Get Rich Or Die Tryin'
Rate Movie[Total: 10 Average: 3.1]
- Directed By: Jim Sheridan
- Written By: Terence Winter
- Release Date: November 9, 2005
- Domestic Distributor: Paramount
- Cast: 50 Cent, Terrence Howard, Viola Davis
Box Office Info:
| Budget: $40 million | Financed by: Paramount |
|---|---|
| Domestic Gross: $30,985,352 | Overseas Gross: $15,457,176 |
The budget for Get Rich Or Die Tryin’
was $40 million and Paramount financed, hoping to bring in the same auds which made 8 Mile a success and what was expected to be a prestige project from director Jim Sheridan (In the Name of the Father, My Left Foot), turned out to be a cliché stinker.
The film was greenlit by the previous Paramount administration run by Sherry Lansing, but new Paramount topper Brad Grey strongly backed the project, giving it a prime November 9 release date (emulating the release pattern of 8 Mile, which was released Nov 8), even though the pic had just wrapped filming in July.
Grey had Paramount invest in a huge marketing push — especially across sister programmer MTV for free exposure. Get Rich Or Die Tryin’ landed mixed to poor reviews and bowed against Derailed and Zathura. Audience awareness was high, but it came in with a soft $12,020,807 — placing #5 for the weekend led by the holdover Chicken Little. Get Rich or Die Tryin’ sank 63.2% in its second frame to $4,420,706 and declined 50.9% in its third session to $2,169,885. The domestic run closed with a disappointing $30,985,352.
The overseas release was also expected to pull in similar numbers to 8 Mile, but Get Rich or Die Tryin’ tanked in most markets, pulling in a poor $15,457,176 total and the film was sent straight to video in Italy. The worldwide cume was $46.4M and Paramount would see returned about $25.5M after theaters take their percentage of the gross — leaving much of the P&A expenses in the red and the theatrical receipts would not dent the budget.
In a brief interview with the Hollywood Reporter, screenwriter Terence Winter was asked: “If you could scrub one credit from your resume, what would it be?”
Winter: “Get Rich or Die Tryin’, a film that bears absolutely no resemblance to the script I wrote.”