THE KINGDOM

The Kingdom

The Kingdom was co-financed by Universal and Relativity Media for $70 million and The Kingdom would mark the last film from the $600 million equity line that Relativity head Ryan Kavanaugh set up called Gun Hill Road I. Set up as a hedge fund for private investors to invest in movies, the $600 million was pumped into 18 Sony and Universal films and by the time the funds were used, Gun Hill investments were deemed ‘dead money.’ The fund closed with a whimper when The Kingdom disappointed at the worldwide box office. Universal released in the pic in the US and invested in a heavy marketing spend and it was tracking neck and neck with the family skewing The Game Plan, but it was expected that The Kingdom would come out slightly ahead. The Game Plan over-performed, winning the weekend and The Kingdom came in slightly soft at $17,135,055. The film held ok in its second frame, declining 43.3% to $9,722,940 but it fell 52.6% to $4,608,025 in its third weekend, ending its chance at breaking out. It closed its domestic run with a weak $47,536,778 continuing the trend of audiences ignoring thematic films about the ‘war on terror’ — which saw In The Valley Of Elah struggle a few weeks earlier and Rendition and Lions For Lambs would tank in the upcoming weeks. Overseas, the film fared worse, bringing in $39.1 million, pulling in mediocre to poor numbers in every market. It is estimated The Kingdom posted a $30 million loss. Kavanaugh had already set up Gun Hill Road II, this time with $700 million from investors and the first film out of the gate was the disaster Evan Almighty.