Trend #1: Rise of the modest-budget blockbuster

Move over, Blockbuster. It’s the year of the Budget-Buster. As in a blockbuster made on a modest budget, not a budget-busting blockbuster — which has been the norm for too long. Studios are learning that they don’t need a US$200-million film to make a pretty penny. In 2013, films made on a budget usually set aside for food catering on a Jerry Bruckheimer flick consistently proved more profitable than their overbloated counterparts. Think: The Purge, The Conjuring, Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues, The Butler, We’re The Millers, The Heat, 12 Years A Slave.

It just makes good business sense, and we expect the film world to fully embrace this in 2014. We are talking about movies of any genre, from horror to the contemporary popcorn flick to the art-house number. They will all be signed, sealed and delivered within months instead of years — which will also feed this social-media-savvy generation’s insatiable demand for instantaneous content. Yes, it’s a lo-fi solution for the needs of this voracious hi-fi generation. These small efforts will get some major celebrity backing as well, with A-list directors and actors chasing that elusive gold statuette having grown tired of waiting for that massive overblown epic to be green-lit.

Trend #2: Make an auteur’s dream come true

It is what’s bringing small-screen favourite Veronica Mars to the big screen. Mark our words: Crowd-funding will be the thing that will help Singapore’s next big director realise his or her dream project. Budding Anthony Chens across our little red dot will need as much support as they can get and Singaporeans will be there to give their 10 cents worth — literally.

There are currently more than 800 global online platforms and counting, and according to one such platform, Crowdonomic.com, a record amount of money was raised for Singapore-based campaigns in 2013. Earlier this year, film-maker Kenny Gee managed to raise US$29,050 (S$36,460) via Indiegogo for his short film The Body (thanks to an innovative video appeal). Singapore Management University graduates Olivia Griselda and Jasmine Teh also successfully raised US$3,156 via the same platform for their seven-episode Web series Alice Wants A Date.

Sure, crowd-funding is still in its infancy here, but it’s starting to emerge as a great alternative. If you need any more encouragement to chip in, just remember: The more you give, the less on-screen product placement you’ll have to endure.

Trend that has to die in 2014: Young adult book-to-screen adaptations. We love The Hunger Games, but we are done with brooding werewolves and other angsty supernatural beings.