How to Write a Commercial Success ?

Déborah Braun
Nov 5
2 min read

Star Wars, E.T., Titanic, The Intouchables, Avatar,… all were expected to flop, or at best draw a modest audience. And yet!

Megalopolis, Waterworld and The Marvels were all destined for triumph. And yet!

And Fight Club, Blade Runner and The Big Lebowski needed time to find their audience, and success.

So obviously, you can’t ;)

Cinema is an industry of prototypes. You can’t predict the success of a film that has never existed before. Especially since it takes years for a film to go from script to release, while trends and moods change much faster.

But if a film’s success can’t be predicted, you can still stack the odds in your favour. To do that, among other things:

Don’t write to please. Don’t try to guess what producers will want to produce or what audiences will want to see. The market is constantly reshaping itself. The audience isn’t waiting for one kind of film or another. They’re hoping for a good film. Period.

Write from what moves and interests you, chances are you’re not the only one it moves or interests. The audience responds to emotion, to distinctive voices, to clear intent. Your personal point of view is the bridge between you and your audience. And you need sensitivity, curiosity and empathy for the world you live in.

If you’re writing from personal experience, make sure to step back (far back) so that your story becomes universal. You’re not the main character, nor even a supporting one, in the story you’re telling. You’re its screenwriter (and definitely not on your therapist’s couch).

Don’t write for yourself but for others, which means being clear. That doesn’t mean simple, it means clear. And don’t mistake « popular » for « stupid ».

Your characters should exist for you as vividly as the flesh and blood people around you. You must know and understand them (without necessarily forgiving them) better than anyone else. They live within you as much as you live within them. Each and every one.

Of course, you have to take the writing as far as it needs to go, but not beyond. Push too far, and the script dries out and becomes incomprehensible to anyone who isn’t inside your head.

You also have to accept that a good script might never be produced, and a bad one might end up on screen. Because there are great producers as there are great directors, and the opposite is just as true.

And remember some “small” films are true gems. Success doesn’t always mean quality. Nor does quality always mean success.

“Not one person in the entire motion picture field knows for a certainty what's going to work. Every time out it's a guess and, if you're lucky, an educated one.” William Goldman