Chapter 140 of the main text volume box office account

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Because of the impact of the 911 incident, Hollywood in September was deserted, not many people paid attention to what new films were released, and no one cared which male star and which female star, the focus of the United States and even the world was focused on the ruins of Manhattan, New York, and the films released in early September and now, regardless of the cast and production scale, there will be no second result except for hitting the streets.

Although the film market is deserted and many distribution companies are mourning, Fox Searchlight has seen a rare excitement this year.

Although "Chainsaw" was forced to go down after eight weeks in theaters, the dazzling results are enough to make many people excited and benefit at the same time.

"Sit down, Tony."

Seeing Tony Guzman walk into the office, Godin Clyde was extremely kind, "What has Murphy been up to lately?" ”

Tony Guzmán's face was flushed, as if he was a decade younger, "In addition to asking us for a box office share, he is preparing a new project." ”

"Oh?" Godin Clyde immediately became interested, "Do you know the specifics?" ”

"He didn't reveal." Tony Guzman shook his head, "I went to Stanton Studios yesterday and he said he would show us the script and the rough plan when it was done. ”

Godin Clyde said categorically, "Keep in touch with Murphy!" ”

It's clear that Murphy Stanton is a director on the rise.

"I understand." Tony Guzman said.

A low-budget horror film that cost only $800,000 to produce and finally won $61.89 million at the box office in North America, and it is not the way "Blair the Witch" relied on distribution companies to make tricks, such a director deserves the attention of any company.

Just when Tony Guzman was thinking so, Godin Clyde suddenly changed the subject, "There is a new vacant position as deputy director in the marketing department. ”

Hearing this, Tony Guzman's eyes immediately lit up, this is his chance!

Sure enough, Godin Clyde said, "You were the first to recommend Saw Horror, you have done a great job for the company this time, and I have recommended you to the board of directors." ”

Tony Guzman was overjoyed, "Thank you, thank you, Boss. ”

Godin Clyde waved his hand, "There wouldn't be Saw without you, and there wouldn't be the company's partnership with Murphy Stanton, and you deserve it." ”

Nodding his head vigorously, Tony Guzmán was overjoyed in his heart, and while he was happy, he suddenly thought of the name Murphy Stanton, if he had chosen to cooperate with him when he was in Park City and bought "Hard Fruit Candy", maybe he would have been promoted a long time ago.

Godin Clyde on the other side stopped talking and Tony Guzman knew it was time for him to get out.

Thinking of keeping in close contact with Murphy Stanton, he asked his boss before leaving, "Murphy has urged the box office to score several times. ”

Godin Clyde frowned slightly, thought for a while, and said, "Sue him, the money belonging to Stanton Studios will not be less than a penny, but it will be paid in installments after the company completes the process, and by February next year at the latest, all the money from the North American box office will be remitted to Stanton Studios." ”

This is already a relatively fast payment speed in the Hollywood industry, he and Fox Searchlight have no intention of doing anything, the box office distribution in North America is relatively transparent, and Murphy Stanton is obviously in a period of rapid rise, which is an excellent potential partner, not to mention that the story of "Chainsaw" is obviously not finished, there should be a sequel, and it is by no means a wise choice to have an irreconcilable conflict with Stanton Studio.

Having said that, if the other party is directing a film like "Blair the Witch", he really has to think carefully about the number of this share and the payment time, a director who overdraws the market......

Although it may not be able to do tricks, it is not difficult to drag it out for a year or two, which can also ease the liquidity pressure of the film company.

Just like Godin Clyde considered, Hollywood studios always make appropriate adjustments according to the different audiences, this is a standard business circle, business credibility is necessary, but there is no shortage of means of deception.

A week after the 911 incident, Fox Searchlight sent a financial statement to Studio Stanton, which was reviewed by Murphy's lawyer, Robert, and Bill, the accountant, and there were basically no problems, but the North American box office split report came in, and the share was paid in installments over a long period of time.

This is a common practice between Hollywood distribution companies and production companies, and when there is a large difference in power between the two sides, sometimes the payment time can be so depressing that it is not uncommon, such as the end of the court for default.

Murphy didn't have much opinion on the half-year account period of the Fox Searchlight, the original contract between the two parties stipulated that it would be paid within ten months after the North American downgrade, and the Fox Searchlight was not a delay, but a release of goodwill.

Compared to the account period, he focused more on the financial statements of "Saw Horror".

