LISZT & CHOPIN IN PARIS
Major theatrical motion picture based on true story filmed at Europe’s greatest studios released by major U.S. studio accompanied by promotional Tour world-wide featuring 300-years of music live from beginning until present with international music elite on world’s greatest stages.
Featuring ultimate peformances in grand piano with the magic of Liszt’s and Chopin’s music and their contemporaries.
300-YEARS OF MUSIC TOUR
The magic of Franz Liszt and Frédéric Chopin captured with Dolby Atmos 3D
In theaters all over world
BUSINESS PLAN Overview:
Liszt & Chopin In Paris is a major, international production feature drama centered on the captivating story of two greatest music icons of all time Frédéric Chopin and Franz Liszt in the heart of 19th century Romantic Age in Europe in the culturally-driven, historically rich and accurate context.
The film focuses on the celebrated romance between Frédéric Chopin and George Sand, and between Franz Liszt and Marie d’Agoult in the context of social, economic, political and cultural forces that shaped the Romantic Age\ in 19th century Europe.
It is a tremendous project, deep, wonderful, a song to the past glory of Europe that captures the essence of art and life and shows audiences how life was then, how beautiful and noble it was and how it can be again with energy that can inspire, revitalize and resensitize the whole continent of Europe and with it the entire world.
The film will have tremendous impact on today’s audiences as it is a story of survival and the unconquerable human spirit during the creation of the greatest epoch in history – the Romantic Age that had such profound potential on humanity reaching its summit in the arts, music, literature, excellence and greatness of human spirit.
Because of its highly valuable historic content and high-end production value the film will be packed with major Hollywood-movie stars and participating world’s music elite.
Production is budgeted at $45 million allocated for pre-production, and $30 million for filming and post-production.
Additional soft money and production subsidies in the amount of € 35 mil. euros will supplement overall budget requirements guaranteed by government regulatory entities in France, Italy, Germany and UK per various agreements.
Additional subsidies “soft money” will be implemented by the producing studios according to individual production incentives programs in Eurozone established by European Film Commission and by government and regulatory entities in each country in UK, France, Italy and Germany. Production team:
Dr. Carl L. Woebcken (Studio Babelsberg) Producer Christoph L. Fisser, Production Executive Sonja Zimmer, Production Executive
Babelsberg Studios – Europe’s largest motion picture studio.
Description of PRODUCTION team – production studios, locations – UK, France, Italy, Germany and Russia. In addition to Babelsberg Studio (Berlin) where most salon and Lisztomania sequences (with extras and CGI) will be designed and shot, production will also take place at London’s Pinewood Studio for large, outdoor scenes using Pinewood studio lot and to some extent Cinecitta’ studio in Rome, including Pinewood’s affiliated branches in Rome and Cinecitta’s studio branch in Umbria. Production will also take place to limited extent in Prague, Budapest (possibly Romania) and St. Petersburg. Locations and Timeline: The film will be shot in France, Italy, Germany, UK (London and Scotland) and Russia. Production cycle: 24 months. Release date: Christmas 2020 Total production budget: $75 million usd including subsidies...... -=,�I =-- STUDIO -==<;.L � BABELSBERG
Studio Babelsberg AG Studio Babelsberg AG August-Bebel-StraBe 26-53 14482 Potsdam, Germany August-Bebel-StraBe 26-53 0-14482 Potsdam-Babelsberg
World Film Group, LLC Tel: +49 331.721 20 66 2711 Centerville Rd. Fax: +49 331.721 20 52 [email protected] Suite 400 www.studiobabclsberg.com Wilmington, DE 19808 Bankverbindungen Deutsche Bank AG USA IBAN DE J9 1207 0000 0300 1922 00 BIC DEUTDEBB 160 Berliner Sparkasse 18AN OE 07 1005 0000 0310 0166 81 SIC BELAOEBEXXX AG Vorstand Or. Carl L. woebc�en. vorsitzender Christoph Fisser Marius Schwarz Aufsiehtsrat Or. Roland Folz, Vorsitzender Reg istergericht Amtsgerleht Potsdam HRS 18441 P Steuernummer 046/100/0119!,
Potsdam, 3 November 2017
LETTER OF INTENT "LISZT & CHOPIN IN PARIS"
Dear Mr. Mark,
Herewith, we confirm that we are interested in supporting your project ,,LISZT & CHOPIN IN PARIS". We are pleased to continue negotiations for a co-production between World Film Group and Studio Babelsberg/Babelsberg Film.
Our participation will be subject to the following conditions: evidence of a German distributor commitment guaranteed use of Studio Babelsberg's facilities (especially Art Department services, sound stages and props rental) evidence of closed financing
The result of our negotiations will be captured in a Deal Memo and subsequently in a long-form agreement. Please note that until signature of such Deal Memo, we are not bound to obligations whatsoever.
I Studio Babelsberg – Berlin (main gate) Europe’s oldest and largest movie studio.
Studio Executives
Studio Executives – Christoph Fisser and Dr. Carl L. Woebcken
The above production executives have 50-years of experience in motion picture production behind them. In charge of Babelsberg Studio, the oldest full turnkey studio in Europe on the outskirts of Berlin where Alfred Hitchock was an apprentice and legendary filmmakers Fritz Lang made their mark on cinema worldwide have overseen productions such as Roman Polanski’s “The Pianist” Kate Winslet “The Reader” Andy and Lana Wachowski’s “Cloud Atlas” Quentin Tarantino’s “The Inglorious Basterds”, Tom Cruise’s “Valkyerie” and most recently Wes Anderson’s “The Grand Budapest” nominated for for the Oscar for Best Picture and Best Director in 2015. Sonja Zimmer, Production Executive
Filmography 2015 The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2 (production executive) (post-production) 2015 Point Break (production executive) (post-production) 2015 Unfinished Business (production executive: GER) (completed) 2014 The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1 (production executive) 2014 Beauty and the Beast (production executive) 2014 The Grand Budapest Hotel (production executive: Studio Babelsberg) OSCAR 2015 2014 The Monuments Men (production executive - uncredited) 2013 The Book Thief (production executive - uncredited) 2013 Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters (production executive) 2012 The Apparition (production executive: Studio Babelsberg Motion Pictures) 2012 Anonymous (production executive - uncredited) 2011 Hanna (production executive: Studio Babelsberg - as Sonja Zimmer) 2010 The Ghost (production executive: Studio Babelsburg) 2009 Ninja Assassin (production executive) 2009 Inglourious Basterds (production executive: Studio Babelsberg - as Sonja Zimmer) 2008 Valkyrie (production executive: Studio Babelsberg) 2008 The Reader (production executive: Studio Babelsberg - as Sonja Zimmer)
http://www.studiobabelsberg.com/en/filming-in-germany-film-production-services-soft- money-incentives-germany/
John Bernard, Producer
Xavier Wakefield, Producer
Jake Productions Jake Productions was founded in 2004 by vastly experienced British Producer John Bernard. Since its foundation company provides a vastly modernized and competitive approach to Production Servicing in France and Europe in general.
Despite trading since only 2004 Jake Productions already boasts a formidable list of credits which includes “Munich”, “Devil Wears Prada”, “Iron Man 2”, “Entourage”, “Inception”, “Dom Hemingway”, “Edge of Tomorrow” “Inglorious Basterds” and Martin Scorsese's “Hugo” and “The Wolf of Wall Street”, as well as numerous TV commercials for UK companies such as Partizan, RSA and Mad Cow Films.
Xavier Wakefield is an established Producer from London, who’s own resume includes over 500 commercials, pop videos and photo shoots. Xavier’s Location Manager credits include “Iron Man 2”, “Dom Hemingway”, fashion shoots for Mario Testino, as well as having scouted locations on two Ridley Scott movies and Wachowski’s brothers “Cloud Atlas”. Xavier has shot in over 15 countries worldwide and now handles major commercials and photo shoots. Both JB and Xavier’s careers have spanned over 20 years
http://www.jakeprods.com/motion-pictures.php Cineroma S.r.l. David Nichols, Producer/Line Producer “Seven Years of Tibet” “The Tourist” Francesco Marras, UPM “The Wolf of Wall Street”, “To Rome With Love” “Everest”
David Nichols lastest film EVEREST - a $65 million American 3D thriller starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Keira Knightley, Josh Brolin, Jason Clarke, John Hawkes, Sam Worthington, and Clive Standen based on a true story about Mount Everest tragedy in 1996 will be released by Universal in September 2015.
