Dragon Tattoo leads to a loss?

MGM Takes A Loss On ‘Dragon Tattoo’ And Seeks Better Terms For Sequels

By DAVID LIEBERMAN, Executive Editor | Thursday March 22, 2012 @ 5:21pm EDT

If you think that The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo was a hit, then talk to MGM Holdings CEO Gary Barber. His company co-financed the film, and although it has generated about $231M at worldwide box offices he tells investors who own MGM’s unlisted shares that “it is below our expectations and we booked a modest loss.” The company wouldn’t say how much it wrote down, but Barber notes that execs ”were hoping we’d do 10% more than we did.” MGM has an option to co-finance the other two films in the trilogy and is talking to Sony about following through “assuming we can achieve better economics.” He was much more upbeat about the early performance of 21 Jump Street, which MGM also co-financed. “We expect it to be profitable,” Barber says. He adds that ”MGM has entered 2012 as a revitalized company.” He declined to describe MGM’s strategy but says it is “evaluating all options.”
The call followed the release of the company’s annual report which dropped a few interesting tidbits about the company that emerged from bankruptcy protection toward the end of December 2010. Last year MGM spent $30.3M to repurchase about 1.5M shares, and ended the year with net income of $37.8M on revenues of $699.1M. The company disclosed that it acquired 100% of United Artists late last year, giving it the rights to Hot Tub Time Machine, Fame, Valkyrie, and Lions for Lambs. MGM says that it “may resume using the United Artists banner to develop and produce new films.” Meanwhile, MGM is co-financing New Line’s two films based on The Hobbit. It also appears to be tight with several studios including Viacom as a financing partner for Paramount’s G.I. Joe: Retaliation and Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters, and MTV Networks’ TV series Teen Wolf. MGM also names the members of its board, a lot of people with the word “former” in their titles. Former Fox and Discovery exec Peter Liguori’s on it. The lead director is Ann Mather, who was Pixar’s CFO and now also sits on the boards of Google and Netflix. There’s also former MySpace co-president Jason Hirschhorn and former CBS CFO Fredric Reynolds, as well representatives of major backers including Anchorage Capital, Highland Capital and Icahn Capital.

MGM Takes A Loss On 'Dragon Tattoo': Does This Mean David Fincher Is Out?

News by Kevin Jagernauth | March 22, 2012 6:36 PM |

Well, it's not quite "John Carter," but today MGM revealed in a call with investors (via Deadline) that though "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo" took in $231 million worldwide (not bad for a hard-R crime drama that runs 2 1/2 hours long) it still didn't meet the numbers honchos thought they would get out of a fanbase that snapped up 18 million copies of the book. “...it is below our expectations and we booked a modest loss,” exec Gary Barber said, adding that they ”were hoping we’d do 10% more than we did.” But what does this mean about the proposed sequels? Back in January, it was announced that Sony (who has a co-financing and distribution deal with MGM) would be moving ahead with "The Girl Who Played With Fire" and "The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest." However, with the numbers now in and finalized, Barber cautions that sequels will only happen “assuming we can achieve better economics.” So what does this mean?
Well, we presume that studio executives are now looking long and hard at whether or not they want to keep director David Fincher on board. Now, he does have an option on 'Fire' -- said to be his favorite book of the series -- and his pay-or-play deal stipulates that he gets $5 million whether they move ahead with him or not. It's a pretty penny to pay, but studio heads might be ready to cut the cord. By most accounts, the production of 'Dragon Tattoo' featured a lot of head-butting between the director and the studio, starting with the casting of Rooney Mara, a decision that Fincher had to fight for. There were also concerns about the running time, which at one point was closer to three hours, something that Sony was not happy about (a movie that long usually means a sharp drop in how many times during the day it can screen at the multiplex). If a movie is a big success, that kind of friction is easily forgiven, but when a picture underperforms, it isn't so easily forgotten.
We're guessing a couple things will happen here: Firstly, MGM will probably watch the numbers of the recently released BluRay/DVD to see how it does (oh yeah, that DVD disc is pretty cool -- see below). Next, you can expect the budget on 'Fire' to be lower than the reported $90 million (which doesn't include the extensive P&A campaign, and we wonder if that number includes the late-stage reshoots on the movie) and as for Fincher? We think MGM may try to renegotiate their deal, and perhaps keep him on as an executive producer (keep the fanboys happy), give him a taste of the box office on the sequels and avoid paying out $5 million for him to walk.
But again, who knows. With Fincher apparently battling Netflix over "House Of Cards," perhaps the 'Dragon Tattoo' franchise is at least a fight he's been through already and is familiar with, and he'll be willing to bend a bit to return. But it'll be interesting to see how it plays out.

