Basic
Rate Movie[Total: 12 Average: 3.3]
- Directed By: John McTiernan
- Written By: James Vanderbilt
- Release Date: March 28, 2003
- Domestic Distributor: Sony
- Cast: John Travolta, Connie Nielsen, Samuel L. Jackson
Box Office Info:
| Budget: $50 million | Financed by: Intermedia Films |
|---|---|
| Domestic Gross: $26,793,311 | Overseas Gross: $15,999,250 |
Basic was fully financed by German based Intermedia Films for $50 million and pre-sold the project very well to global distributors. Sony acquired US and Japanese rights for $19 million. Sony dated Basic for March 28, where it bowed against Head Of State and The Core. Basic received poor reviews, though in comparison to director John McTiernan’s previous film Rollerball, the reviews were just bad not hateful. Along with the negative writeups, much of the nation’s attention was glued to television sets for coverage of the Iraq invasion, which began the week prior.
Basic placed #4 for the slow weekend with $11,511,960 — led by Head Of State. The film tumbled 53.3% the following weekend to $5,375,721 and sank 60.9% in its third frame to $2,103,440. The domestic run closed with a terrible $26,793,311. Sony would see back about $14.6 million after theaters take their percentage of the gross, which would not cover their P&A expenses or acquisition cost.
Despite being financed with German coin, Basic was dumped in Germany, grossing $404,707 for distributor Constantin. The film posted awful numbers in every market, pulling in a total of $15,999,250 across numerous distributors. This was John McTiernan’s final film, before his career and personal life were derailed from his involvement in the Anthony Pellicano wiretapping scandal.