Swag can seem endless during awards season, whether it’s gift bags at red-carpet events or for-your-consideration collectibles that studios send journalists.
But since 2017, the most highly anticipated promotional item among film critics has been the Neon box set, a gorgeous annual package containing all the indie distributor’s releases on individual DVDs. In an era when impersonal screener links are ubiquitous, the Neon box feels artisanal, exclusive, classy and tangible.
In the process, it’s become the one piece of swag critics brag about receiving, posting photos on social media as soon as the set arrives at their doorsteps — and, not coincidentally, providing Neon with ample free publicity. Not that the good folks at Neon would ever suggest that’s part of the strategy.
“It’s not unwelcome,” says Andrew Brown, Neon’s president of digital distribution, laughing over Zoom when this possibly devious ulterior motive is mentioned. “We love that people want to share it — we love that people feel enthusiastic about it. I can’t say it was the intent, but we’re really happy that there are fans of it.”
Brown is joined on the call by Spencer Collantes, vice president of creative marketing, to recount the box set’s origins dating to the early days of the company led by Chief Executive Tom Quinn. “In our first year, we were fortunate enough to have a real big contender with ‘I, Tonya,’” Brown recalls. “We had a number of really great films and I’m pretty sure it was Tom’s idea: ‘Hey, we should build a book around it.’ We wanted something really bold. Primary colors. Very reproducible.”
The indie distributor’s chief executive, Tom Quinn.
(Los Angeles Times Photo Illustration. Photos by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)
The design for Neon’s first set in 2017 — which, ironically, didn’t include “I, Tonya” but did feature the studio’s initial cult successes, such as “Ingrid Goes West” — was simple: just some DVDs with critics’ blurbs and stills packed in a glossy book. But Brown’s team had lofty aspirations for it.
“In our New York office, we have the Janus 50,” says Brown, referring to Criterion’s box set “Essential Art House: 50 Years of Janus Films,” the hefty 50-disc survey of the beloved label’s essential masterpieces that was produced in 2006. “That was probably the great-granddaddy of [ours]. Obviously, we’re doing a much smaller version of that, but we wanted something that looks good on a shelf or a coffee table. It is a tool to celebrate our movies and garner attention around them for award season, but we really wanted something that’s a step above.”
After essentially sticking to the same packaging for its first four years, Neon reimagined the box in 2021, creating specific design elements for individual movies in that year’s slate. Sturdy without being bulky, each new eye-catching edition now sports its own arresting design and theme, the set’s increasing grandeur reflecting Neon’s growing stature as an Oscar player. (Its 2019 sensation, “Parasite,” became the first international film not primarily in the English language to win the coveted best picture trophy.) Just don’t ask Collantes to explain the hidden narrative behind a particular book’s theme.
“I don’t know if I want to put it out there because that’s the fun of these sets,” he says when discussing last year’s strikingly minimalist layout. “Every single year, there’s something different that everyone picks up from it. There’s a lot of discussion and consideration that goes into all of the different elements — we’re excited about what people have been remarking about online.”
Mikey Madison stars in Neon’s Oscar-nominated “Anora,” from director Sean Baker. (Festival de Cannes)
The boxes look pricy, which only adds to their desirability. Past sets sell on EBay for around $150 to $200, comparable to some Criterion box sets.
“Financially, it makes no sense whatsoever — those things are ridiculously expensive,” Neon’s chief marketing officer, Christian Parkes, admits in a separate phone call. “But they’re also really important because that’s the end-of-year statement. It’s a way of saying thank you to everyone that supported us. And it’s a way for everyone to look back and be like, ‘Yeah, good work, Neon — that’s a good slate.’”
But just how much does Neon spend on these sets? Brown won’t divulge exact numbers, although he confirms that Neon sends out around 3,000 of them to the members of different critics organizations. Is the price tag six figures?
“We spend what we think needs to be spent,” says Brown, drawing a line. “We don’t want it to feel flimsy” — and then adds, jokingly, “We also don’t feel the need to stud it with precious gems.” He points out that the sets contain DVDs rather than higher-resolution options. “These are still [just] screeners. We don’t want these movies to leak in high definition. Some of these movies are in these boxes before they’ve even come out in theaters.”
As the industry continues to grapple with physical media’s drop in popularity, the appeal of Neon’s box set mirrors that of vinyl’s old-school physical pleasures. The handsome package caters to critics who think about movies as meaningful, enduring objects. And if Neon’s approach helps inspire those voters to associate the specialty distributor with the art and craft of film, well, Brown won’t object.
“We’re well aware that it does set us apart,” he says of the box sets. “We know that people welcome our books and we know that our fellow studios look at us and go, ‘Wow, that’s pretty amazing. We wish we could do something like that.’ It’s not a competition — I mean, it’s a competition for the films, but it’s not a competition for the book. We welcome more of this type of thing.”