Movies

What this means for high-end photos – Deadline

October 10, 2022

While tent poles resurrected cinema releases last summer with photos like Top Gun: Maverick it is true that the more adult fare is much more difficult now. Nowhere was this truer than with David O. Russell. amsterdam, whose rivals thought they had a chance to open between $12 million and $15 million last weekend based on the brilliant set of absurdist period comedy from Christian Bale, Margot Robbie, John David Washington , Rami Malek, Robert De Niro, Anya Taylor-Joy, Taylor Swift , Michael Shannon (the list goes on…).

But that didn’t happen – with a $6.5 million opening in 3,005 theaters, boosted by Imax and PLF ticket sales which accounted for more than a third of that number; in total, a paltry $10 million global startup. Russell was trying to replicate the success of his star-studded, 10-time Oscar nominated film american hustlewhich hit a domestic opening of $19.1 million in Christmas 2013, grossing over $150 million in the United States and $251.1 million worldwide on a production cost of $40 million . amsterdam, funded entirely by New Regency as part of its Disney/20th Century Studios deal, was twice as much at $80 million, the picture’s most piercing nail in its coffin. What should have been an awards season play with its originality was quickly trashed by 34% reviews on Rotten Tomatoes. So many, critics, to celebrate what’s original on the big screen.

RELATED: Amsterdam Review: Christian Bale and the All-Star Cast Illuminate David O. Russell’s Timely Blend of Fact and Fiction

Yes, even by pre-pandemic standards, this 1930s comedy was expensive, so how did it happen? Based on a projected global gross of $35 million, an overall estimated P&A spend of $70 million – which I’m told is the bare minimum for a big picture like this – backed by Regency, amsterdam after all, home accessories will lose around $100 million ($97 million to be exact).

Wes Anderson’s “The French Dispatch” ended its run at $16 million domestically, matching the “Amsterdam” finale.

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Although there is a green light figure at which each movie can be made, how the cost for amsterdam get so high? Certainly, we want to continue seeing original movies like this on the big screen, not immediately dumped on streaming. Sure, a streamer can take a project like this off the table, but the movie would never get the full-scale global launch. On the box office side, amsterdamThe beginning of is not far from that of a film directed by Wes Anderson during a long weekend. Although it is a platform release, this director The Grand Hotel Budapest in its fourth weekend in 977 theaters, it grossed $8.5 million in March 2014. In its second weekend in 788 theaters, The French Dispatch made $2.6 million. What three times this theater counts, but gross in the range of $7 million. So, in terms of numbers for a star-studded quirky period comedy, amsterdam did what it was supposed to do. It was even more expensive than Anderson’s biggest bomb, that is Aquatic Life with Steve Zissou, which was made for $50 million and only grossed less than $35 million worldwide.

Left to right: Chris Rock, David O. Russell and Christian Bale on the Amsterdam set

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But, again, this high cost of production – why?

We told me amsterdamThe high price of came down to its change of location from Boston to filming in Los Angeles, and the curb on production when the pandemic hit in March 2020. That’s when amsterdam was to shoot, and the start date was pushed back to January 2021. None of the actors wanted to go to Boston because of Covid, so LA was more favored. The period nature of the film and the move from Boston to Los Angeles increased the cost of production from a projected $50 million to $80 million. That’s with a $2.5 million California tax credit. This type of situation, where production costs would skyrocket by tens of millions, was not abnormal at this stage of the pandemic. Once amsterdam was up and running, there were no Covid shutdowns and no one tested positive with cases increasing by 19,000 a day, and all went well during a 49 day shoot.

RELATED: How Christian Bale and David O. Russell Cooked Up a Star-Filled Historic Whodunit ‘Amsterdam’ Over Five Years of Dining Out

The man from the north — Robert Eggers’ risque Viking epic, co-funded by Regency, ‘The Northman’

Focus characteristics

For all the star power involved, I’m told that’s not the reason amsterdam was so expensive. Actors showed up because they wanted to work with Russell, with some even working for the ladder. Bale wanted to make this film and mapped out the script with Russell over five years of dining out. I hear Bale was paid below his normal rate of $5m. Oscar-winning actor Malek received a six-figure salary. No one was making crazy requests and the offline costs were about 20% of the total budget. In the end, no one gets a bonus from a break-even shared pool because the picture is in the red.

