Yes, a few horror films like Universal’s “Halloween Kills,” which are made cheaply, are still enjoying healthy profit margins, but the business that is reemerging from its COVID torpor still has a lot of ground to make up.įurther complicating things is the fact that the pandemic hit right as media companies like Comcast, Disney, Viacom CBS and WarnerMedia were launching streaming services of their own. Almost no movies are making money right now. October revenues were at record levels thanks to tentpole films like “Dune” and “No Time to Die.” But there’s an unfortunate reality behind these numbers. Oscar contenders such as “Spencer,” “Belfast” and “King Richard” are all struggling to attract crowds despite enjoying glowing reviews. most films that don’t feature super spies or superheroes are at the multiplexes these days. It’s a total wash for the studio, and a sign of how D.O.A.
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That honor would likely go to Twentieth Century Studios’ “The Last Duel,” a historical epic that stars Matt Damon, Adam Driver and Ben Affleck, which cost more than $100 million to make and promote and will lose more than that after it eked out a paltry $27.4 million globally. Nor are these the biggest box office debacles of the COVID era. Marvel’s superhero epics “Shang-Chi and The Legend of the Ten Rings” and “Eternals,” as well as “The Suicide Squad” and Christopher Nolan’s mind-bender “Tenet” all stand to finish in the red with losses in the tens of millions.
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“No Time to Die” is far from the only tentpole that stands to lose money while the movie theater industry struggles to recover. In any case, the potential losses illuminate the harsh reality currently facing big-budget films: becoming profitable (at least in the theatrical run) is uncommon in the best of times and basically unfeasible during a pandemic. MGM clearly isn’t conceding that “No Time to Die” is a financial disappointment, but their contention is disputed by others with knowledge of Bond’s budget and with a deep understanding of what a film of that scope and scale needs to earn to get into the black. With the PVOD release of the film already doing stellar home viewing business, all while continuing to hold well theatrically, ‘No Time To Die’ will earn a profit for MGM, both as an individual film title and as part of MGM’s incredible library.” “The film has far exceeded our theatrical estimates in this timeframe, becoming the highest grossing Hollywood film in the international marketplace and passing ‘F9’ to become the highest grossing Hollywood film since the pandemic. “Unnamed and uninformed sources suggesting the film will lose money are categorically unfounded and put more simply, not true,” MGM spokesperson said in a statement. In a statement to Variety, the company insisted “No Time to Die” didn’t just break even but was a money maker. MGM, the studio behind Bond’s latest adventure, disputes this math. Other industry sources suggest the losses wouldn’t quite reach the nine-figure mark though they would still be substantial. As a result, the film now stands to lose $100 million in its theatrical run, according to sources close to production. Insiders say “No Time to Die” needs to make closer to $900 million to break even, a feat that would have been realistic had a global health crisis not entirely upended the theater industry. However, the movie cost more than $250 million to produce, at least $100 million to promote and tens of millions more to postpone over 16 months. The action-packed spy spectacle, which endured several coronavirus-related delays, has become the rare pandemic-era box office hit, which is even more impressive considering adult audiences - the core demographic for “No Time to Die” - have been reluctant to return to theaters. Over the weekend, “ No Time to Die” eclipsed $730 million in global ticket sales, making the James Bond sequel both the year’s highest-grossing Hollywood film and the top performing film at the box office since COVID-19 appeared on the scene and nearly shut down the movie business.