Maleficent preproduction

IMDb now has Maleficent in preproduction and while the title still indicates its targeted for 2013, it elsewhere has 2015 listed as its release date.  That may have been a typo as 3 years is an awfully long time to be in post unless Stromberg is aiming for something as technically ambitious as Avatar.  It seems equally farfetched that they'll hold off filming until 2013 or 2014 given how eager Disney seems to be to get this started.

Meanwhile, Luc Besson's sci-fi which is set to start filming in 3 months has not yet been updated, but being a foreign production that will reportedly be done in EuropaCorp's new complex in Paris, IMDb may not be privy to the details.

As for Cleopatra, Deadline reports that the Dragon Tattoo sequels are moving forward although Fincher hasn't signed on yet.   Its hard to imagine that they are a top priority for Sony -- or for Fincher -- given the box office results so far.  The comments made to Nikke Finke lead me to think that the studio may bring in a different director who can make the sequels a bit less dark and more commercial.  If he doesn't return for the sequels, Fincher should be done with House of Cards by the late Summer of early Fall and free to take on a new project.  But Angelina may be busy with Maleficent at the time.  If his Jules Verne 20,000 Leagues adaptation for Disney is ready to go he may opt to do that or he could start preproduction on Cleopatra with an eye on a 2013 start.  Of course we have to bear in mind that other than his supporting role in 12 Years A Slave, we don't know what other films Brad has lined up that may affect Angelina's filming schedule.  

• Today at 12:11 AM

Despite Mediocre Box Office, Sony Will Make Those Two Dragon Tattoo Sequels Anyway

• By J. Paul O'Connor

 

Despite its lackluster box office performance, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo is getting the full trilogy treatment by Sony. Dragon Tattoo screenwriter Steve Zaillian has finished the script for The Girl Who Played With Fire and is under way on The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest. The first sequel should begin filming in late 2012 or early 2013; David Fincher remains unconfirmed to direct. “The surprising part is that Sony is not waiting to see if the movie works overseas before going forward with the sequels. I would have,” a super-secret studio exec told Deadline. Thus far, Dragon Tattoo's foreign grosses, expected to be a big part of the film's total haul, have disappointed. It's a good deal for Daniel Craig, who is far too solid a fellow to star in more than one false start to a doomed trilogy.

Sony Going Ahead With ‘Dragon Tattoo’ Sequels Despite Underperforming Box Office

By NIKKI FINKE | Sunday January 8, 2012 @ 4:59pm PSTTags:  

EXCLUSIVE: Sony Pictures is not known for risky moves. So all through the holidays rival studio execs were predicting that Amy Pascal et al would not go forward with the 2nd and 3rd film installments of Stieg Larsson’s bestselling Millennium trilogy The Girl Who Played With Fire and The Girl Who Kicked The Hornets’ Nest.

That opinion was based on the mediocre opening for The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. Sure its domestic debut was significantly behind M:I4 and Sherlock 2, but it’s R-rated and both of those are PG-13. Then overseas grosses, expected to be huge, began trickling in underwhelming. GWDT opened only 3rd in the UK, and disappointing in Asia, and “not as good as hoped for” in Sweden, Denmark, and Finland. Now I’ve learned that Sony Pictures is indeed going forward with The Girl Who Played With Fire already written by Steve Zaillian, and The Girl Who Kicked The Hornets’ Nest which Zaillian is penning. Studio chief Pascal and producer Scott Rudin have not yet locked in David Fincher as director. But they’re looking to start shooting #2 by the end of this year/beginning of next. Overseas, Sony now expects GWDT to do over $200M — so $300M all in globally. “And that’s a really good number,” the Sony exec told me hopefully. But one mogul counters, “The surprising part is that Sony is not waiting to see if the movie works overseas before going forward with the sequels. I would have.”