Cineroma s.p.a. David Nichols and Francesco Marras of Cineroma bring 25-years of experience as line producers with the Hollywood majors to Italy. “Bringing the Anglo-American audiovisual industry to Italy means getting a chance to work with the type of budgets that are not usually available in Europe’s film industry with all the benefits of technical know-how”. Two movies Cineroma has worked on recently are “The Tourist” and “To Rome with Love” by Woody Allen. Francesco Marras, UPM “The Wolf of Wall Street”, “To Rome With Love” “Everest”
ESSENTIAL FILMOGRAPHY: To Rome With Love (2012) – directed by Woody Allen The Tourist (2010) – directed by Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck Bruno (2009) – directed by Larry Charles The International (2009) – directed by Tom Tykwer Love’s Brother (2004) – directed by Jan Sardi Beowulf (2007) – directed by Robert Zemeckis A Good Woman (2004) – directed by Mike Barker Swept Away (2002) – directed by Guy Ritchie
CONTACTS: CINEROMA srl Via Margutta, 51 Rome 00100 – Italy E-mail: [email protected] T + 39 06 3600 4028 F + 39 06 3600 4200 David Nichols [email protected] Francesco Marras [email protected] Production will be led by producers Charles L. Woebcken (Babelsberg’s Studio owner and production executive), Sonja Zimmer, David Nichols, Francesco Marras (Cineroma s.r.l), and John Bernard (Jake Productions).
John Mark, Producer/Director will supervise the recording of the soundtrack for Liszt & Chopin In Paris as well as supervise the recording of various sequences needed for the corresponding scenes in production, and supervise the design, preparations and participation in the world tour accompanying the release of the film.
Mr. Mark is the writer of Liszt & Chopin In Paris who has conceived and written the story and the Script for Liszt & Chopin In Paris and is the film’s Director. Mr. Mark has also recorded and performed the preliminary piano soundtrack and has also storyboarded the Script to establish the visual base and imagery of the project (sample below):
Mr. Mark is the Producer of the film in charge of production and the artistic quality of the project, as well as in preparing the financial package and business structure of both the investment part and the production team. As creator and writer of Liszt & Chopin In Paris he is also the owner of the copyright. John Mark, Producer/Director John Mark has trainining from the best film and music schools in Europe and in the United States. Aside from his classical music upbringing and composition studies with Nadia Boulanger at the Paris Conservatory he has studied at world’s renowned film schools at Cinecittà in Rome, and at IDHEC (Institut des Hautes Etudes Cinematographiques - La Fémis, École Nationale Supérieure des Métiers de l'Image et du Son) in Paris working with such world-class directors as Antonioni, Truffaut and many legendary filmmakers. In 1976 he came to Los Angeles writing screenplays and adapting his skills and talent to various aspects of film production from cinematography, editing, sound recording, CGI and film development and production. Musicologist and virtuoso pianist himself John Mark is an expert on the subject of classical music and history of Europe and will direct the film subject to completion of financing package. Preparations are already on the way and various production elements are being implemented and in place at this time. Recording of state-of-the art instrumental, vocal and orchestral soundtrack Preparations of the initial recordings to pre-record various performances by soloists – piano, organ, violin, cello and vocal sequences before filming will be done in Cracow, several hours by car, or train from Berlin at Krzysztof Penderecki European Centre for Music, as well as at Teldex Sound (Berlin) and at Pinewood Studios (London/Post-Production). The recording facilities at Krzysztof Penderecki European Centre for Music in Cracow are state-of-the-art facilities, and Maestro Penderecki is one of the world’s most celebrated living composer credited with writing the score for Stanley Kubrick’s “Shining”. Maestro Penderecki’s contemporary music has joined the annals of European classical music such as “The Threnody for the Victims of Hiroshima” “St. Luke Passion”, “Anaklasis” and many other famous works, including operas, symphonies, a variety of instrumental concertos and choral settings, as well as multitude of chamber and instrumental works now performed by various orchestras and soloists all over the world. Music recording and rehearsal facilities at Krzysztof Penderecki European Music Centre in Cracow.
Audio recordings by Lipinski Audio and Royal Fidelity working with Krzysztof Penderecki on many of their celebrated recordings. Teldex Studio (Berlin) is the hub for recording classical music in Europe. It is one of the best, state-of-the-art recordings facilities where various piano sequences will be pre-recorded for the actors starring in Liszt & Chopin In Paris.
The soundtrack for the film will feature powerful performances by Liszt, Chopin and their contemporaries against magnificent visual and dramatic base, a historic motion-picture that is bound to become an international media event due to high-level of quality and powerful story telling making tremendous impact on international audiences in portraying the lives of Franz Liszt and Frédéric Chopin in 19th century Romantic Age.
Teldex (Berlin)
State-of-the-art pre-recorded Soundrack with binaural sound, will be presented in Dolby Atmos in 3D on thousands of screens in major cities featuring exquisite recordings by classical elite, world-class pianists, vocalists, violinists and organ soloists, conductors and orchestras are being set up and prepared at this stage. When combined Teldex Studio Berlin, Europe’s premier facilities for international classical recordings with Krzysztof Penderecki European Centre for Music to produce key instrumental sequences for Liszt & Chopin In Paris film for the actors portraying various roles and characters the production will result with one of the best ever soundtracks recorded for film. Pinewood Studios (London)
Post-Production facilities at Pinewood (London) e.g. mixing and syncing as well as editing and visual effects are some of the best in the world. Pinewood (London) with branches in Berlin, Rome and Los Angeles, as well as in Malaysia and Dominican Republic is a turnkey production studio offering complete state-of-the-art services for the most demanding productions. Pinewood is responsible for movies such as James Bond, Batman, Harry Potter, Slumdog Millionaire and Star Wars.
UK sequences as well as large, logististically demanding scenes for Liszt & Chopin In Paris will be done at Pinewood in London, Europe’s most technologically advanced production facility. Impact of Liszt & Chopin In Paris on audiences worldwide:
The IMPACT this film will have on audience worldwide is enormous.
Because it is such a well-known love story between George Sand and Frédéric Chopin, two most celebrated characters in history of Europe and in the history of the world, and because the Romantic Age is such celebrated epoch in human history on par with Renaissance audiences around the world will have the opportunity to relive this great era and experience first-hand how life was then, how beautiful and noble it was and how it can potentially be again.
This will be all supplemented by the most powerful concert presented in surround sound ever in history of cinema performed and recorded with new new Dolby Atmos standards and shown in cineplexes around the world.
Even though this is a film for audiences of all ages, our target audience are music and history fans since this film is entirely based on true story all over the world that number in hundreds of millions of viewers.
In Asia alone there are 50 million pianists and every one of them would love to see this film.
In United States and Europe comparisons can be made to “Gone With The Wind”, “Titanic” – essentially a love story based on historical facts due to its subjet matter and “The Sound of Music” , “Amadeus”, “The Shining” and few others. The other market for Liszt & Chopin In Paris which is just as huge as the Asian market is the European market with 500 million people in European union with combined 28 countries where classical music is just ubiquitous as water and air and part of European daily life.
European market is always the biggest market for US produced movies anyway, but a film with classical music in it, a big, larger than life blockbuster presenting the glory and beauty of Europe with the best music ever composed and recorded will be a special treat for every European.
Return on Investment/ROI
There are five (5) stages in feature film production.
1.) Development stage 2.) Pre-production stage 3.) Filming/Cinematography stage/also known as Production stage 4.) Post-Production Stage 5.) Distribution and P&A stage.
The first, development stage is the longest and the most tedious phase that generally takes years in the process and many, very successful films have been in development for 7-10 years, some even longer.
The reason for this is that it is a long road to secure all the elements necessary to develop competitive, cutting-edge product to the point where it would be ready for financing. However, once the project reaches maturity in development stage it is then ready for financing with qualified investors.
The Story-Audience-Profit Triangle
Profitability of the film is determined by several factors, the most important being the Story itself which is the foundation to any great film along with the right director and talented actors.
Most films produced today are based on average stories with average screenplays and that is why they have problems getting attention and distribution in worldwide market and access to global audience whose eclectic and highly diversified taste demands compelling, high-quality story and cutting-edge production.
In a world of social media where everyone has instant access to everything, a mediocre film with average story and average execution has no chance for distribution with little impact on global audience, and therefore no chance of high profitability.
Second, most important factor is the producer’s identification with the audience itself. A strong story is not the only reason for producing the film even though the story does underline the reason for producing the film in the first place, but in addition to the story producers must be convinced that there is a strong audience for the story and the possibility for global audience identification with it.
Whether it’s a niche audience, or wide demographic audience across the board producers must correctly evaluate and understand the size of the audience for the project, where it is, who are the people in this audience, and how the story compares to other similar stories that have been made into films.
Among key factors are a good line-up of recent comparable films in the genre, comparable budget and cast including detailed revenue model whenever possible whereby at least a worst case and best-case scenario is presented in terms of revenues along with other important criteria described herein.
Identifying the audience for the story and determining at what costs the film can be made to reach as wide audience as possible, with the widest age demographic will largely determine the film’s profitability for investors.
In contrast, investment in “blind” slate, or a group of films that are not fully understood and without clearly defined criteria in terms of the story quality and audience identification is not a good idea.
It is always better to invest in one project that it well-researched and understood with respect to its market potential with all necessary production elements thoroughly researched and prepared having the quality story and audience appeal along with a working, and appropriate production budget in order to focus on transitioning those elements into a high-end feature film product and successfully launching it in the global market.
