Lions Gate has now added some insult to injury in regards to the success or failure perception of THE DEVIL’S REJECTS. Here’s the skinny from Variety:
Lions Gate Entertainment attributed a $14.1 million loss in the last quarter to costs associated with marketing and distributing two wide releases– Nicolas Cage starrer “Lord of War” and “The Devil’s Rejects.”
Hollywood’s largest independent studio said it spent $35 million on P&A, contributing to a $26 million loss for the films, which were released within two months of each other. Lions Gate quickly followed by saying it expected both pics to become profitable when they are released on DVD and pay TV.
Now obviously LG has to explain away a loss in revenue, but it’s frustrating to me since perception often becomes reality in Hollywood. THE DEVIL’S REJECTS was widely seen as a disappointment in its theatrical run even though it made $17 million and only cost $7 million to make. Call me crazy, but that’s an investment I’d like to get in on any day.
It’s this kind of thing that makes hard core, adult horror hard to get into the theaters. I mean if a movie more than doubles its budget in ticket revenue before even getting into the secondary markets, but is still viewed as underperforming, how the hell can you win?
Anyway, go rent or buy THE DEVIL’S REJECTS today ’cause the flick rocks and no amount of accounting hoodoo can change that!