Thank you 2023; Hello 2024!

We see you in the new year.

1 January 2024 - It's been a great 2023 and an even more exciting 2024 ahead, so we wanted to take a moment to reflect, update and thank all of you. It is thanks to our members, film partners and global fans that Cultpix doesn't just keep going but thrives, even at a time when other streamers are struggling. Because Cultpix was never just a streaming platform, but a home for the global community of cult film fans. This will become even more apparent in 2024 as we enter our fourth year.

Looking back on 2023

2023 was an incredible year for us in many ways. We have now uploaded over 1,300 films on Cultpix and we are adding more at a rate of one per day. This is only possible because we've signed deals with over 50 different rights holders, with the 50th being the Taiwan Film and Audiovisual Institute (TFAI), whose brilliant "The Fantasy of the Deer Warrior'' (1961) you should definitely check out. We travelled to the Berlin, Cannes and Lumière (Lyon) Film Festival (yes, it's tough, but someone has to attend those drinks parties) to meet up and negotiate the deals that resulted in these incredible films, such as the week of Polish erotic films from late communist years. More about the films and theme weeks to come below.

What this meant is that the number of members grew strongly, so much so that by December of 2023 we had more than doubled in terms of members, both monthly and those that signed up for a whole year. This means that we will be paying out twice as much to our film partners as we did a year ago, which in turn means that we can secure even more great films. We've done this without piling on debt or seeking outside investment, which means that we are 100% in control of Cultpix and nobody can tell us what we can and cannot show. We are still not paying ourselves but plowing all the revenue back into the site, but we have also managed to keep the price down to $6.66/$59 for three years running, even as other streamers are putting up their fees by inflation-busting amounts.

"The streaming wars are over - and Netflix won," is what our friend and Cultpix Board of Adviser Member Ben Keen declared in his many talks at international conferences and he is right. Other Hollywood studios have lost over $5 billion last year trying to catch up with Netflix. This means higher monthly prices, inevitable consolidation but also a shakeput. Mid-size and smaller streamers have been severely impacted, with Kino Lorber closing its Kino Kult AVoD site and ViaPlay's international expansion failed spectacularly. So while we are not yet as big as we know we can be, we are growing sustainably and with complete control.

Having to be sensible about how we spend our members' money means that we cannot do everything we want as fast as we want. We have still not been able to launch an app for Roku, FireTV or other apps. We would also like to screen more Giallo and European horror films. But getting rights to those are expensive, so we keep negotiating to get the best possible deal. That said, we have been able to boost our library of genres such as martial arts and kung fu, Euro thrillers and much more. Expect to see plenty of great classic cult content on the site in 2024.

With so many great films on, we have to make sure that both new and long-term members can find them. So from October we started with Theme Months running in parallel to Theme Weeks, where we showcase both existing and new films. We started with 31 Days of Halloween, followed by Film Noir-vember and concluding the year with the Cultpix Christmas Calendar where Django Nudo and the Smut Peddler selected some of their favourite films for a truly unholy mix. We could see that you responded well to it, because films featured regularly popped up in the Weekly Top 10 lists - split into two separate 'Naughty' (xxx-rated) and a 'Nice' (everything else) lists, for better overview.

We will also compile two annual lists, but we can reveal that this past year the most popular film overall was "The Swedish Sin 1969-2000" compilation film with clips from over 30 years of Swedish smut, erotica and art-y house films. Even without subtitles, you really seem to like it.

Looking Ahead to 2024

We will continue the theme months and have a full schedule for the first half of the new year. In January we will kick off in a big way with the Mike Vraney Memorial Month. It's been exactly ten years since the founder of Something Weird Video left us too early and we want to celebrate his great legacy, with no less than 62 mostly new films on Cultpix, curated by his partner Lisa Petrucci. This means that we will be adding two films every day! Expect a head-spinning collection of weird and wonderful films that were particularly close to Mike's video heart.

This will be followed by Filthy Fifty February, in which we highlight many of the great adult films that came out in 1974, at the start of what's been called The Golden Age of Erotica. After that we change gears with Monster March, with big beasts and fantasy creatures that have spread terror on the big and small screen. Then it's time for us to Go Ape-ril as we dissect films featuring gorilla suits. We switch back to adult again with the Mammaries of May, in which buxom beauties get their due hommage, whether past favourites like Kitten Natividad and Uschi Digard or ones not seen on Cultpix before. And June... well, we're still figuring that one out. Drop us a line if you have an idea, because some of the best films and themes have come from suggestions by our amazing members.

There are several Theme Weeks planned as well, but we will announce those closer to their release, because we are still finalising negotiations and selections of films. But we promise it will be a truly global and heady mix. We have been in discussions with different software developers about apps and assuming we can get a solution for a reasonable price, then you should see some apps for watching Cultpix on your television screen appear before the summer. No promises, other than that we want it as much as you. We also have other upgrades to the site planned, such as the hush-hush 'VHS spine' project.

We have neglected both the Cultpix Radio podcast and the Weekly Exploiter newsletter, but both of those are being relaunched in 2024 and we will try to make them every second week each to help keep you informed and entertained. We also concluded a successful Kickstarter campaign for our second coffee table book of vintage exploitation posters. This time looking at US and international films released by small Swedish distributors 1958-1984. You will hear more about it this spring, when we get closer to the printing and release date.

This year we will also host our first ever in real life event called Wickmanveckan (The Wickman Week), after the legendary Swedish director, whose films formed the foundation of our company. We have previously held cinema screenings and in-person meetings at festivals and conventions. But this is the first time that we arrange a major even ourselves. It will be held in the west of Sweden (Värmland) in August and expect to hear us talk a lot about the guests (both Swedish and international), screenings, talks and fun planned. In conjunction with the event, there will also be a poster exhibition in a local museum, focusing on the legendary Swedish Sin films from the 50s to the late 70s.

There is much more that is in the 2024 pipeline and things that we will think of along the way. Like we wrote, having 100% control means that we can do what we want, try things that might seem crazy and even sometimes fail along the way. But it is only possible because of our many great members who believe in Cultpix as much as we do. So thank you all of you. Cultpix is truly your platform. Together we make it amazing.