Pre-Sales Strategy in the Age of 'Weaponized Distribution'?

Hey everyone,

I'm Terrence, a DIT, and I'm really trying to wrap my head around something that feels like it's shifting under our feet. We're developing a couple of indie features right now, and the financing conversations have been... different. I'm seeing a lot less talk about those big global buyout deals from the streamers that used to be a reliable part of the back-end plan for so many projects. Instead, I'm hearing terms like 'weaponized distribution' thrown around, which I gather means more targeted, localized releases, often through smaller players or even self-distribution for some windows.

My core question is this: with the decrease in major global streamer buyouts and the rise of this more fragmented, 'weaponized' distribution model, how has the strategy for financing films based on pre-sales fundamentally changed in recent years? What are producers looking for now to make those pre-sales viable, and what does it mean for project viability?