Flash of Genius
| Budget: $20 million | Financed by: Spyglass Entertainment |
|---|---|
| Domestic Gross: $4,442,377 | Domestic Distributor: Spyglass Entertainment (through Universal) |
| Overseas Gross: $360,576 | Directed by: Marc Abraham |
Starring: Greg Kinnear | Produced by: Gary Barber |
Flash of Genius was fully financed by Spyglass Entertainment for $20 million plus marketing costs and they distributed in the US through Universal’s distribution arm. Veteran producer Marc Abraham made his directing debut with this true story of the man who invented the intermittent windshield wiper. Windshield wipers + no star power = flop.
Flash of Genius was first dated for October 17 and then Universal moved it forward to October 3 and pushed The Express back a week to fill in the Oct 17 vacancy. Flash of Genius opened moderately wide in 1,098 theaters over a very crowded weekend that saw six other wide bows — Beverly Hills Chihuahua, Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist, Blindness, An American Carol, How to Lose Friends and Alienate People and Religulous. It was lost in the market and pulled in a terrible $2,251,075 — placing outside the top 10 at #11. Flash of Genius fell a huge 61.5% in its second weekend to $867,780 and was pulled from all theaters after only three weeks with a total of $4,442,377. Spyglass would see back about $2.45 million after theaters take their percentage of the gross, which leaves most of the P&A costs in the red and the budget at a loss. Flash of Genius received a limited theatrical release in a few countries overseas to just $360,576.