By Ben Fritz And Erich Schwartzel
Sunday's Academy Awards left both winners and losers in its
wake--even among the companies that backed Best Picture winner
"Birdman."
For Fox Searchlight, a studio within Twentieth Century Fox that
focuses on art-house films, "Birdman" marks the second year in a
row it has released a Best Picture winner, after last year's "12
Years a Slave," boosting its standing at a time when major studios
are increasingly pulling back from commercially challenging adult
dramas.
Independent film company New Regency Pictures co-financed both
pictures, boosting its ability to attract top filmmakers, said CEO
Brad Weston.
Meanwhile, the third financier, Worldview Entertainment Holdings
Inc., is embroiled in multiple lawsuits with former executives that
include a dispute over producer credits on the film.
Also left bruised by the Oscars is Walt Disney Co.'s ABC, the
network that aired the nearly four-hour ceremony. With no major
commercial hits taking home top prizes and host Neil Patrick Harris
receiving mixed reviews, ratings were down 16% from a year ago.
About 36.6 million people in the U.S. watched, according to
Nielsen.
"Birdman" is the highest-profile movie made by Worldview, an
8-year-old New York company started by a former investment banker
with private backing. Though the movie cost only about $20 million
to make, Worldview was a key piece of the puzzle to make the
economics of "Birdman" work for Fox Searchlight and New Regency--a
sign of how risk averse major Hollywood studios are when it comes
to highbrow adult dramas.
Former Worldview chief executive Christopher Woodrow said he
never expected a major commercial success from "Birdman," which
stars Michael Keaton as a washed-up movie star mounting a Broadway
show while doing battle with his own ego in the form of the super
hero he used to play. For Worldview, which hadn't co-financed with
a major studio before, "Birdman" was a chance to work with Fox and
New Regency. "On a worst-case basis we could get our money back,"
said Mr. Woodrow in an interview Monday.
The movie so far has made about $76.5 million world-wide, making
it modestly profitable, according to Messrs. Woodrow and Weston.
But "Birdman"--whose box-office take in the U.S. and Canada totaled
just $37.8 million--is the second-lowest grossing Best Picture
winner since at least 1982, behind only 2009's "The Hurt Locker,"
according to Rentrak, an audience- measuring firm.
Not much else has gone as planned at Worldview. One former
employee is suing for a breach of contract and alleges he is due an
"executive producer" credit on "Birdman."
Mr. Woodrow was fired last June and sued by the company, which
alleged he misled investors and misappropriated funds. Worldview
claims Mr. Woodrow charged tens of thousands of dollars' worth of
personal expenses to his corporate American Express and embezzled
$700,000. Among the alleged purchases: spa services, luggage and a
remodeling job at his mother's home in Ithaca, N.Y.
Mr. Woodrow called the allegations "baseless" on Monday. He has
countersued Worldview in New York's Supreme Court for defamation
and breach of contract and is asking for $55 million in damages and
the reinstatement of "producer" credits on several forthcoming
titles.
Current Worldview executives declined to comment.
Independent companies are increasingly part of the financing mix
in Hollywood for everything but big budget "event" pictures, as
studios concentrate their resources on franchises that can generate
the biggest profits--or losses if they bomb--for their
media-conglomerate owners.
Companies like New Regency have helped to fill in the gap. Mr.
Weston said he is trying to build a new reputation for the company,
which he took over in 2011, in part by working with prestige
filmmakers like "Birdman" director Alejandro G. Inarritu, who won
three Oscars Sunday for writing, directing and producing.
Though the profits from more intellectual films are typically
small at best, the prestige of an Oscar win can help New Regency
use "Birdman" to sell its library of movies to foreign television
networks, Mr. Weston said.
In addition, New Regency is producing a bigger budget movie
helmed by Mr. Inarritu and starring Leonardo DiCaprio with bigger
commercial ambitions. "The Revenant," a nearly $100 million Western
backed by New Regency and several other partners, will be released
by Fox in December.
When other major studios including companies including Walt
Disney Co., Time Warner Inc.'s Warner Bros., and Viacom Inc.'s
Paramount Pictures have pulled back from or abandoned the business
of making highbrow movies, Fox Searchlight has remained an
aggressive player.
(Twentieth Century Fox is a unit of 21st Century Fox. Until
mid-2013 Fox and Wall Street Journal owner News Corp were part of
the same company.)
Although "Birdman" won four Oscars, it is unlikely to get much
of a box-office boost, since the movie has been available to watch
at home since last week. However, it did shoot to No. 1 among
video-on-demand rentals from providers including Apple Inc.'s
iTunes and Amazon.com Inc.'s Instant Video.
And it will play at more than 800 theaters in the U.S. and
Canada this weekend, Fox Searchlight said, up from 292 last
weekend.
Joe Flint contributed to this article.
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