SYDNEY WHITE

Morgan Creek financed the Amanda Bynes vehicle for $16.5 million and paid for P&A expenses through Universal’s distribution arm in the US.  Sydney White opened in the US in 2,104 theaters and was tracking under $10 million, trying to court young female auds as counter-programming to Resident Evil: Extinction and Good Luck Chuck.  It came in below its low expectations with a poor $5,196,380.  Audiences gave the film a solid A- cinemascore, but Sydney White had weak legs and it dropped 50.6% second weekend to $2,569,515 and it closed its US run with $11,892,415.  Morgan Creek would see back about $6.5 million after theaters take their percentage of the gross, plus a fee to Universal for use of its resources, which is far less than their modest P&A spend.  Overseas, Sydney White was released by Universal only in the UK, where they dumped it in 5 theaters to all of $3,472 and Morgan Creek sold the film to a few distributors, to an overseas cume of a mere $1.7 million and it went straight to video or TV in the markets that it saw a release.  Morgan Creek suspended operations for a few years after Sydney White, until they financed their expensive 2011 box office flop Dream House and co-financed The Thing remake (2011) and then shuttered their operations.  Recorded domestic home video sales were $7 million.