Dolphin Entertainment and Kynetic launch Graviteur Studios

Dolphin Entertainment and Kynetic Media Ventures have launched Graviteur Studios, a new production venture aimed at creator-led film and television projects with budgets between $1 million and $10 million.

The companies said Graviteur is designed to work with YouTubers and social media stars seeking to move into mainstream film and TV while keeping ownership and control structures closer to what creators have on major social platforms. Dolphin CEO Bill O’Dowd and Kynetic CEO David Freeman are leading the venture.

Graviteur is targeting modestly budgeted projects across genre categories including horror, YA, anime, comedy, horror, YA, romance, sci-fi and sports. The partners said they see an opening to work with creators who already have established fan communities and can lead projects beyond social media.

The launch comes as momentum has been building for this kind of venture, a trend the article said has accelerated in recent weeks following the box office success of two low-budget horror films: Focus Features’ "Obsession", produced for under $1 million, and A24’s "Backrooms", produced for about $10 million.

A central part of Graviteur’s strategy is speed and direct audience involvement during development and production.

"It’s not about talking about the project the way that legacy [media] does, three to four weeks ahead of the release doing a big P&A push. It’s about bringing that audience in day one and bringing them through the development phase and the script-writing phase and the production phase to make them feel like with these creators who they know and love so authentically are really feeling like they’re part of the project. So that when we distribute, we really build up an excitement heading into that release weekend - which could be theatrical, or it could be streaming", Freeman said.

Freeman also said the company wants to shorten traditional development timelines.

"We really want to move the process along quicker, more faster, be more nimble to get to green light, be more nimble to get into production, and not necessarily track to legacy filmmaking", Freeman said. "Part of the creator movement is the nimbleness, the freedom to go, and we very much want that to be at the heart of what Graviteur stands for. These audiences that creators have built for us are not used to waiting years for new IP. They’re used to much shorter timelines. So speed to market and audience-first marketing are at the heart of who Graviteur is."

Graviteur is already developing an initial slate of scripted projects. Its first feature film is "Crush Party", described as a YA thriller written by Johnny Saras. The company is seeking to cast the film with creator talent, and negotiations are under way.

Ownership is another focus for the new studio, according to Freeman.

"I really wanted to build something that gave creators and talent ownership, true back-end ownership and alignment", Freeman said. "Bill was my first call because of his incredible background of understanding independent film financing and international distribution."

O’Dowd said Graviteur will draw on Dolphin’s broader business operations. Dolphin Entertainment includes PR, marketing, event and promotions firms, and the company said Graviteur can tap support from 42West, The Door, Shore Fire Media, Elle Communications, Special Projects, and The Digital Dept.

"We are natively fluent in creator content and traditional film, tv networks, Streaming, studios and as importantly - international", O’Dowd said.

"If ever there was an idea that combines what we’ve done for 30 years with financing and production and distribution of content with the marketing team we built, it’s this. The whole operation of Dolphin will be behind Graviteur", O’Dowd said.

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