Tuesday, July 06, 2010

Darling Nikki Finke Talks Studio Accounting

And it doesn't look good...

"Net profit deals are still a sucker's bet. I was slipped a net profit statement (below) for Harry Potter and The Order of the Phoenix, the 2007 Warner Bros sequel. Though the film grossed $938.2 million worldwide, the accounting statement below conveys that the film is still over $167 million in the red:"


































There has to be a better way....discuss. 

3 comments:

rbucks said...

Have you guys ever heard of http://Scripped.com? Seems like a major studio like WB might someday be interested in something like this. 70,000 novice and pro screenwriters congregating every day to write material for films...

Jon Molly said...

And yet they want to make two more of these movies. So they can lose even more money on them, right?

In related news, Disney just got hammered by a $269,000,000 settlement with the creators of "Who Wants to be a Millionaire". A federal jury didn't appreciate their accounting practices turning a billion dollar gross into a net money loser.

Here's the link: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/entertainmentnewsbuzz/2010/07/federal-jury-awards-270-million-in-damages-in-who-wants-to-be-a-millionaire-suit.html

crowking said...

@ Rbucks


And you'll never see a studio or major production company touch any of those scripts with a ten foot pole simply because if the studio makes the film they would be in the position of having to pay each and every writer who worked on it plus figure out who gets screenplay and story credit. Just a can full of lawsuits waiting to explode.