However, good on Regency to fully commit to amsterdam. The production finance studio has a history of funding risque 1997 film noir auteur projects LA Confidential at the gritty Leonardo DiCaprio -frontier western The ghost – who were both Oscar nominees for Best Picture — to Robert Eggers’ Viking epic that grossed $70 million this year The Nordic, which I heard that the Arnon Milchan-owned company wouldn’t lose its shirt, having funded 50% of the Focus Features release. On the other side of the spectrum, Regency has the horror movie at a discount Barbaric at $4 million, which has grossed over $38 million worldwide.

(L-R) Margot Robbie (on screen), Christian Bale, Rami Malek, David O. Russell and Pete Hammond speak onstage at Amsterdam: The IMAX LIVE Experience at AMC Century City 15 in Century City, Calif., on the 27th September 2022. Getty

While Disney received a million dollar fee for handling the film, amsterdam was not a distribution error he made. Given calendar availability, the company moved the film forward to the first weekend in November, before Black Panther: Wakanda Foreverto a weekend in early October when amsterdam could breathe – plus, the picture had access to Imax screens for all Russell movie buffs. EntTelligence showed that of the top three films this weekend, amsterdam, due to its extra cost, had the highest average ticket price next to Lyle, Lyle Crocodile and Smile at $12.62. There was an Imax preview day, stars showed up to promote, however, it was decided that the film would not go to TIFF, which is a good thing because the wrong word would have been taken out of the bag sooner and would likely even hurt Suite ticket sales.

Disney couldn’t platform amsterdam as an Anderson film, given the poor reviews and ratings ratings (3 stars and 72% on Comscore’s PostTrak/Screen Engine). According to iSpot, Disney outspent its rivals on US TV spots at $15.2 million against Sony with less than $9 million on Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile; Warners nearly $10 million so far on Dwayne Johnson’s Oct. 21 exit black adam; and Universal’s $7.1 million to date Halloween ends, which opens this Friday. Disney was not cheap, and ultimately Regency was responsible for the marketing costs.

When it comes to social media, RelishMix observed that amsterdamThe size of the social universe of nearly 64 million on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok was smaller than that of a drama/comedy. “Chatter was mixed with skepticism as fans were obviously thrilled with this call sheet, as well as David O. Russell and his movie track record,” RelishMix said. “Convo wondered how singer Taylor Swift would rise to the big screen, cheers for Margot Robbie’s dark hair, excitement for Robert Di Niro, return of Michael Shannon, #wow for John David Washington, joy for Anya Taylor-Joy , glass-eye Batman Christian Bale’s transformation… skeptics sensed it all might be too good to be true and scoured the reviews and other news.

Breaking down the numbers here, industry sources tell us that out of a final global take of $35 million for amsterdam that would trigger $15 million in worldwide theater rentals, net home entertainment ancillary funds, Hulu/HBO Max streaming, free-to-air TV, and $52 million in international TV. That’s if the movie goes through Disney’s international TV release deals. Whether amsterdam doesn’t, then the loss could be more than $100 million, with foreign TV deals amounting to a number in the teens. Overall, $67 million in total film revenue vs. $164 million in total theatrical and home entertainment costs amsterdam to $97 million loss.

The same goes for tanking amsterdam Does that mean such high-end adult fare is doomed on the big screen? It will remain the ongoing question of what works in theaters versus streaming, as long as adults are slow to return to the box office. New Line Directed Olivia Wilde’s Geek, Risky Genre Movie don’t worry darling with Harry Styles, Florence Pugh and Chris Pine for $35 million responsible, and that’s just under $70 million worldwide. Other distributors, including Focus Features, aren’t giving up on high-end, director-focused fare: It gave Tár – Todd Field’s return to cinema after a 16-year hiatus – a platform release (picture posted a solid average of four = $40,000 town theater last weekend), and classic label Uni acquired Anderson’s City of asteroids. Risky author dishes for the cinema will continue to be made, whether in hell or high tide.

Here’s another way to see amsterdam: a critical highbrow build made for streaming would disappear much faster from conversations and menus.

But at the end of the day, thanks to a big-screen launch, we’ll always have Amsterdam.