Gridiron Gang
| Budget: $30 million | Financed by: Sony; Relativity |
|---|---|
| Domestic Gross: $38,432,823 | Domestic Distributor: Sony (Columbia) |
| Overseas Gross: $3,048,028 | Directed by: Phil Joanou |
Starring: Dwayne Johnson |
Produced by: Ryan Kavanaugh |
Financed for $30 million between Sony’s Columbia label and Relativity, Gridiron Gang was one of seven films to lose money for Gun Hill Road I — the Relativity investment hedge fund, where wealthy investors can finance a slate of films. Sony distributed the film worldwide and opened Gridiron Gang in the US in 3,504 theaters, when another football themed picture, Invincible was still going strong in theaters. Gridiron Gang won the slow weekend with $14,414,630 after the expected winner The Black Dahlia flopped. The film saw a modest 34.4% second weekend decline to $9,456,617 and during that weekend Sony released All The King’s Men, which was the biggest money loser of Gun Hill Road I. It then fell 51.6% in its third frame to $4,581,565 killing its chances at breaking out. Gridiron Gang closed its US run with $38,432,823 leaving about $21.1 million after theaters take their percentage of the gross, which would not cover the P&A costs or any of the budget. The soft domestic total would be troubling since American football themed movies have little appeal in the overseas market and Sony dumped the film with a small release, where it pulled in all of $3 million with Mexico posting the highest number with a terrible $878,199 and the film went straight to video in most major markets.