Third element in terms of profitability and related to both the story and audience identification is the production budget. What is the precise budget required that will realistically turn that story into a compelling film product for that specific audience, and if so what expected revenues can it materialize? The other key factors taken into consideration relating to success and profitability of the film in addition to great story, audience identification, and fitting budget along with rigorous pre-production plan is carefully planned cost control with adequate risk mitigation measures that translate into balanced overall financial structure of the film including various tax incentives, presales, a solid debt and equity structure, as well as the project’s ability to secure distribution and P&A funds before its release.
P&A stands for printing and advertising. It is the cost of promoting the film and the cost of advertising before the film can to be released to cineplexes and cinemas worldwide with advertising in all media.
A detailed budget prepared by professional line producer with detailed financial structure should be made available to investors beforehand as well as to all members of the production team prior to commencement of pre- production.
A typical film production on this level requires cooperation of many people, from many different walks of life such as producers, bankers, lenders, private financiers, bond companies, talent agencies, sales agents, the creative talent itself, collection agencies, entertainment lawyers, film financing advisors, distributors, theaters, marketers, merchandisers, licensees, product placement experts, entertainment industry experts, government personnel, vendors and many others.
For a film to succeed in the global, worldwide market all the stakeholders need to work hand-in-hand, understand each other’s priorities, interests and objectives and move in the same direction. The producer is the liaison between all different stakeholders, and his team is ultimately responsible of bringing the film from script to screen.
There are many one-sided opinions describing movie industry as a jungle fraught with danger, or unpredictable business, but the fact is that the entertainment industry is like any other business, and investing in film production albeit risky is as in most high-stakes a front-loaded business (whereas all the cost is in the first four phases of production) henceforth for this reason if done right revenues and profit that occur during distribution can be very profitable. This section analyzes in great detail the hard-boiled reality of investing in film and how it works for both for the seasoned investor and private investor unfamiliar with feature film investment and entertainment industry in general.
Return on investment/ROI in feature film industry works according to pre-set and established formula. Although, no one can pinpoint exactly the exact, actual numbers (as in any investment), if the film has high enough budget making it eligible for worldwide distribution, small budgets have no chance in getting worldwide distribution and no ROI, although this is changing with the digital providers such as Netflix, Hulu, Amazon and others, and taking into consideration such commercially oriented, mainstream film has excellent story and high-quality production team (“movie power”) we can arrive at pretty good estimates.
Types of Financing
Producers are always in never-ending search for capital. Even though raising capital is not the producer’s main job, securing the capital to match his budget is a necessity, and since the invention of movies more than a century ago Hollywood producers have always attracted the attention of wealthy individuals who are willing to invest.
In every film project there are many types of capital being raised and various forms and stages of financing with each and every one of them being key factor allowing the project to come to fruition.
Types of financing during various stages of development and production:
Seed Money Working capital necessary to put together the financial package usually brought initially by private investor before seasoned investors come on board.
Private investor is an individual, often having little direct connection with the film industry, who invests his/ her own money in a film. Equity Financing
Generally, an equity investor fronting the capital all by himself will obtain a 20% premium on his capital, an executive producer fee at closing of the financing and 50% of the net profits of the film for its entire life.
Bridge Financing Bridge financing is a short-time loan that is not protected by a completion bond and is utilized when some costs need to be fronted before the financing of a film “closes.” The loan is repaid with a premium when the financing of the film closes.
Bank Financing
Collateralized bank financing requires qualifying tax credits from a solid institution, as well as pre-licensing agreements with a reputable sales agent in foreign territories. Once secured these elements can be financed with a certain discount by a bank at a reasonable rate.
Gap Financing is the difference between the required budget of the film and the amount of financing already raised. It is also called deficit financing representing difference between the required budget of film and the amount of finance already raised. In case of pre-sales gap financing is calculated on the basis of the difference between production finance already raised and the minimum expected from sales by a reputable sales agent. Gap financing, also called subordinated debt financing, or mezzanine financing is usually capped at 20% of the whole budget.
Super Gap Financing Super gap financing are loans that comprise 20-40% of the budget. Super gap bets on completing a higher degree of future sales and since it is financing a large chunk of the film’s budget it commands higher interest charges and higher fees than gap.\
Senior Debt The first is the senior debt, which is typically provided by a bank or a financial institution. Basically, the bank will cash flow from 50% to 80% of the presales contracts receivables and tax incentives from the government.
The senior lender is always looking for receivables: contracts from bankable sources. These contracts will generally be reassigned to the bank until the bank is fully refunded. The bank will of course require a repayment of its principal and a reasonable interest charge. No profit, or rights will divert to the bank as senior lenders.
Mezzanine Debt The second category is mezzanine lender or subordinate lenders called “gap financiers” because they finance the missing gap in the financial structure.
The word “mezzanine” refers to the fact that this loan is situated below the senior debt but higher in priority than equity. This is a much riskier loan but it also carries a higher yield than that of senior debt as well a small portion of the back-end profits.
Essentially, the mezzanine lender is advancing funds towards international sales estimates or “unsold territories”.
If the senior lender has also financed 80-90 percent of the tax credits, the subordinated lender often counts the remaining 10-20 percent of those unfinanced tax credits as an additional sum of collateral.
Because of its inherent risk in financing unsold territories, a subordinated debt transaction requires a thorough assessment of the project’s creative merits and a conservative valuation of each unsold territory.
The additional risk is that if the completed film doesn’t sell as well as anticipated and if certain presales were difficult to collect by the bank who provided the senior debt, that bank may sell other unsold territories for less in order to get its money back, leaving less revenue for recoupment.
P & A Financing Some investors will be willing to lend money at a premium - to either distributor or the producer to finance the P & A budget necessary to release the film.
P&A includes prints and digital copies of the film and the all-important advertising campaigns to reach the audience and entice them to go to the movies. This P&A loan will be refunded in priority from domestic receipts, once the distributor takes his average 25% to 30% percent distribution fee from the gross rentals received from theatres. Soft Money
Soft monies are sources of funds that producers don’t need to repay, such as grants, government subsidies, rebates, tax credits, or co production benefits. Tax incentives are applicable to preproduction, production or postproduction phases.
Branded Entertainment/Product Placement Finally, another source of financing is branded entertainment, commonly known as product integration and as product placement, whereby a producer will integrate a brand in the storyline of a film for a fee (product integration ) or use the brand on the screen and will get the product for free for use during principal photography (product placement).
Product integration often requires a signed domestic distribution contract up front with at least 2,000 print or screens commitment, or more and around $20 million of commitment for P&A budget, although there are exceptions on case by case basis whereas a company will advance a fee for integrating their brand into the storyline during the film’s development and financing stage, but in either case prior to paying a fee the management will want to know if the movie will be distributed so that potential customers will likely see their brand.
Deferments A deferment is very handy in setting up the financing of a film as it allows for a portion of the sum due to an investor to only be paid once a certain negotiated threshold is met. The “back-end” payment postponed in a deferral is an excellent tool that takes risk into account and allows the budget and the film itself to make more financial and commercial sense.
Table 1.0 Example of returns and recoupment per type of film financing. Traditionally, hedge funds, private equity funds, pensions funds, Wall Street firms and high net worth individuals are the film financiers in large-scale independent production, and “Liszt & Chopin In Paris” a $75 million dollar budget product (below-the-line/BTL and above-the-line/ ATL) is such a film.
After 2008 recession investors have become quite diversified with almost everyone looking for better return on their money. That’s because despite some downfall in recent years, the film industry is still a vibrant, recession-proof industry that provides returns usually uncorrelated to the current state of the economy.
It is a business that is constantly in the growth mode that is entirely independent and uncorrelated to the economy, all this despite the fact that the press routinely predicts the decline of the movie industry which in fact is not in decline but continuously growing with the advent of new technologies and new distribution methods making its products and the business itself truly global enterprise.
For many investors, investing in film production has become an attractive alternative to more traditional investments. Indeed, for independented investors looking to balance their portfolio with an asset class that does not hinge on the ups and downs of Wall Street investing in film holds obvious appeal.
Investors who want to diversify their portfolio with an asset class that is isolated from most systemic risks, investing in filmed entertainment is very compelling.
Risk can be significantly reduced with proper measures to a degree where investment in filmed entertainment can potentially out perform typical performance of any sector with investors have fun doing it.
In 2012 the global box office receipts for all films released around the world according to the Motion Picture Association of America increased by 6% from the previous year reaching $ 34.7 billion, with $37.8 billion in 2013 and $42.3 billion in 2014.
In 2009, in the darkest moments of the Great Recession, the US & Canada box office established a new record high at $10.6 billion. The entertainment industry has been historically less affected by economic cycles because even today, a good movie still offers one of the most affordable entertainment options to millions of people around, costing less than $40 dollars for a family outing of four.
