"The Blair Witch Project" was first shown at the 1999 Sundance Film Festival. It was released by Artisan on 30 July 1999 after months of publicity, including a ground-breaking campaign by the studio to use the Internet and suggest that the film was a record of real events. The distribution strategy for "The Blair Witch Project" was created and implemented by Artisan studio executive Steven Rothenberg. The movie was positively received by critics and went on to gross over US$248 million worldwide, making it one of the most successful independent movies of all time. The DVD was released in December 1999 and presented only in fullscreen.