09 October 2009

Atom Egoyan's films really sell for 7 figures?

I read earlier today that Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisition Group had nabbed the latest from Atom Egoyan, but IndieWire is reporting (and maybe I missed this detail when I read it elsewhere) that Sony "negotiated the low seven figure deal" for Chloe, which premiered to lukewarm reception at Toronto last month. As of 27 September, Egoyan's last film Adoration has yet to cross $300,000 at the domestic box office, and that was a Sony release as well. I suppose Julianne Moore, Amanda Seyfried and Liam Neeson are a draw, but remember, Chloe is a remake of Anne Fontaine's abysmal Nathalie... from 2003, and that film had Fanny Ardant, Emmanuelle Béart and Gérard Depardieu. I have yet to see a film I wouldn't describe as a waste of my time from Fontaine, and while that's certainly not a claim I could make for Egoyan, his recent output has been dismal (and not exactly profitable). It's quite possible though that a low seven figure deal for worldwide rights is a modest deal. We'll just have to wait until spring to see how well this pays off.

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