The film grossed a total of $61.89 million in North America, and after deducting various taxes and fees, Fox Searchlight, as the distributor, received a share of $30.5 million, some of which has already been paid in place, and some of which is still on the accounts of major theater chains.

However, on the report sent by Fox Searchlight, there is already a clear proportion of the share.

Since the beginning of the publicity period after the Stanton Studio signed the distribution contract with Fox Searchlight, Fox Searchlight has invested a total of $5.5 million in publicity and marketing expenses, and more than $500,000 for some complicated small expenses such as storage fees, transportation costs, labor costs, public relations fees and insurance costs.

According to the contract between the two parties, these fees will be calculated into Fox Searchlight's 25% of the North American box office distribution commission, and Stanton Studios will not have to pay separately, and they will not have to deduct any additional from the theater box office.

In other words, Fox Searchlight needs to withhold 25 percent of the $61.89 million out of $30.5 million, or about $15.5 million.

The remaining $15 million also doesn't belong entirely to Stanton Studios.

There was a supplementary clause in the distribution contract between the two parties, whereby all copies of "Saw Horror" were to be printed by Fox Searchlight, and the cost was also temporarily paid by Fox Searchlight, which was eventually deducted from the North American box office share.

Fox Searchlight adopted a conservative distribution strategy, starting with just over 30 copies, until Saw showed enough market potential to begin mass printing, with a whopping 2,560 prints.

On this report, a financial statement of the film printing factory is specially attached, because of the long-term cooperation with the Fox searchlight and the relationship between large-scale printing copies, the printing price of a single copy is not as high as Murphy's estimate of 3,000 US dollars, and the unit price given by the printing factory is 2,450 US dollars, which is basically the average level of large-scale printing in the industry.

As a result, the cost of copying was $6.27 million, which Fox Searchlight would need to deduct from another $15 million.

In this case, Stanton Studios would receive a share of the North American box office of about $8.7 million.

But that's not really a revenue figure.

After getting the financial statements of the Fox Searchlight, the Stanton studio also made an expenditure budget.

A considerable part of the $8.7 million will be used for various expenses.

Although Murphy's zero salary made Bill Rothes unable to get a commission from his agent, he did not complain, and actively campaigned for the preparation and distribution of this film, on the one hand, because he was optimistic about Murphy's future, and on the other hand, because he could get a certain box office commission.

That's not a lot of money, but it's worth three times his annual income at CAA.

Bill Rothes can take $250,000.

From a pay and return perspective, he also deserves Murphy's money.

On the other hand, "Saw Horror" has been filed with the Screenwriters' Union, the Director's Union and the Actors' Union, which is a union project, and while enjoying the protection of the union, it also needs to pay a certain amount of funds to the union, according to Hollywood practice, most of this part of the funds are paid after the film obtains actual income.

The so-called union filing and protection is more like a routine for a small project like "Chainsaw", and the union does not pay much attention to it at all, and the role it plays is actually impossible to talk about.

But Murphy doesn't intend to settle on his debts, Hollywood has long formed mature rules of the game, and it is better to follow these rules of the game before having a certain strength.

After all, he is now a director, not a prisoner in prison, let alone a freelance journalist.

Murphy's Philip hired Fillie Raschel, David Robbie, Helena and James Franco were all members of their respective unions, and after the 1988 writers' strike, several major professional unions won the right for their members to participate in the film's revenue share.

Although the share is very low, if you don't want to get into trouble, you have to pay this part of the money.

In the production of "Chainsaw", Murphy basically hires people who do not have much qualifications, and there are not many dividends that need to be shared with them, and in many A-level productions in Hollywood, if the production team is strong enough, they can often share half of the profits with the production company.

This is one of the reasons why many Hollywood companies use some shady methods, no company wants to see their costs piled up infinitely, and then the profit margins are compressed to a very small amount.

Combined with some other small expenses, after the Fox Searchlight payment was in place, not counting the complicated corporate taxes that Murphy still has a hard time figuring out, Stanton Studios actually earned about $8 million at the North American box office.

Compared to the North American box office of $61.89 million, this figure seems to be very insignificant, but the box office cake is far from being shared by the producer alone, and the investment of $800,000 in exchange for the North American box office of $8 million is a tenfold return on investment that is absolutely amazing in the film industry.

What's more, this is only the North American box office, and there are TV rights, videotapes and overseas markets behind it. (To be continued.) )