Paul Dano, Seth Rogen, Sebastian Stan • Director Craig Gillespie
The deal was reported while filming was underway. Black Bear was paying to make the film. Sony bought the right to release it in the U.S., Latin America, Scandinavia, Eastern Europe, South Africa, India and some Asian markets. Rights to release it in other countries remained available for separate sales.
Sony committed close to $20 million for the countries listed, leaving other countries available for additional sales.
Paul Giamatti • Director Alexander Payne
Focus bought the film after a private screening for buyers in Toronto. Miramax had paid to make it. Filming was complete, and the team was finishing visual effects, music and on-screen titles. The sale came before the movie’s public premiere and 2023 release.
Reported production budget: $13 million. The approximately $30 million acquisition preceded the 2023 theatrical release.
For BATFLIP: Dumb Money shows a buyer purchasing a film about real events while filming is underway. The Holdovers shows the appeal of a nearly finished drama built around humor, grief and a relationship between an adult and a child.
How investors get paid: After the production costs are paid, the net proceeds follow BATFLIP’s proposed investor-first payment structure to be negotiated between the parties. Once investors have received repayment of 100% of their original investment plus an agreed upon return on investment, additional profits are split as negotiated between investors and the production company.
AFTER COMPLETION / SELL THE FILM
Investors pay to make the movie. The team then shows the finished film to buyers at private screenings or festivals, allowing them to judge the complete story and performances before agreeing on a price. Below are three recent examples of films acquired at this stage:
Glen Powell • Director Richard Linklater
The film, inspired by a true story, was made with independent investors’ money and sold after its Venice and Toronto premieres. Netflix bought the right to release it in the U.S., U.K., Australia, New Zealand and nine additional countries.
Reported production cost: approximately $11 million. Netflix paid $20 million for the countries listed.
Emilia Jones, Troy Kotsur, Marlee Matlin • Director Siân Heder
Apple acquired the family drama after its Sundance premiere. The film later won Best Picture. Its parent–child conflict and substantial family roles make it a useful dramatic comparison for BATFLIP.
Reported production budget: $10 million. To complete its worldwide deal, Apple also negotiated over release rights that had already been sold in other countries.
Jesse Eisenberg and Kieran Culkin • Director Jesse Eisenberg
Searchlight acquired this intimate family dramedy immediately after its Sundance premiere. Distinctive characters and performances drove the sale of a tightly budgeted independent film.
Production budget: $3 million, confirmed by Eisenberg in a later public discussion. Reported deal price: $10 million.
For BATFLIP: these independently produced movies sold for more than their reported production budgets. They demonstrate the commercial value of distinctive performances and emotionally compelling stories. Each film’s expenses and agreements determine how much of that sale money reaches its investors.
How investors get paid: After the production costs are paid, the net proceeds follow BATFLIP’s proposed investor-first payment structure to be negotiated between the parties. Once investors have received repayment of 100% of their original investment plus an agreed upon return on investment, additional profits are split as negotiated between investors and the production company.
Explore Tax Incentives: The New Jersey Advantage and federal benefits →
Screenwriter Greg Chwerchak was given direct access to and cooperation from everyone involved in the real-life story. He developed BATFLIP through more than 100 hours of interviews with the Rocco family and the people portrayed in the film. Those interviews ground the character-driven drama in private history, competing loyalties and family humor. For actors, that access provides personal detail with which to build the relationships beneath the public controversy.
The New Jersey production plan keeps BATFLIP rooted in the communities behind the story. Homes, ballfields, offices, a hospital and a courtroom form a concentrated location plan. The working budget accounts for cast, child performers, baseball action and editing and finishing the film; the filming schedule and permissions to use outside material will be finalized around the assembled team.
The proposed deal repays investors’ original investment plus a one-time 20% return before the production company shares in profits. Investors then receive 50% of remaining profit. The investment agreement will also explain financial reporting, sale approvals, each investor’s share and how tax-credit money is used. The budget and calculations show how much money is needed and who gets paid first.
BATFLIP combines a completed screenplay, exceptional access to the real people, documented national attention and a defined financing model. Review the screenplay, budget and proposed investor terms with Joe Rocco to discuss participation in this character-driven prestige drama.
BATFLIP brings together a character-driven prestige drama, a nationally recognized true story, substantial acting roles and a New Jersey financing plan that uses the sale of tax credits. The proposed deal repays investors’ original investment plus 20% before the production company starts receiving its share of the profits.
National news coverage, Ken Goldin’s Netflix audience and an upcoming book connect BATFLIP to established communities of interest. The film builds on that recognition with sharp humor, courtroom urgency and an intimate family story about loyalty, trust and loss.
TIME, ESPN, Fox News, People, NBC, the Associated Press and other outlets covered the suspension, the court victory and the aftermath. Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Max Scherzer publicly supported Marco. The linked coverage spans publications in 10 countries and territories.
Ken Goldin is Joe’s close friend, confidant and a central character in the film. His legal and media connections help transform a local suspension into a national story. As the star of Netflix’s three-season King of Collectibles: The Goldin Touch, Ken brings an immediately recognizable personality and a direct connection to the show’s viewers and the collecting community.
83 million total viewing hours across Netflix’s engagement reports through June 2026—a substantial record of audience attention around a real person portrayed in BATFLIP.
The Batflip story and its characters will be prominently featured in The Chase, the forthcoming Celadon book by New York Times bestselling authors Armen Keteyian and Lars Anderson. Keteyian is an 11-time Emmy Award winner.
The planned proximity of the book and film releases supports coordinated publicity, author conversations and outreach to the authors’ established readership. BATFLIP’s story and characters give that campaign a direct connection between page and screen.
Read Celadon’s announcement
A twelve-year-old’s bat flip and his father’s court challenge give BATFLIP an instantly understandable public story. The film takes audiences inside the family behind the headlines: a marriage tested by secrecy, friendships stretched by loyalty and a son facing his father’s life-threatening illness.
The Chase gives readers a substantial introduction to BATFLIP’s story and characters. Ken Goldin connects the film to collectors and Netflix viewers. Together with the national media archive, these connections define the film’s audience outreach: sports fans, parents, book readers and audiences drawn to compelling real people.
Joe and Liz anchor an ensemble with substantial roles for Pop, Ken, Brian, Casey and Diane. The screenplay moves between comedy, confrontation and grief, giving actors emotional range and memorable scenes. That combination of accessible storytelling and demanding performances is central to BATFLIP’s prestige positioning and awards ambitions.
The proposed plan brings BATFLIP to film festivals, supports it with targeted publicity and offers release rights to buyers in the U.S. and abroad. Movie theaters, digital rentals and purchases, streaming services and television offer different ways to reach paying audiences. Agreements with buyers will specify the countries covered, how long the rights last and when each type of release begins.
For the screenplay and investment discussions: Joe Rocco · Joe@batflipventures.com