Danny Boyle's blockbuster "Slumdog Millionaire" is the ultimate independent film, breaking all the rules in its box office performance and operating outside of a big studio's worldwide distribution net.
"Slumdog" is a bonanza for its foreign distributors, who often get saddled with third-rate Hollywood fare or arthouse titles that work in only a few territories.
The cast of characters benefiting from "Slumdog" begins with Film4, which produced and co-financed the movie with Celador Films, while Pathe Intl. sold foreign rights. The film also is spreading the love in North America. At the 11th hour, Warner Bros. balked at releasing the film after it it closed down Warner Independent, and gave it to Fox Searchlight to open domestically.
Profit margins should be generous, although Boyle and the producers are devoting some of those returns to a trust fund set up for two Indian children starring in the film. Because of safety concerns, they're not specifying the amount of the fund, only that it is substantial.
Produced for $15 million, "Slumdog's" worldwide cume has topped $150 million, meaning generous profit margins for all involved. Domestic ticket sales are more than $88 million, international more than $60 million. If "Slumdog" wins the Oscar on Feb. 22, box office observers see no reason why the film can't break $200 million globally.
Few indie films reach these heights or, if they do, are released internationally by studios, shutting out foreign distribs. With the rise of studio specialty units, the majors are first in line to distribute globally.
Other worldwide specialty hits include "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" and "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon."
" 'Slumdog' is one in a million, yet no one wanted to touch it in America because it was considered a tough sell," one studio specialty exec says.
"These films are important because they defy conventional wisdom and show that someone can do something completely original and succeed, when so much of the movie industry has been commoditized. 'Slumdog' is the anti-'Paul Blart,' " says a Fox Searchlight exec.
Just before Cannes, the Warner empire announced it was shuttering Warner Independent Pictures, which had bought domestic rights to "Slumdog" for $5 million in late 2007. It became apparent that big Warners couldn't accommodate releasing the film in 2008, between its own films and recently added New Line titles.
Boyle and producers were left scrambling, but soon came up with an alternative: Fox Searchlight. Searchlight was initially interested in "Slumdog" but wasn't willing to put up as much as Warner Independent.
Hollywood may have been cautious, but foreign distribs didn't miss a step in buying up rights to the indie film.
Foreign distribs were so keen they prebought rights at its script stage at the 2007 Berlin Film Festival, while remaining territories were sold off at Cannes. At the latter fest, Pathe execs screened a promo reel made up of the pic's hyperkinetic first act featuring the main characters as children.
"It wasn't difficult to sell at all, even though we had no major stars," says "Slumdog" producer Christian Colson of Celador. "The combination of (Simon Beaufoy's) great script, (director) Danny Boyle and the price we made the film for meant it was a tantalizing prospect for buyers."
The prescient buy has left many international distribs feeling as if they've hit the jackpot. Boyle's rags-to-riches story is scoring with auds around the world -- including the Middle East -- and is the first film since "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" to win virtually every major award leading up to the Oscar.
Pathe, which retained rights in the U.K. and France, has seen "Slumdog" draw huge numbers in Blighty, where it has grossed $30 million. In France, it's at $7.5 million after five weeks.
Foreign distribs have either used the marketing campaigns devised by Fox Searchlight and Pathe -- or a variation of both -- while others have created their own. Some territories, particularly in Asia and South America, are waiting until after the Oscars to open "Slumdog," hoping to use the cachet of a best pic win to lure auds.
In the U.K., "Slumdog" was released wide on the same weekend as the Golden Globes, resulting in a strong opening. In Italy, pic was released in December by Lucky Red in time for the Christmas season, even if that resulted in a somewhat idiosyncratic poster campaign.
"The film was going up against all these Italian Christmas comedies, so the poster had Dev Patel and Frieda Pinto standing on the railway station which was now covered in snow," says Pathe's international sales topper Mike Runagall. "It looked like Christmas in Mumbai."
The film is one of the hits of the season in Italy, where it has grossed more than $4 million.
"Usually a film here has a life of about four weeks, but 'Slumdog' has been on the charts for 11 weeks," says Lucky Red's acquisitions topper, Stefano Massenzi. "Every time it won an award, the media would talk about it and more people would come. It reminds me of films like 'Shine' and 'The Usual Suspects' which we also distributed a few years ago."
If there is anywhere that symbolizes the wide appeal of "Slumdog," it's the Middle East.
Dubai-based distrib Gulf Film released the pic in the wake of its Golden Globes success and has since seen it generate more than 100,000 admissions in only four weeks. "Twilight," on the other hand has taken 11 weeks to get to 140,000 admissions.
Gulf Film execs, who also prebought the film at Berlin, have devised their own marketing campaign targeting various local demos.
"It is appealing to everybody, including the Arabs, the expats and the Indians," says Gulf Film's Salim Ramia.
"Slumdog" has even done decent business in India, where Indian films always top the box office. The pic came under criticism for exploiting the country's poverty, but while the protests likely didn't affect box office in India, piracy may have.
Like "Slumdog's" storyline, the film's production is a rags-to-riches story.
Beaufoy's script, adapted from Indian author and diplomat Vikas Swarup's novel "Q and A," was developed at U.K. shingle Film4.
Swarup's book does not directly cite the TV show "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire," shown in the film, so Film4 topper Tessa Ross approached Celador about partnering on the project. It was a shrewd move, as Colson's shop is the feature film arm of the company that owns the rights to the TV gameshow. Colson quickly agreed.
Celador's other film credits include horror pics "The Descent" and "Eden Lake." It also produced Julian Fellows' "Separate Lies." But it is "Slumdog" that is putting the production arm on the map.
If there's any party connected with "Slumdog" that's feeling some sorrow, it's the former execs of Warner Independent. The specialty division had suffered a string of box office disappointments, and "Slumdog" might have ensured a future for the unit.
"Slumdog" still could have been released domestically by big Warners, but some within the studio questioned the film's box office prospects. Others contend that Warners honchos never saw the final version of Boyle's film.
Warners remains a financial partner on "Slumdog," but it was Searchlight's Peter Rice who looked like the cat who ate the canary at a bash toasting the successful screening of the film at the Toronto Film Festival.
From that point on, the celebrating hasn't stopped.(variety)
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