The independent film “The Diary of a Teenage Girl,” which opened this weekend, was one of the standouts of the Sundance Film Festival. In fact, Sony Picture Classics bought it, hoping it would be a box office smash.

But this summer has seen similar gambles flop, with several independent films making very modest sums at the box office.

Marketplace’s Adriene Hill says it’s tough for independent films in a summer when blockbuster movies also received strong reviews. But as filmmakers think about how best to distribute their content, the future of these films may not be in movie theaters.

Click the media player above to hear Marketplace’s Molly Wood in conversation with Adriene Hill.