With respect to raising the capital needed to produce movies and to sustain their business even studios, also called the majors such as Disney, Warner Bros., Paramount, Universal, Sony and MGM are constantly looking for capital and for new equity money despite the fact that they are essentially large, established distribution organizations with established production facilities, sound stages and back lots.
Some studios such as Lionsgate and The Weinstein Company called mini- majors are mainly distributors without owning back lots, or production stages and they make the bulk of their profit from distribution charging upwards of 25-30% distribution for their services.
On top of it out of the world’s nearly 130,000 plus cinema screens worldwide the movie world switched to digital and went online.
Per table below, a major, independent film carrying average of $50 million production budget must bring more than $100 Million US dollars in domestic box office to reach breakeven point. Further, because of various stakeholders in the film. A $100 million dollar mark in box-office returns requires a lot more in revenus to bring profit to investors in the waterfall scheme of revenues both domestically and internationally.
Table 2.0 Breakdown of typical independent film at $50 million budget. It is very clear from the revenue structure above that a major theatrical film with an average budget of $50 million usd must bring more than $100 Million US dollars in domestic box office to reach breakeven point and several times its original investment in order to generate considerable profit (ROI) for investors.
This formula is explained in further detail in the following pages. What is worth noticing that of all the movies that grossed over $250 million dollars and more, nearly all those films are American made movies and that these commercially successfully movies are produced by elite American filmmakers who follow this process by the book and so are their investors.
Table 3.0 Here is the list of movies that grossed over $250 million dollars:
This chart is not adjusted for inflation.
Year Released Title Worldwide Box Office
1 2009 Avatar $2,783,919,005
2 1997 Titanic $2,207,615,686
3 2012 The Avengers $1,514,279,552
4 2011 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II $1,328,111,232
5 2013 Frozen $1,254,512,386
6 2013 Iron Man 3 $1,172,805,920
7 2003 The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King $1,141,408,682
8 2011 Transformers: Dark of the Moon $1,123,794,076
9 2012 Skyfall $1,110,526,992
10 2014 Transformers: Age of Extinction $1,081,139,076
11 2012 The Dark Knight Rises $1,079,343,948
12 2010 Toy Story 3 $1,069,818,229
13 2006 Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest $1,060,615,812
14 2011 Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides $1,043,663,875
15 1993 Jurassic Park $1,038,812,599 16 2010 Alice in Wonderland $1,020,020,941 17 2012 The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey $1,014,703,584
18 1999 Star Wars Ep. I: The Phantom Menace $1,007,044,677
19 2008 The Dark Knight $1,002,891,358
20 2013 Despicable Me 2 $974,758,842
21 2001 Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone $974,755,373
22 2007 Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End $960,996,492
23 2010 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I $956,399,711 24 1994 The Lion King $952,880,140
25 2014 The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies $951,748,384
26 2013 The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug $950,466,855
27 2007 Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix $942,943,935
28 2004 Shrek 2 $937,008,132
29 2009 Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince $935,083,689 Year Released Title Worldwide Box Office
30 2002 The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers $927,048,992
31 2003 Finding Nemo $906,465,562
32 2005 Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire $896,911,078
33 2007 Spider-Man 3 $890,875,304 34 2001 The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring $887,217,688
35 2012 Ice Age: Continental Drift $879,765,137
36 2002 Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets $878,979,634
37 2009 Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs $859,701,864
38 2013 The Hunger Games: Catching Fire $857,668,047
39 2005 Star Wars Ep. III: Revenge of the Sith $848,998,892
40 2009 Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen $836,519,701
41 2012 The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, Part 2 $832,660,037 42 2010 Inception $832,584,416 43 1996 Independence Day $817,400,878
44 2002 Spider-Man $809,942,906
45 2007 Shrek the Third $807,330,936
46 1977 Star Wars Ep. IV: A New Hope $797,900,000
47 2004 Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban $796,688,549
48 1982 ET: The Extra-Terrestrial $792,965,326
49 2013 Fast and Furious 6 $789,952,817
50 2009 2012 $788,408,539
51 1997 The Lost World: Jurassic Park $786,686,679 52 2008 Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull $786,558,145
53 2004 Spider-Man 2 $783,705,001 54 2014 Guardians of the Galaxy $771,172,112 55 2006 The Da Vinci Code $767,820,465
56 2012 The Amazing Spider-Man $757,890,267
57 2010 Shrek Forever After $756,244,673
58 2014 Maleficent $751,407,328
59 2012 Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted $746,921,277
60 2014 X-Men: Days of Future Past $744,321,536 61 2013 Monsters University $743,588,329
62 2003 The Matrix Reloaded $738,576,936
63 2009 Up $731,542,621 64 2005 The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe $720,539,572 65 2013 Gravity $716,392,705
66 2014 Captain America: The Winter Soldier $713,846,960
67 2011 The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, Part 1 $709,938,660
68 2014 The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1 $709,505,120
69 2014 The Amazing Spider-Man 2 $708,996,339
70 2007 Transformers $708,272,592
71 2014 Dawn of the Planet of the Apes $703,545,589
72 2010 The Twilight Saga: Eclipse $699,590,681
73 2011 Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol $694,713,231
74 2009 The Twilight Saga: New Moon $686,862,580
75 1994 Forrest Gump $679,857,164
Year Released Title Worldwide Box Office
76 2012 The Hunger Games $678,773,965
77 1999 The Sixth Sense $672,806,304
78 2013 Man of Steel $667,999,518
79 2014 Interstellar $665,318,944
80 2011 Kung Fu Panda 2 $664,837,547
81 2002 Star Wars Ep. II: Attack of the Clones $656,695,615
82 2012 Men in Black 3 $654,213,485
83 2006 Ice Age: The Meltdown $651,899,285
84 2003 Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl $634,954,111
85 2013 Thor: The Dark World $633,360,018
86 2008 Kung Fu Panda $631,910,532
87 2011 Fast Five $629,927,766
88 2007 Ratatouille $626,549,695
89 2008 Hancock $624,234,272
90 2010 Iron Man 2 $623,561,331
91 2004 The Passion of the Christ $622,420,681
92 2014 How to Train Your Dragon 2 $616,102,928
93 2004 The Incredibles $614,726,752
94 2012 Life of Pi $607,987,024
95 2005 War of the Worlds $606,836,535
96 2014 Big Hero 6 $604,811,968
97 2008 Mamma Mia! $602,500,560
98 2008 Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa $599,516,844
99 2006 Casino Royale $594,420,283
100 2008 Quantum of Solace $591,692,083
101 1997 Men in Black $587,790,539
102 2010 Tangled $586,581,936
103 2011 The Hangover Part II $586,464,305
104 2007 I am Legend $585,532,684
105 2008 Iron Man $582,443,128
106 2006 Night at the Museum $581,570,293
107 2013 The Croods $573,068,432
108 1983 Star Wars Ep. VI: Return of the Jedi $572,700,000
109 2011 The Smurfs $563,066,553
110 2011 Cars 2 $560,155,388
111 2001 Monsters, Inc. $559,757,719
112 2005 Madagascar $556,559,566
113 2004 The Day After Tomorrow $556,319,451
114 2012 Ted $556,016,631
115 2011 Puss in Boots $554,987,485
116 2012 Brave $554,606,532
117 1998 Armageddon $554,600,000
118 2005 King Kong $550,517,364
119 2000 Mission: Impossible 2 $549,588,516
120 2010 Despicable Me $543,495,033
121 2011 Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows $535,663,443
Year Released Title Worldwide Box Office
122 1980 Star Wars Ep. V: The Empire Strikes Back $534,171,960
123 2008 WALL-E $532,590,994
124 2013 World War Z $531,514,651
125 2015 Fifty Shades of Grey $528,271,042
126 2007 The Simpsons Movie $527,071,022
127 1990 Ghost $517,600,000
128 1991 Terminator 2: Judgment Day $516,816,151
129 2004 Meet the Fockers $516,567,584
130 1999 Toy Story 2 $511,358,276
131 2014 Godzilla $508,172,193
132 1992 Aladdin $504,050,219
133 2014 American Sniper $501,215,520
134 2009 Sherlock Holmes $498,438,212
135 1996 Twister $495,900,000
136 2010 How to Train Your Dragon $494,870,992
137 2014 Rio 2 $493,738,435
138 2010 Clash of the Titans $493,214,888
139 2001 Shrek $491,812,794
140 2009 Angels & Demons $490,875,848
141 2013 Oz the Great and Powerful $489,570,996
142 2011 Rio $487,519,809
