ACROSS THE UNIVERSE

Across The Universe

• 
  Rate Movie

  [Total: 19 Average: 2.8]
  Genre(s): Fantasy | Musical

• Directed By: Julie Taymor
• Written By: Dick Clement, Ian La Frenais
• Release Date: September 14, 2007
• Domestic Distributor: Sony
• Cast: Evan Rachel Wood, Jim Sturgess, Joe Anderson
• 

---

Box Office Info:

Budget: $70.8 million	Financed by: Revolution Studios; Sony
Domestic Box Office: $24,343,673	Overseas Box Office: $5,023,470

Joe Roth’s Revolution Studios financed Across The Universe and had a financing slate deal with Sony, which would contribute 42.5% of the budget and 100% of the marketing costs.  Roth had landed one of the greatest studio deals ever with Sony, who had more to lose on each project than Revolution.  At the time of release, the budget for Across The Universe was reported as $45M, but years later when Joe Roth was selling his shuttered mini studio, the actual cost was listed in its financial reports as $70.8 million.

Roth had originally envisioned his company making filmmaker friendly fare, but after he awarded Martin Brest final cut privilege on Gigli and fought with the director over that godawful film, final cut was off the table at Revolution — which led to a very public battle over the edit of Across The Universe between Joe Roth and director Julie Taymor.  Over a year after filming completed, Taymor delivered her cut and Roth found it unacceptable and re-edited the movie himself.  After testing his cut, she threatened to remove her name from the project and Taymor’s edit made it to release.  Sony was contractually restrained from mentioning The Beatles in their marketing and did not put in the effort to sell the picture to a broad audience.  Sony rolled the movie out theatrically with a platform release and minimal marketing.

The delayed Across The Universe was dated for September 14, 2007 and opened in 23 theaters to mixed reviews and had the baggage that it was damaged goods after the editing battle went public.  Despite all of that, it pulled in $667,784 with a solid $29,034 per screen average.  The film expanded to 276 theaters in its second weekend to a decent $1,950,871.  The widest expansion was in week seven to 964 theaters and the film closed its domestic run with $24,343,673 — which is quite good for a film that received only a modestly wide release, but terrible numbers for a film that cost $70.8 million plus millions more to market.

Sony distributed Across The Universe overseas, mostly in limited runs where it cumed $5 million.