Che
| Budget: $61.5 million | Financed by: Wild Bunch; Telecinco Cinema; Morena Films |
|---|---|
| Domestic Gross: $1,497,109 | Domestic Distributor: IFC Films |
| Overseas Gross: $29,824,849 | Directed by: Steven Soderbergh |
Starring: Benicio Del Toro | Produced by: Gregory Jacobs |
The $61.5 million budgeted two part film, was 75% financed by France’s Wild Bunch and 25% from Spain’s Telecinco Cinema and Morena Films. Strong pre-sales covered an estimated $54 million - $58 million of the budget, leaving the financiers with low exposure to the risky project. Wild Bunch was looking to sell the US rights between $8 million - $10 million at Cannes, but all of the major US studios passed on Che and IFC Films picked up US distribution and paid a low seven figure sum. IFC gave the films a small theatrical release with part 1 and part 2 playing concurrently and Che never expanded beyond 39 theaters. The films grossed $1,497,109 in the US and IFC also pushed a VOD release for the film. Overseas, the results were mixed with the huge pre-sale cash that distributors plunked down, Spain was the strongest territory with $9.7 million and the overseas total was a weak $29.8 million across multiple distributors — who overpaid for the films and certainly most distributors lost most of the acquisition cost and their marketing spend. Che: Part Two was sent straight to video in the UK and Spain.