Without Limits
Rate Movie[Total: 4 Average: 4]
- Directed By: Robert Towne
- Written By: Robert Towne, Kenny Moore
- Release Date: September 11, 1998
- Domestic Distributor: Warner Bros
- Cast: Billy Crudup, Donald Sutherland, Monica Potter, Matthew Lillard
Box Office Info:
| Budget: $25 million | Financed by: Warner Bros |
|---|---|
| Domestic Box Office: $777,423 | Overseas Box Office: $0 |
Two decades after the death of Olympic runner Steve Prefontaine, two competing biopics went before the cameras at the same time in 1996. Without Limits was the bigger budget prestige project, written and directed by veteran Robert Towne and produced by Tom Cruise and the other was the low-budget Prefontaine (1997) for Disney. The two productions also fought over locations and consultants that were relevant to Prefontaine’s life.
The budget for Without Limits was $25 million and fully financed by Warner Bros.
Prefontaine was thrown together quickly to get out into the marketplace first and was dated for January 24, 1997. The movie was basically dismissed as made for TV quality and Disney dumped it, where it grossed all of $589,304. Without Limits was expected to land a late ’97 release, but WB had moved it into ’98 to keep it away from the other film. The studio was considering a February 1998 release, to coincide with the Winter Olympics, but Without Limits was pushed back to September 11, 1998.
Without Limits landed positive reviews, but WB saw no commercial appeal for a film without bankable leads, that’s about a mostly obscure long-distance runner and tossed the movie into the marketplace with little care. It was booked into 5 theaters and pulled in $56,180 with a mediocre $11,236 per screen average. In its third weekend, Without Limits expanded to 110 locations and made a mere $175,339, which nixed a further expansion. The domestic run closed with just $777,423.
There are no reported overseas numbers.