143 2005 Mr. And Mrs. Smith $486,124,090
144 1998 Saving Private Ryan $485,035,085
145 2014 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles $485,004,754
146 2004 Troy $484,161,265
147 2003 Bruce Almighty $483,473,962
148 2011 Rise of the Planet of the Apes $482,860,192
149 1990 Home Alone $476,684,675
150 2005 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory $475,825,484
151 1989 Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade $474,171,806
152 2012 Wreck-It Ralph $473,412,677
153 1975 Jaws $470,700,000
154 2013 Star Trek Into Darkness $466,978,661
155 2009 The Hangover $465,764,086
156 1999 The Matrix $463,517,383
157 2006 Cars $461,651,246
158 2006 X-Men: The Last Stand $459,359,557
159 2014 The Lego Movie $457,729,390
160 1996 Mission: Impossible $457,697,994
161 2000 Gladiator $457,683,808
162 2007 National Treasure: The Book of Secrets $457,325,807
163 2003 The Last Samurai $456,810,576
164 2007 300 $454,161,935
165 1991 Beauty and the Beast $451,421,632
166 2001 Ocean's Eleven $450,728,531
167 2014 Lucy $450,663,600
Year Released Title Worldwide Box Office
168 2011 Thor $449,326,618
169 2001 Pearl Harbor $449,239,856
170 1999 Tarzan $448,191,824
171 2009 Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel $443,483,213
172 2012 Les Miserables $442,169,058
173 2007 The Bourne Ultimatum $442,161,564
174 2002 Men in Black 2 $441,767,803
175 1993 Mrs. Doubtfire $441,286,003
176 2001 The Mummy Returns $435,040,403
177 2003 Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines $433,058,304
178 1990 Pretty Woman $432,645,872
179 2002 Die Another Day $431,942,139
180 2010 The King’s Speech $430,821,175
181 2003 The Matrix Revolutions $427,289,110
182 2000 Cast Away $427,230,518
183 2012 Les Intouchables $426,480,872
184 2012 Django Unchained $425,373,694
185 1990 Dances with Wolves $424,200,000
186 2010 The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader $418,186,952
187 2008 The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian $417,341,288
188 2013 The Wolverine $416,456,852
189 1999 The Mummy $416,385,488
190 2008 Sex and the City $415,247,264
191 1988 Rain Man $412,800,000
192 1989 Batman $411,348,924
193 2013 Pacific Rim $411,002,906
194 1992 The Bodyguard $410,900,000
195 2002 Signs $408,265,696
196 2003 X2 $407,711,551
197 2008 The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor $405,760,225
198 2008 Twilight $402,976,680
199 1973 The Exorcist $402,735,134
200 2009 Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian $402,231,070
201 2012 Snow White and the Huntsman $401,011,884
202 2012 Prometheus $399,005,710
203 2010 Tron: Legacy $397,562,768
204 2006 Mission: Impossible III $397,501,348
205 2013 The Wolf of Wall Street $391,976,725
206 1939 Gone with the Wind $390,525,192
207 1991 Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves $390,500,000
208 1981 Raiders of the Lost Ark $389,925,971
209 1978 Grease $387,513,776
210 2002 Ice Age $386,116,346
211 2009 Star Trek $385,680,446
212 2006 Happy Feet $385,000,320
213 2008 Slumdog Millionaire $384,519,673 Year Released Title Worldwide Box Office
214 1985 Back to the Future $383,874,862
215 2007 Live Free or Die Hard $382,288,152
216 2009 Monsters vs. Aliens $381,687,380
217 2012 Taken 2 $377,807,405
218 1998 Godzilla $376,000,000
219 2002 My Big Fat Greek Wedding $374,890,034
220 2009 X-Men Origins: Wolverine $374,825,760
221 2006 Superman Returns $374,085,065
222 2011 The Adventures of Tintin $373,993,952
223 2000 What Women Want $372,100,000
224 2013 G.I. Joe: Retaliation $371,923,060
225 2004 Shark Tale $371,917,043
226 2011 Captain America: The First Avenger $370,569,783
227 2014 Gone Girl $368,567,184
228 2007 The Golden Compass $367,262,558
229 2014 Penguins of Madagascar $367,256,792
230 2005 Hitch $366,784,257
231 2001 Jurassic Park III $365,900,000
232 2009 Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins $365,491,795
233 1994 True Lies $365,300,000 234 1995 Toy Story $364,530,148
235 1995 Die Hard: With a Vengeance $364,480,746 236 2014 Edge of Tomorrow $364,406,256
237 1999 Notting Hill $363,728,228
238 1998 A Bug's Life $363,095,319
239 2009 Fast & Furious $363,064,272
240 2004 Ocean's Twelve $362,989,076
241 2001 Planet of the Apes $362,211,744
242 2013 The Hangover 3 $362,000,072
243 1999 The World is Not Enough $361,730,660 244 2007 Alvin and the Chipmunks $360,578,646 245 1998 There's Something About Mary $360,099,999
246 2005 Batman Begins $359,142,724 247 1992 Home Alone 2: Lost in New York $358,994,850
248 2002 Minority Report $358,824,714
249 1994 The Flintstones $358,500,000
250 1986 Top Gun $356,800,608
251 1995 Goldeneye $356,429,941
252 1999 American Beauty $356,258,048
253 2014 Noah $356,200,048
254 2000 Dinosaur $356,148,064
255 2011 X-Men: First Class $355,408,305
256 1993 The Fugitive $353,715,317
257 1992 Basic Instinct $352,700,000
258 2010 The Karate Kid $351,774,938
259 2013 Now You See Me $351,723,992
Year Released Title Worldwide Box Office
260 1994 The Mask $351,620,129
261 1988 Who Framed Roger Rabbit? $351,500,000
262 2002 Catch Me if You Can $351,106,800
263 2013 The Great Gatsby $351,040,419
264 2012 Doctor Seuss' The Lorax $350,976,753
265 2001 Hannibal $350,100,280
266 1998 Deep Impact $349,464,664
267 2004 I, Robot $348,629,585
268 2013 The Smurfs 2 $348,547,523
269 2001 Rush Hour 2 $347,425,834
270 1995 Pocahontas $347,100,000
271 2012 Hotel Transylvania $345,907,371
272 2014 Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb $345,320,864
273 2000 How the Grinch Stole Christmas $345,141,410
274 2008 Wanted $342,416,460
275 2007 Enchanted $340,384,144
276 2014 The Maze Runner $339,571,416
277 1997 Tomorrow Never Dies $339,504,276
278 1977 Close Encounters of the Third Kind $337,700,000
279 2011 Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked $337,307,392
280 1995 Batman Forever $336,529,144
281 1996 The Rock $336,069,511
282 2006 Over the Hedge $336,002,985
283 1995 Apollo 13 $334,100,000
284 1984 Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom $333,080,271
285 1989 Back to the Future Part II $332,000,000
286 2014 22 Jump Street $331,333,883
287 2004 National Treasure $331,323,416
288 2010 Black Swan $331,266,712
289 2014 300: Rise of an Empire $330,780,051
290 2005 Fantastic Four $330,717,080
291 2008 The Curious Case of Benjamin Button $329,809,328
292 2000 The Perfect Storm $328,711,434
293 1995 Se7en $328,125,643
294 2008 Bolt $328,015,210
295 1986 Crocodile Dundee $328,000,000
296 2006 The Devil Wears Prada $326,073,159
297 1996 The Hunchback of Notre Dame $325,500,000
298 2010 Robin Hood $322,459,006
299 2010 Megamind $321,887,211
300 1993 Schindler's List $321,365,567
301 1987 Fatal Attraction $320,100,000
302 2010 The Last Airbender $319,713,881
303 1992 Lethal Weapon 3 $319,700,000
304 2004 The Polar Express $319,049,664
305 2012 Journey 2: The Mysterious Island $318,146,162
Year Released Title Worldwide Box Office
306 2013 The Conjuring $318,000,144
307 2001 A Beautiful Mind $317,668,058
308 2009 Inglourious Basterds $316,971,720
309 1984 Beverly Hills Cop $316,300,000
310 2009 Disney's A Christmas Carol $315,709,697
311 1997 Air Force One $315,268,353
312 2009 The Proposal $314,709,718
313 2010 Prince of Persia: Sands of Time $314,594,601
314 1997 As Good as it Gets $314,111,923
315 2012 The Expendables 2 $311,979,256
316 2007 Ocean's Thirteen $311,744,465
317 2010 Little Fockers $310,650,574
318 1999 Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me $310,332,636
319 1999 Runaway Bride $310,138,178
320 2005 Chicken Little $310,043,830
321 1996 Ransom $308,700,000
322 2002 Chicago $307,687,520
323 2006 The Pursuit of Happyness $307,325,633
324 2012 Rise of the Guardians $306,900,904
325 2009 The Blind Side $305,705,794
326 2012 Battleship $305,220,228
327 2000 Meet the Parents $304,599,899
328 2013 A Good Day to Die Hard $304,249,200
329 1996 101 Dalmatians $304,200,000
330 2014 The Fault in Our Stars $303,572,352
331 1998 Mulan $303,500,000
332 1997 Liar Liar $302,710,615
333 2009 G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra $302,469,023
334 2012 Wrath of the Titans $301,970,083
335 1991 Hook $300,854,823
336 1985 Rambo: First Blood Part II $300,400,000
337 1985 Rocky IV $300,373,716
338 1978 Superman $300,200,000
339 2004 Van Helsing $300,150,546
340 2008 Horton Hears a Who $299,477,887
341 2010 Shutter Island $299,461,784
342 1997 My Best Friend's Wedding $298,923,419
343 1999 Stuart Little $298,800,008
344 1989 Look Who's Talking $297,100,000
345 2000 X-Men $296,339,717
346 2010 Resident Evil: Afterlife 3D $295,874,192
347 1984 Ghostbusters $295,212,467
348 2010 Sex and the City 2 $294,680,782
349 1998 Doctor Dolittle $294,156,605
350 2002 Austin Powers in Goldmember $292,738,629
351 1999 The Green Mile $290,701,376
Year Released Title Worldwide Box Office
352 2010 Salt $290,650,494
353 2006 The Departed $290,587,304
354 2011 Bridesmaids $289,527,030
