Nocturnal Animals

  • Nocturnal animals box office
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  • Directed By: Tom Ford
  • Written By: Tom Ford
  • Release Date: November 18, 2016
  • Domestic Distributor: Focus
  • Cast: Amy Adams, Jake Gyllenhaal, Michael Shannon, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Armie Hammer

Box Office Info:
Budget: $22.5 million Financed by: Universal; Tom Ford
Domestic Gross: $10,663,357 Overseas Gross: $19,648,500


Tom Ford took his Nocturnal Animals project to Cannes in 2015 with the intention of pre-selling some of the overseas rights to cover part of the budget, which at the time was expected to be around $17 million.  Ford was set to finance the picture himself to maintain total control and was not looking for a domestic distributor until after the film was completed.  Universal offered Ford one of the best deals in years at the festival, where the studio would take worldwide rights for $20 million with a minimum $10 million domestic P&A commitment.  Ford was able to maintain final cut and creative control and able to sign off on all marketing ads, after he felt The Weinstein Company did a poor job marketing his first feature A Single Man.  According to Ford, the production went over-budget, slightly above $2.5 million and he was responsible for covering the overages.

Universal’s specialty label Focus, which was instrumental in landing the hot project at Cannes, took on stateside duties.  Focus dated Nocturnal Animals as potential major awards contender, for a limited bow on November 18 with additional markets added in its second week and a nationwide expansion set for its fourth frame on December 9.

Nocturnal Animals was booked into 37 locations and pulled in an ok $492,648 with a $13,315 per screen average.  Much of the art house publicity that weekend was centered around the stellar reviews and $64,125 per screen average for Manchester By The Sea.  Nocturnal Animals expanded to 1,262 theaters in its fourth session and bowed against Office Christmas Party and the wide expansion of Miss Sloane.  It pulled in $3,161,381 — placing #8 for weekend led by holdover Moana.  Nocturnal Animals collapsed 55.5% the following weekend to $1,407,088 and promptly lost most of its theater count.  The domestic run closed with a very disappointing $10,663,357.  Focus would see returned about $5.8 million after theaters take their percentage of the gross.  The movie was out of release before the Oscar nominations were even announced and the once red hot project landed a single nom for Supporting Actor Michael Shannon.

Universal saw $19.6M from the overseas release, with $3.7M from the UK as the highest offshore gross.

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