The Express
| Budget: $38 million | Financed by: Universal; Relativity |
|---|---|
| Domestic Gross: $9,793,406 | Domestic Distributor: Universal |
| Overseas Gross: $14,718 | Directed by: Gary Fleder |
Starring: Rob Brown Dennis Quaid | Produced by: John Davis |
Universal and Relativity financed The Express for $38 million and sneak previewed the period sports drama the week before release to help spread word of mouth, but attendance was light. Tracking going into release was in the low to mid teens, but The Express was dead on arrival with $4,562,675 — placing #6 for the weekend led by holdover Beverly Hills Chihuahua and new openers Quarantine and Body Of Lies. Despite receiving an excellent A cinemascore from audiences, The Express fell 52% to $2,191,210 the following weekend and was pulled out of release after four weeks with only $9,793,406. Universal would see back about $5.3 million after theaters take their percentage of the gross, which would barely put a dent in the P&A spend and wouldn’t cover any of the budget. American college football has little to no appeal outside of the US and The Express was dependent on the domestic market and saw a release only in the UK to just $14k. It went straight to video or television in most countries. Recorded domestic home video sales were $7.6 million (less after resellers take their cut and manufacturing costs).