In Hollywood, there’s the reported budget — and then there’s what a picture actually costs.
As the confidential document detailing Revolution Studios' library obtained by TheWrap demonstrates (see below), studios often engage in fuzzy math about movie budgets.
It’s an open secret that studios are less than honest about their movie budgets, and the documents show the real deal when it comes to Revolution’s 46 films.
Also read: Inside Revolution Studio's Library: Where Joe Roth Went Wrong
From bombs like “Gigli” to hits like "Black Hawk Down,” the studio could reliably be counted on to shave off between $10 to $20 million from the negative costs of its films.
>>“Gigli,” a $75.6 million film became a $54 million one, limiting reports of the company’s losses after the movie flopped. "Gigli" made a mere $7.7 million worldwide, meaning the the studio losses were actually on the order of $70 million.
>> “America’s Sweetheart,” a bright spot for the studio, which reportedly cost a mere $46 million to produce, in actuality carried a price tag of $64.4 million.
Also read: Disney Stops Production on Johnny Depp's 'Lone Ranger'
>>Revolution publicly stated that “Tears of the Sun” cost $75 million when the true cost of the Bruce Willis dud topped out at $100.5 million. (It made $86.4 million worldwide.)
>>"XXX:State of the Union" reportedly cost $87 million, but in reality Revolution spent $113.1 million to film the stinker. (On boxofficemojo.com the budget is listed as "not available.") The $70.6 million it brought in at the worldwide box office killed the franchise.
>>"Peter Pan" was reported as costing $100 million to produce. According to the documents, it actually cost $130 million. (It made $122 million worldwide.)
So as studios engage in public budget battles with filmmakers like Jerry Bruckheimer over "The Lone Ranger," take the figures bandied about with a grain of salt, and add $20 million for good measure.