355 2015 Taken 3 $289,478,192
356 1988 Coming to America $288,800,000
357 2000 What Lies Beneath $288,693,989
358 2004 The Bourne Supremacy $288,587,456
359 2007 Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer $288,215,319
360 2013 Oblivion $287,913,162
361 2007 Bee Movie $287,594,580
362 2009 G-Force $287,389,685
363 2013 Turbo $286,896,578
364 2001 American Pie 2 $286,500,000
365 2014 Divergent $286,347,895
366 1965 The Sound of Music $286,214,286
367 2013 Elysium $286,192,094
368 1998 Lethal Weapon 4 $285,400,000
369 2005 The Wedding Crashers $283,218,368
370 1994 Speed $283,200,000
371 2012 John Carter $282,778,101
372 1977 Saturday Night Fever $282,400,000
373 1995 Casper $282,300,000
374 2001 Bridget Jones's Diary $281,527,162
375 2012 The Bourne Legacy $280,354,828
376 1998 Shakespeare in Love $279,500,000
377 2010 The Tourist $278,731,372
378 2000 Scary Movie $277,200,005
379 1987 Beverly Hills Cop II $276,665,036
380 2002 Scooby-Doo $276,294,164
381 1991 The Silence of the Lambs $275,726,716
382 2002 Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi $274,949,886
383 2008 Gran Torino $274,543,085
384 2008 High School Musical 3: Senior Year $274,392,880
385 2013 Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 $274,392,650
386 1996 Jerry Maguire $274,000,000
387 1996 The Nutty Professor $273,814,019
388 2012 Lincoln $273,346,281
389 2001 Lara Croft: Tomb Raider $273,330,186
390 2003 Bad Boys II $272,940,870
391 2010 Grown Ups $272,223,430
392 2009 The Princess and the Frog $270,997,378
393 2014 Neighbors $270,590,572
394 1993 The Firm $270,340,892
395 2014 Mr. Peabody & Sherman $269,806,432
396 2008 10,000 B.C. $269,065,678
397 1972 The Godfather $268,500,000 Year Released Title Worldwide Box Office
398 2014 Exodus: Gods and Kings $268,314,512
399 2010 The Expendables $268,268,178
400 1942 Bambi $268,000,000
401 2007 American Gangster $267,985,459
402 2013 We're the Millers $267,816,276
403 2002 xXx $267,200,000
404 1992 Batman Returns $266,824,291 405 2003 Something's Gotta Give $266,685,242
406 1993 Indecent Proposal $266,600,000
407 2013 Epic $264,987,147
408 1995 Waterworld $264,246,220
409 1997 The Fifth Element $263,900,000
410 2004 Bridget Jones: The Edge Of Reason $263,894,551
411 2011 Real Steel $263,880,344 412 2008 The Incredible Hulk $263,417,913
413 1995 Jumanji $262,758,310
414 2006 Borat $261,443,244
415 1990 Total Recall $261,400,000
416 2005 Robots $260,700,016
417 2015 The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water $260,549,824 418 2013 The Lone Ranger $259,989,912
419 2000 Charlie's Angels $259,736,090 420 2010 Knight and Day $258,751,370
421 1985 Out of Africa $258,210,860
422 2011 Super 8 $257,972,745 423 1997 The Full Monty $257,938,649
424 2000 Erin Brockovich $257,805,246
425 2004 The Village $257,641,634
426 2007 Rush Hour 3 $256,585,882
427 1997 Bean $256,574,128
428 1993 Cliffhanger $255,000,000
429 2007 Wild Hogs $253,013,584
430 2010 True Grit $252,276,928
431 2009 Michael Jackson's This Is It $252,091,016
432 2013 After Earth $251,499,665
433 2015 Kingsman: The Secret Service $251,241,688
434 1998 You've Got Mail $250,800,000
435 1997 Hercules $250,700,000 436 2014 Annabelle $250,673,816
437 1998 Enemy of the State $250,649,836
438 2003 Brother Bear $250,397,801
439 1996 Space Jam $250,200,000 “Waterfall” Recoupment
To really understand what “waterfall” means, one has to look at both, domestic and international sales recoupment schedule for a waterfall.
Investors unfamiliar with film industry and the way distribution and its revenue revenue distribution model works are not aware that before anything is disbursed first revenues are absorbed into various stakeholders before the actual investors can ever see their first dollar.
However, this is not necessarily a bad thing because if the movie is successful and this as described earlier depends first and foremost on the quality of the story and artistic and production value of the film as it costs exactly the same amount of money making a bad film as in it is producing all time box-office hit, and after all the costs are deducted its smooth sailing for investors afterwards as successful mainstream films will generate considerable revenue streams for years to come.
The formula works as follows:
Assuming the film reaches 1 Billion usd in worldwide distribution: A. 1/2 of Gross Receipts goes to exhibitors - $500 million usd. B. From the remaining $500 million costs of production and P&A are deducted for example in this case $100 mill usd leaving $400 mil. to investors. C. 25%-30% distribution cost is deducted by distribution leaving $280 million. D. 25% of $280 million amounts $70 mil. usd which is the ROI that is paid to investors with 25% equity, or equivalent. All U.S. distributed movies follow the same formula while corresponding equity/loan ratios are convertible and negotiated on individual basis.
Table 4.0 Domestic box-office revenue chart.
What investors are not told is that most trade publication that publish domestic and worldwide box-office earnings, per above do not disclose the fact that a film that hypotheticially generates $100 million dollars at the box-office with the production budget of $50 million is not actually profitable, and that is not because of bad accounting practices or cheating.
A production company of reputable filmmakers working with major studios that are public companies do not engage in bad accounting practices, or misappropriation of funds cheating investors out of their money or profits, although occasionally there were such incidents in the past and still are as in any business and the entertainment industry is no exception to such hazards.
It is because the published box-office numbers omit the cost of P&A which usually is the double the cost, and sometimes triple the amount of the actual production budget, and it is the cost of the advertising and marketing expenses that is immediately deducted by the distributor soon after theater exhibitors, the movie theaters and multiplexes take their 50% stake from the revenues.
With the cost of P&A triple the amount of the budget, the production cost itself deducted from 50% of revenues with the other 50% going to theater chains referred to as “theatrical rentals” it is easy to do the numbers.
What gets complicated is that after the film is picked up for distribution and gets theatrical release different stakeholders such as sales agents, senior lenders, mezzanine lenders, gap financiers, bond companies and other stakeholders collect their contractual stake before the investors see their ROI.
This structure is explained and described in detail in the inter-party agreement during the financing phase clearly describing all the contractual agreements between the producer and various stakeholders and investors should always ask for and thoroughly review such inter-part agreement describing relationship between various financing parties and stakeholders in the film that precisely describes the recoupment schedule (“waterfall”) for investors.
After the film is released, distribution company (whether major studio or independent distributor) will deduct its distribution fee of anywhere between 20-35% for theatrical rentals and then deduct the cost of P&A which is repaid from the first dollars, including all costs of advertising before and during the release of the film and for the various copies of the film prints delivered, digital or analog that made to varioustheater chains and exhibitors.
This cost is never described and/or included in the film’s budget, or in tabulated box office receipts, but without P&A money there is no theatrical distribution.
After this process is completed the producer, and the equity investors will start receiving their money soon after all production costs are offset, after the distribution fee and the P&A loans are recouped, and while the entire package represents 50% of published box-office receipts from which all the costs above are deducted waterfall disbursement can begin and will begin for investors at that point.
As we can see now, a feature film with a budget of $ 50 million that generates a domestic box office of $ 100 million will not be able to repay its production costs solely from its theatrical exploitation, as payment of the distribution fee and repayment of the $35 million plus loan in P&A expenses will only leave a surplus of $2.5 million to go against the cost of production which will mean a loss of $ 47.5 million in this case.
Technically, any film can make some money, or even a lots of money but often little, or no net profit if the distribution process and the marketing model is not planned and prepared in advance and professionally executed and this goes back to:
A. Story value. B. Audience appeal. C. Production value of the film. D. Distribution entities (domestic and worldwide). E. Advertising and marketing model.
