Drillbit Taylor

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  • Directed By: Steven Brill
  • Written By: Kristofor Brown, Seth Rogen
  • Release Date: March 21, 2008
  • Domestic Distributor: Paramount
  • Cast: Owen Wilson, Leslie Mann, Nate Hartley

Box Office Info:
Budget: $35 million Financed by: Paramount
Domestic Gross: $32,862,104 Overseas Gross: $16,828,521

drillbit taylor 2008
Years before Drillbit Taylor went into production, John Hughes had sold the story idea to Paramount and after Judd Apatow scored a hit with The 40-Year-Old Virgin, the studio hired him to develop the project.  Paramount fully financed for $35 million.  As the Apatow Productions machine was ramping up, Drillbit Taylor was the first of four 2008 movies and the only flop — Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Step Brothers and Pineapple Express were all hits.

Drillbit Taylor was dated for March 21 and Owen Wilson did no publicity because the studio feared the media would focus on his suicide attempt a year prior and this picture was just a silly comedy for kids.  Even though Wilson was not on the publicity circuit, the movie was heavily marketed and was expected to open in the low teens.  It bowed against Tyler Perry’s Meet the Browns and Shutter.  Reviews were mostly negative and it disappointed with $10,309,986 — placing #4 for the weekend led by the holdover Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears a Who!  Drillbit Taylor saw a 44.6% second frame decline to $5,713,585 and a so-so 40.4% third session drop to $3,405,937.  The domestic run closed with $32,862,104.

Paramount released the film overseas to small numbers.  A modest return of $4.4 million in the UK and $3.8 million in Australia and Mexico, posted the majority of the $16.8 million offshore cume.  The worldwide total was $49.6M and Paramount would see returned about $27.2M after theaters take their percentage of the gross — which leaves tens of millions worth of the P&A expenses in the red and the budget at a loss.

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