Some of the details of the agreement over the move The Watchmen are now emerging. I'm sure everyone already knows the story, WB screwed up and said they have the rights to the movie, when Fox actually did. After Fox contacted WB, they were blown off; the resulting lawsuit was won by Fox, who originally said they didn't want the movie to see the light of day. Finally, just last week, the two came to an agreement, and with what Fox is getting, no wonder they said ok.
So far, we know that the lawsuit will reward Fox with the following (thanks to Movieblog.com)
* Gross participation between 5% and 8.5%, depending on Watchmen’s overall performance at the box office.
* Future gross participation rights to any future Watchmen-related properties, including prequels, sequels and spinoffs (god forbid).
* An upfront payment in the $5-$10 million range, which will cover Fox’s costs while previously trying to develop a Watchmen movie, as well as the cost of the legal fees in the studio’s suit against Warner Bros.
* Other conciliatory favors from Warner Bros. that haven’t been officially announced as of yet, but are rumored to include moving Terminator Salvation from its original release date of May 22nd, 2009, in order to open up the box office for Fox-owned movies like Night at the Museum 2.
* Attempting to get certain Fox movies that in some way conflict with Warner Bros. contracts greenlit, including the comedy movie Date Night, which Fox wants Steve Carrell and Tina Fey to star in.
Am I the only one who is thinking "holy crap, that's an expensive list?" I mean, moving dates are not easy; a percentage of the movie won't be cheap given this will be huge; and rights to any follows will be big, whether it's next year or 10 years from now; on top of quite a few favors regarding their stars and property, I mean WB is at the mercy of Fox on this one. One thing is for certain, whoever said not to worry about Fox, WB has the rights is so screwed.
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