“Liszt & Chopin In Paris” meets all those above criteria and it is an amazing and magnificent film. The producers of this project know this business as you can tell and will do exactly what it takes to prevent this project and this enterprise from deviating from this business model and shall maximized execute all points A. thru E. above on the highest level.
We are fully aware that unless all those criteria above A. thru E. are met in advance and are thoroughly planned and executed on the highest level, along with thorough and detailed production planning and execution of all production phases from day one the enormous capacity of this film will be lost, and the project will never be able to meet its true potential.
The Story-Audience-Marketing Potential
In “Liszt & Chopin In Paris” the story-audience-profit triangle is translated into story-production-marketing triangle with the music recorded by world’s super-elite adding an extra element to its revenue and profit model along with promotional series of concerts worldwide promoting the movie’s soundtrack on world’s greatest stages.
This program will all become part of highly advanced P&A marketing campaign to assure the widest possible domestic and international worldwide on a scale where all waterfall revenues will easily exceed both the productionand P&A costs, and the distributor fee of 25%-30% along with all other expenses and stakeholders.
The production budget and marketing plan if used wisely can help create and market a masterpiece the will be continufe to be viewed over and over and again in many media format both in theaters, and at home can create unprecedented revenue/waterfall worldwide way over and above the costs of production, marketing and distribution.
We can demonstrate with high degree of confidence and high-level of probablity that this film will be very profitable regardless of negative drawbacks the industry’s revenue model which really is not a negative, but realistic risk assement of costs incurred in producing a film on this scale that if used well can be effectively used in risk assessment and management and to demonstrate the high-level probability and potential of “Liszt & Chopin In Paris” on global scale.
What’s important to note is that the entire process from the beginning of production to ROI is at most 24-30 months as the production cycle of each film prior to distribution is this long, and the revenues start coming immediately at the point of distribution which is exactly corresponding with the time of the release of the film and production cycle within 24-30 months from the point of funding.
We are breaking this all down for investors to present the accurate business model for “Liszt & Chopin In Paris” and the motion picture industry revenue model in general, important information that most producers often do not disclose and trades do not publish letting investors and potential business partners know the potential of this project and the fact that understand exactly the film industry’s business model, and have the know to adhere and execute it on the highest level answering why “Liszt & Chopin In Paris” project can be an all-time box office hit for global audiences worldwide.
The Story
“Liszt & Chopin In Paris” is a story about two greatest music icons of all time for whom airports are named: Franz Liszt and Frederic Chopin. The story evolves during the greatest period of humanity – the Romantic Age in the most exotic locations in Europe, a period single-handedly responsible for everything we associate with today’s modernity. It is also the greatest love story of all time on par with two most famous couples Anthony and Cleopatra and Romeo and Juliet.
The Audience
The audience for this story is built-in worldwide by millions and tens of millions on every continent, as it is the story evolving around the source of all music Bach, Mozart, Beethoven with two main characters in the story considered the most romantic heroes of all time surrounded by star studded female characters in a never stream of romantic twists and turns with universal appeal for audiences of all ages. Table 5.0 Four Quadrant Matrix for film audiences worldwide:
Male>25 Female>25
Male <25 Female<25
The four-quadrant nature of this project is especially attractive to investors and audiences as it combines the best of drama, visual effects, cinematography, costumes, star power, breathtaking locations with the best of music ever created in the history of mankind. Music for all ages aspect of this project successively targets all audience segements, respectively all men and women under and over 25 years old.
The audience for this film is already built-in since nearly everyone listens to classical music and if they don’t they will as it was the case of “Amadeus” that was a huge hit because audiences all over the world discovered the music of Mozart, and recently when Lady Gaga sang a medley from “The Sound of Music” during the billions of people realized the power of music on the movie screen.
The Returns – Film + Recordings + Global Tour = Profits
Once the cost of P&A, cost of distribution 25%-35% and the cost of production are recouped from the 50% from the films box office receipts and various stakeholders in production are paid the extensive music tour will take off together with this unique film on global scale collectively called World Tour, or Tour Mondial (working title) with participation of the biggest stars in the music industry. Subsidies: Production of Liszt & Chopin In Paris qualifies for production subsidies in France, Germany, Italy and UK in the amount of 10 mil. euros from each country. CAST/ROLES
o FRANZ LISZT Lead, Male 21-40 yrs o FREDERIC CHOPIN Lead, Male, 21 - 39 yrs o GEORGE SAND Lead, Female, 30 - 45 yrs o MARIE D'AGOULT Lead, Female, 25 - 40 o AUGUST FRANCHOMME Supporting, Male, 30 - 50 yrs o AUGUSTE CLESINGER Supporting, Male, 20 - 30 yrs o CAMILLE PLEYEL Supporting, Male, 20 - 40 yrs o CHARLES VALENTIN ALKAN Supporting, Male, 20 - 35 yrs o CHARLOTTE DE ROTHSCHILD Supporting, Female, 20 - 30 yrs o CHARLOTTE VON HAGN Supporting, Female, 20 - 30 yrs o CLARA SCHUMANN Supporting, Female, 20 - 35 yrs o COUNT D'ORSAY Supporting, Male, 30 - 45 yrs o CRISTINA BELGIOJOSO Supporting, Female, 20 - 40 yrs o DELFINA POTOCKA Supporting, Female, 20 - 40 yrs o EUGENE DELACROIX Supporting, Male, 20 - 40 yrs o FATHER LAMENNAIS Supporting, Male, 30 - 40 yrs o FELIX MENDELSSOHN Supporting, Male, 25 - 40 yrs o GIOACHINO ROSSINI Supporting, Male, 20 - 40 yrs o HECTOR BERLIOZ Supporting, Male, 20 - 40 yrs o HENRY BROADWOOD Supporting, Male, 35 - 40 yrs o JANE STIRLING Supporting, Female, 25 - 40 yrs o JENNY LIND Supporting, Female, 20 - 35 yrs o JOSEPH FETIS Supporting, Male, 30 - 40 yrs o KAROL SZULCZEWSKI Supporting, Male, 20 - 30 yrs o KING LOUIS PHILIPPE Supporting, Male, 35 - 50 yrs o LADY BLESSINGTON Supporting, Female, 20 - 30 yrs o LEON ESCUDIER Supporting, Male, 20 - 30 yrs o LOLA MONTEZ Supporting, Female, 20 - 30 yrs o LOUIS VIARDOT Supporting, 25 - 35 yrs o LOUISE CHOPIN Supporting, Female, 30 - 40 yrs o MARIE DUPLESSIS Supporting, Female, 20 - 25 yrs o MARIE PLEYEL Supporting, Female, 20 - 30 yrs o MARQUIS DE CUSTINE Supporting, Male, 25 - 40 yrs o MISS (SCOTCHY) ANDERSON Supporting, Female, 30 - 40 yrs o NICOLO PAGANINI Supporting, Male, 20 - 40 yrs o PAULINE VIARDOT Supporting, Female, 20 - 40 yrs o PRINCE VALENTIN RADZIWILL Supporting, Male, 20 - 30 yrs o PRINCESS CAROLYNE WITTGENSTEIN Supporting, Female, 25 - 40 yrs o QUEEN VICTORIASupporting, Female, 18 - 30 yrs o ROBERT SCHUMANN Supporting, Male, 20 - 40 yrs o SIGISMOND THALBERG Supporting, Male, 20 - 40 yrs o SOLANGE DUDEVANT Supporting, Female, 20 - 25 yrs Cast:
Liszt & Chopin In Paris is a major international production, an epic drama about friendship and rivalry between two greatest music icons - Frédéric Chopin and Franz Liszt. It is a story for audiences of all ages that spans across two revolutions during 19th century Romantic Age as the two icons create modern era of classical piano virtuosity enjoyed today by millions around the world.
The characters in Liszt & Chopin In Paris will be portrayed by major Hollywood stars ( Lead Actors) and internationally known actors. Elite Pianists and Soloists: The following list contains short bios of super elite pianists, top world-class soloists and orchestras selected to participate in the recording of the various sequences needed for the soundtrack and corresponding scenes in the production, as well as the participation in world tour promoting the film. In the past there were movies made about Chopin and Liszt, but never on this level, and never together on this scale featuring Chopin and Liszt with ground-breaking performances by many world’s super-elite pianists and soloists. Liszt & Chopin In Paris is the ultimate blockbuster for audiences of all ages that spans across two revolutionary decades during which Franz Liszt and Frédéric Chopin lived and competed in the most glorious and exciting period in humanity – the Romantic Age. The magic of Franz Liszt and Frédéric Chopin captured in DOLBY 3D SURROUND SOUND in theaters and cineplexes worldwide.
LANG LANG – Concert Pianist
Lang Lang was born in Shenyang, (China) to a family of musicians. His father Lang Guoren, a Manchurian is also a musician who specializes in the erhu, a traditional Chinese stringed instrument. He began his first formal piano lessons with Professor Zhu Ya-Fen at age three, and at age five won first place at the Shenyang Piano Competition in China.
