Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close
| Budget: $40 million | Financed by: Warner Bros; Paramount |
|---|---|
| Domestic Gross: $31,847,881 | Domestic Distributor: Warner Bros |
| Overseas Gross: $23,400,000 | Directed by: Stephen Daldry |
Starring: Tom Hanks Sandra Bullock |
Produced by: Scott Rudin |
Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close was co-financed for $40 million by Warner Bros and Paramount and the two studios were to split distribution territories, but Warner Bros ended up taking over those duties. After an expensive awards campaign that proves producer Scott Rudin can get a best picture nomination if he puts his muscle behind a film with mediocre reviews at best, the awards hopeful opened in limited release over the Christmas frame in 6 theaters to $72,348 with a $12,058 per screen average. After pulling in unimpressive numbers for 4 weeks in 6 theaters, Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close expanded to 2,630 theaters and struggled at the box office with $10,045,332 — placing #4 for the weekend led by Underworld Awakening and Red Tails. Even after a strong P&A spend, the film sputtered out of release with $31,847,881. After theater’s percentage of the gross, at least half of the ad spend and cash thrown at the awards campaign were in the red and the budget at a loss. The 9/11 theme likely turned off a lot of viewers and the mixed reviews certainly didn’t help and the overseas appeal was certainly limited — even with the star power of Sandra Bullock and Tom Hanks. Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close only pulled in $23.4 million, with Japan being the strongest territory at $6.1 million — but Rudin did pull off that best picture nomination, which is more impressive than the film’s run. Domestic video sales were $12.1 million (less after resellers take their cut and manufacturing costs).