Right now Dragon Tattoo has amassed a $76.8M domestic cume and should get very close to $100M because it’s holding better than any other holiday movie. Sony and rival studios believe the movie’s box office was hurt by that long brutal rape scene not appropriate for a Christmas release. (“It’s a notch too dark for that window,” one studio chief tells me. Agrees a top Sony exec, “It was too cocky of us. We might think about that next time.”) Counting against GWDT was that the Hollywood version of the bestselling book had already been made into a Swedish film widely distributed beginning in 2009. Plus Zaillian and Fincher changed the first book’s ending. As for book #2, its challenge is that title character Lisbeth Salander (played by Rooney Mara) isn’t much in it. But Sony has changed that, too, and Zaillian’s script places her front and center again.

Dragon Tattoo's B.O.

Five Reasons Why The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo Isn't Kicking Ass at the Holiday Box Office

Box Office by Anne Thompson | December 29, 2011

"The Girl the Dragon Tattoo."

No question, Sony isn't happy with the early holiday returns on David Fincher's "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo." Why did the studio put this violent R-rated counterprogrammer into the holiday window opposite "Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol"? It got creamed, grossing only $19 million over the four days and $27 over six days in release. Which leads many to ask, if the movie isn't wowing American audiences, why would Sony green light a sequel? Steve Zaillian has already started writing "The Girl Who Played with Fire," but the sequel has not yet been announced. Overseas box office will likely tip Sony in the sequel's favor, even if the domestic is lackluster. While the movie, which earned decent reviews and an A Cinemascore, should score more than the modest $35 million domestic Sony predicted for the Christmas break, just why did "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" disappoint?
1. The holiday release date may be Sony's biggest mistake. The movie wasn't ready for an earlier December berth, but the violent R-rated mystery (not a genre thriller--there's little action), makes unusual holiday fare. It had to face intense competition for the adult audience. And the movie is far less mainstream that you might think given the popularity of its source material. It would have knocked it out of the park on President's Day weekend in February.
2. It's not a mainstream genre title. Yes the books sold 30 million copies around the world, but in studio commercial movie terms, "Tattoo" is a brainy, cerebral, character-driven procedural along the lines of an Agatha Christie mystery. It boasts two detectives, not one. Breaking movie conventions, the male hero is white collar passive and reactive, almost feminine, while the heroine is the tattooed outsider vengeful action hero on a motorbike, better on computers, the sexual aggressor, and saves the hero's ass. Men are not used to this--hey, Lisbeth Salander is on top--and it creates a level of discomfort.
3. It lacks marquee stars. But, you argue, Daniel Craig is James Bond. Well, he makes a great Agent 007, but it's James Bond that pulls people into theaters, not Craig. Put him in anything else and he's a great-looking, charismatic actor with action chops and a wide range. But he didn't pull audiences to see "Cowboys and Aliens." Neither did Harrison Ford. Marquee movie stars are few these days. It helps if they are in a franchise: Tom Cruise in a "Mission" movie, Matt Damon in "Bourne." Only Angelina Jolie or Will Smith-- in an action vehicle--are box office guarantees.
4. Sony mismarketed the film. This movie should have opened better with such a brand title. Despite the R rating, the studio sold the movie as transgressive, dark genre fare to younger audiences, but it played to adults, many of whom had read the book. I don't buy the argument that this is another foreign remake that didn't wash with American audiences. Many of them did not see the Swedish film, which played art houses. This is more of an adaptation of book that was translated into English. The film's primary appeal was to women (attendees were 55% female) and adults (49% 35 and over).
5. It's too expensive and too long. Put David Fincher at the helm of a studio movie and it's going to cost--and two hours and 38 minutes takes its toll at the box office, with fewer slots a day. But why did this movie need a budget of $100 million? That's what dictated the prime-time holiday release date inside the Oscar corridor (which should have been irrelevant to this film). Gorgous as this and "Hugo" are, their inflated budgets make it much harder to come out in the plus column.