Agora
Rate Movie[Total: 5 Average: 3]
- Directed By: Alejandro Amenábar
- Written By: Alejandro Amenábar, Mateo Gil
- Release Date: May 28, 2010
- Domestic Distributor: Newmarket Films
- Cast: Rachel Weisz, Max Minghella, Oscar Isaac
Box Office Info:
| Budget: $65 million | Financed by: Sogecable; Telecinco Cinema |
|---|---|
| Domestic Gross: $619,423 | Overseas Gross: $38,422,082 |
Agora was co-financed by Sogecable and Telecinco Cinema for $65 million, making Agora one of the most expensive European films produced and it was shot in English for the global market. Focus pre-sold the international rights to distributors, which encountered trouble in many markets due to the asking price. FOX picked up rights to release in Spain. Fox Searchlight was in talks for a US release but could not come to terms with the price and the running time. FOX backed a strong marketing blitz in Spain, where Agora became the #1 film of the year, grossing over $29.6 million. The strong box office in Spain reignited interest from distributors all over the globe who initially passed on the film.
Unfortunately, the film still encountered problems being picked up and saw very little interest from auds outside of Spain. Agora pulled in just $8 million from every other offshore market, across many distributors — leaving the the film that was a blockbuster in its home country with most of its budget in the red.
Eventually independent studio Newmarket acquired US rights. Agora was booked into 2 theaters to $33,262 with a $16,631 per screen average. The film never expanded beyond 17 locations and pulled in only $619,423.