PAPARAZZI

In March 2002 Mel Gibson’s Icon Entertainment left their long term home at Paramount for a two year first-look deal at FOX.  Paparazzi was a pet project for Gibson and was the first film greenlit over at FOX under the new arrangement.  Soon after, FOX passed on another Icon production The Passion Of The Christ and the fourth Mad Max installment coming together at the studio never materialized and Paparazzi became the only movie released from the deal.  Kurt Russell was originally in talks to lead the cast, but Cole Hauser took the reins.  Paparazzi was budgeted in the $20 million range and was a co-production of Icon and FOX.  With the Icon first-look deal dead by the time Paparazzi was ready for release, FOX dumped the pic over the slow Labor Day weekend and didn’t screen it for critics.  It was booked into 2,115 theaters and opened against the duds Vanity Fair, Wicker Park and The Cookout.  Paparazzi fared the best of the new openers with a weak $6,146,262 — placing #4 for the weekend led by holdovers Hero, Without A Paddle and Anacondas: Hunt For The Blood Orchid.  The pic declined a steep 54.9% in its second frame to $2,771,056 and closed with only $15,714,234.  FOX would see returned about $8.6 million after theaters take their percentage of the gross, far less than their modest P&A spend.  Paparazzi saw a brief release overseas, where multiple distributors dumped the film, including Icon, which distributed in their home country Australia where it pulled in a mere $33,131.  The overseas cume was $1 million and it was straight to video in most markets.