Funding is a big part of the production of films and can set apart a good movie from a great one. More funding allows for better actors, better set, better props, better marketing, and so on, so as a director or writer, you would want better funding so that your movie can succeed.
Lots of movies are funded by bigger media corporations such as Walt Disney Studios or Paramount Pictures. These larger production companies fund for the creation of movies that they think will succeed in return for their name in the opening. Not only that, but when these companies fund for these movies, most of the time the movies must either alter their content or keep it the same in order to keep with the views and ideology of the large company since they have much more power over it. For example, Walt Disney would not fund for a movie if they are bashing Disney and/or a Disney counterpart. This is an issue because the director/script writer no longer have full creative freedom and has less power, but the funding needs to occur in order for the movie to be better quality.
The movies that are not funded by these large corporations, do not have as much funding. Independent film producers must fund for the movie themselves, so unless it is an already rich independent film producer, they have less money to spend. This causes them to use most of their budget on aspects like camera, actors, and props to make the quality of the movie as good as it can be with low cost, leaving less money left over for the promotional or marketing aspect of releasing a movie. On the other hand, a company like Paramount Pictures can allow for more advertisements. With less marketing and advertising, fewer people hear about the movie. Therefore, causing only high funded movies to be seen, talked about, and spread through more people.
Also, contemporary films are now being released straight onto streaming platforms like Hulu, Netflix, and Disney+ and not even making it into theaters. This switch was made mainly due to the corona virus when movie theaters were closed, however even with movie theaters beginning to open back up, I see most of the movies being talked about are on these streaming platforms. This makes it even more difficult for independent film producers to get people to watch their movies since it is difficult for independent film producers to get streaming platforms to buy their movie. My curiosity led me to googling how an independent film producer can get their film on Netflix and four out of the six options given costed even more money, while the other two were going global and pitching to Netflix directly which it then states takes time because of how many pitches they receive in a day.
In conclusion, it can be very difficult for not only independent film makers but also film makers under larger corporations to have full control and ability to do what they want with their film. The only difference is that independent film makers can’t do everything they want and must prioritize for financial reasons, while film makers under large corporations have less creative freedom in the production of their film.