Tideland

  • Tideland box office
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  • Directed By: Terry Gilliam
  • Written By: Tony Grisoni, Terry Gilliam
  • Release Date: October 13, 2006
  • Domestic Distributor: ThinkFilm
  • Cast: Jodelle Ferland, Janet McTeer, Brendan Fletcher, Jeff Bridges

Box Office Info:
Budget: $20 million Financed by: Hanway Films; Téléfilm Canada; Foresight Films
Domestic Box Office: $66,453 Overseas Box Office: $500,158


Director Terry Gilliam went off to make Tideland when editing disagreements on the expensive The Brothers Grimm with the Weinsteins at Miramax led to all parties temporarily walking away from that project.  Gilliam quickly belted out this oddity, before returning to that commercial disaster. 

The budget for Tideland was just under $20 million and it was financed by Hanway Films, Téléfilm Canada awarded the film $1.9 million from its Canadian Feature Film Fund and UK based Foresight Films provided financing via section 48 tax funding (a now banned tax loophole that allowed “double dipping” on a tax credit, so financiers can claim the same tax break twice).  Hanway sold the international rights to distributors worldwide.

Tideland premiered at the 2005 Toronto International Film Festival and received scathing reviews.  All of the major US distributors passed on the picture and the toxic reception it received led to all of the foreign distributors dumping the film.

ThinkFilm eventually picked up Tideland for US distribution and gave the movie a penny pinching theatrical release with no visible marketing.  Gilliam traveled the country doing a small amount of promotion himself.  Tideland was booked into one whole theater with buzz so rotten that Gilliam added a disclaimer before the film basically asking auds to keep an open mind.  It pulled in just $7,276 for the weekend and expanded to only 9 locations during its brief four week run.  The domestic gross was a mere $66,453.

Revolver Entertainment distributed in the UK and put the film out in just 7 theaters to a total of $109,578.  France posted the highest gross with a dismal $179,997 while playing in a moderately wide release in 111 theaters.  The pic was dumped straight to video in most markets and its overseas tally was $500,158.  The careless ThinkFilm, who would stop operating in 2008 and head in to bankruptcy, even screwed up the aspect ratio on the initial DVD release.

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