TAKE ME HOME TONIGHT

Take Me Home Tonight

• 
  Rate Movie

  [Total: 7 Average: 2.1]
  Genre(s): Comedy

• Directed By: Michael Dowse
• Written By: Jackie Filgo, Jeff Filgo
• Release Date: March 4, 2011
• Domestic Distributor: Relativity
• Cast: Topher Grace, Anna Faris, Dan Fogler, Chris Pratt
• 

---

Box Office Info:

Budget: $19 million	Financed by: Universal (Rogue)
Domestic Box Office: $6,928,068	Overseas Box Office: $648,536

Take Me Home Tonight was filmed back in 2007, originally with an $18 million budget backed from Universal’s Rogue label and then shelved for four years after Universal got cold feet regarding the movie’s cocaine use.  The short lived genre branch Rogue was sold off to financier turned fledging distributor Relativity Media in 2009 and Take Me Home Tonight was packaged with the library sale.  Relativity paid $9.5M for the rights to the picture and then issued reshoots for the delayed the movie, which added $1M in expenses.

Take Me Home Tonight was finally dated for a wide release on March 4, 2011 and was supported with a reported $20 million in P&A expenses.  Relativity even dished out $3M for a 30 second ad spot during the Super Bowl and also screened the movie on college campuses to spread word of mouth.  Take Me Home Tonight bowed against Rango, The Adjustment Bureau and Beastly and landed mostly negative reviews.

Tracking was pointing to a poor $4M – $6M opening, but it was dead on arrival with $3,464,679 — placing outside the top 10 at #11 for the weekend led by Rango.  Audiences gave the film a toxic C cinemascore and Take Me Home Tonight sank 63.3% to $1,272,239 in its second frame and was promptly pulled off all but 281 screens.  The domestic run closed with just $6,928,068.  Relativity would see returned about $3.8 million after theaters take their percentage of the gross — leaving most of their P&A and acquisition costs at a loss.

Universal put the movie out in a few overseas markets where it pulled in $648,536 and Take Me Home Tonight went direct to video mostly everywhere else.

After Relativity’s first turbulent year in the distribution business, they made the decision to cease most acquisitions and focus on in-house productions after the box office failures of the pickups Take Me Home Tonight, Shark Night 3D and Machine Gun Preacher.