Since graduating from Curtis Institute in Philadelphia Lang Lang has worked with the world's best orchestras under such renowned conductors as Ashkenazy, Barenboim, Chailly, Sir Colin Davis, Dutoit, Eschenbach, Gergiev, Jansons, Levine, Mehta, Maazel, Muti, Ozawa, Sir Simon Rattle, Salonen, Slatkin, Temirkanov and Tilson-Thomas. http://www.langlang.com/
YUJA WANG – Concert Pianist
Yuja Wang was born in Beijing (China) and began studying piano at age six. She than went on to study at the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing.
In 2006 she made her New York Philharmonic debut at Vail Music Festival and toured the United States with Academy of St. Martin in the Field led by Sir Neville Mariner. She made her Carnegie Hall recital debut in October 2011 and since than she regular tours in major cities throughout Asia, Europe and North America.
http://www.yujawang.com/ DANIIL TRIFONOV – Concert Pianist
Daniil Trifonov is a graduate of the Gnesin School of Music in Moscow, where he studied with Tatiana Zelikman. Since 2009 he has been studying with Sergei Babayan at the Cleveland Institute of Music. He was born in Nizhniy Novgorod in 1991 and has studied music since he was five.
Daniil has been performing in Russia, Germany, Austria, Italy, Netherlands, United Kingdom, China, Canada, USA, and Israel. In 2009 Daniil toured Italy and the U.S., including his debut in New York Carnegie Hall in May 2009 and 1st Prize at the Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow. In January 2013 Daniil has signed as the exclusive Deutsche Grammophon artist. http://www.daniiltrifonov.com/
YEOL EUM SON – Concert Pianist
Yeol Eum Son was born in Wonju (South Korea) and began playing piano since age 4. She made a recital debut on Kumho Prodigy Concert Series in July 1998. At the age of 12 she began studies with pianist Kim Dae-Jin and at 16 entered the Korean National University of Arts to continue her studies.
At age 18 she recorded complete set of Chopin Etudes Op. 10 and Op. 25 released by the Universal Music Label, and drew international attention with her appearance with Lorin Maazel and New York Philharmonic Orchestra. Ms. Son is the winner of Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in 2009, and 2nd prize Winner of The Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow in 2011. http://www.yeoleumson.com/sub3.asp?lang=eng EVGENY KISSIN – Concert Pianist
Evgeny Kissin was born in Moscow and began piano studies at the esteemed Gnessin State Musical College for Gifted Children at the age of six. At the school, he became a student of Anna Kantor, who remained Kissin's only piano teacher.
He makes regular recital tours of Europe, America and Asia and has performed with nearly all the leading orchestras of the world in the past few decades to great acclaim by critics and audiences around the world. http://www.kissin.dk/ YULIANNA AVDEEVA – Concert Pianist
Yulianna Avdeeva began her piano studies at the age of five. She studied at the Gnesin Special School of Music in Moscow, and graduated from Zürcher Hochschule der Künste. After her graduation, she became an assistant to her teacher, Konstantin Scherbakov.
Yulianna Avdeeva has travelled around the world performing in concerts in more than 25 countries, including performances at the Barbican Center in London, Tchaikovsky Conservatory Concert Hall, International House of Music in Moscow, the Boesendorfer-Saal and the Karajan Center in Vienna, Warsaw Philharmonic and the Tonhalle in Zurich among many others. http://www.yuliannaavdeeva.net/html/bio_en.htm ANNA FEDOROVA – Concert Pianist
Anna Fedorova was born in Kiev (Ukraine) and began playing piano at age five. She gave her first public recital when she was six, and her national debut was in 1997 at the National Philharmonic Society of Ukraine. Anna Fedorova frequently performs as soloist, chamber musician and with world’s major orchestras and appears at prestigious venues such as the Amsterdam Concertgebouw, Palacio de Bellas Artes and Sala Neza in Mexico City, and the Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires. She currently lives in London and her performances in the Netherlands with the Royal Concergebouw orchestra are sold out.
http://annafedorova.com/ Many other elite pianists, soloists and performing artists will be recording and participating in ”Liszt & Chopin In Paris” soundtrack and will also participate in 2-year promotional tour during the film’s released. Recording Artists by Groups:
Anna Prohaska, soprano; Elīna Garanča, mezzo-soprano (Vocalists)
Olivier Latry, Thomas Trotter, Louis Robillaird (Organ)
Max Vengerov, Joshua Bell, Anne-Sophie Mutter, Hillary Hahn (Violinists)
Umberto Clerici, Norbert Anger, Steven Isserlis, Edgar Moreau (Cellists)
Orchestras: • Zubin Mehta • Bernard Haitink • Riccardo Muti “Liszt & Chopin In Paris” Soundtrack will set a new standard in recording industry and is going to be produced with newest, high-end technology compatible with SACD/THX, IMAX and all formats using new, revolutionary 3D process raising the sound experience to whole new level in the movie theater. Capturing ultimate craftsmanship in concert grand piano technology with the magic of Liszt’s and Chopin’s music. The recordings will utilize the latest technology DOLBY ATMOS and will be presented in surround, binaural format in 3D along with breathtaking costumes, set design, amazing locations and filmed with the latest and best cinematography available and the soundtrack recorded with much higher quality than in traditional concert hall, or recording studio surrounding custom-recorded for state of the art cineplexes worldwide with latest digital technology.
The music and the interpretation of Chopin and Liszt works will raise both the standard and recording expectations of classical music to a whole new level. This process however requires concentrated effort and dedication of significant resources by many pianists and artists from around the world with participation of the best recording industry experts, as well vocalists, violinists, cellists, organ players, orchestra conductors, choirs and orchestras themselves.
Both Chopin and Liszt were surrounded by the greatest singers and soloists of all time during their epoch such as Paganini on violin, cellists such as Chopin’s friend Franchomme and both Chopin and Liszt were intimately involved with the greatest singers and orchestras of their time. ZUBIN MEHTA – Conductor
Zubin Mehta is an honorary citizen of Florence and Tel Aviv and was made an honorary member of the Vienna State Opera in 1997. In 2011, Mehta received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame as one of the most celebrated conductors in the world.
Zubin Mehta has conducted over three thousand concerts with this extraordinary ensemble including tours spanning five continents. In 1978 he took over the post as Music Director of the New York Philharmonic commencing a tenure lasting 13 years, the longest in the orchestra's history. http://www.zubinmehta.net/ Orchestras
Warsaw Symphony performing Chopin’s Piano Concerto in e- minor – Salle Pleyel scene. London Symphony Choir performing Mozart’s REQUIEM at Chopin’s funeral scene at Eglise de la Madeleine. Chicago Symphony Orchestra – Riccardo Muti Berlin Philharmoniker - Zubin Mehta Vienna Philharmonic – Bernard Haitink Record Company/Distribution – Liszt & Chopin In Paris
We are currently in discussions with Deutsche Grammophon Universal Music Group) as well as with SONY, EMI, DECCA and other top-label, record companies subject to final agreements. Please refer to our extended list of recording facilities, pianists, artists and repertoire being scheduled for this project.
Distribution: Distribution will be by one, or more U.S. major such as Warner Bros. Disney, Paramount, Sony, Universal or 20th Century Fox. Talks with studio executives regarding both U.S. and worldwide distribution are in progress. Promotional Tour: 300-Years of Music World Tour is meant to recreate the soundtrack of Liszt & Chopin In Paris and re-enact Lisztomania live on world’s stages. This promotional venue is tied to product placement by various global companies working with the Tour promoting their products in world’s major concert halls according to corresponding territories and individual companies strategic placement on local level. The Tour will take place simulatenously in 30 countries shortly after the release of the film Liszt & Chopin In Paris worldwide. Contact Information:
John Mark, Producer, Director Tel. +1. 941.276.1474 Direct e-mail: [email protected]
IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm4560775/resume
Websites: http://www.lisztandchopininparis.com/
John Mark Performs Chopin Polonaise in A-flat Major https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1AHFD6kJg08 Promotional Soundtrack for Liszt & Chopin In Paris (Universal Studios/UMG) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2gfVjdYQebM John Mark Performs Chopin’s Ballade in F-minor https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=anOqRLf4rxg
Assistant to Mr. Mark: Daniel Szpilman, Asst. Director e-mail: [email protected] website: www.szpilman.net
David Nichols, Producer CINEROMA Tel. +39 06 3600 4028 e-mail: [email protected] Carl L. Woebcken, CEO Producer BABELSBERG STUDIO Tel. +49 331 72 120 66 e-mail: [email protected]
Babelsberg (Berlin)
LISZT & CHOPIN IN PARIS Feature Film | SAG-AFTRA | Starts: April 2018 | Filming in: France, UK, Italy, Germany and Russia
This document and the proposal contained herein describing strategic objectives are subject to change according to individual artists and participants availability and agreed upon contractual terms.
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