47 Ronin
| Budget: $175 million | Financed by: Universal; Elliot Inc. |
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| Domestic Gross: $38,362,475 | Domestic Distributor: Universal |
| Overseas Gross: $113,354,340 |
Directed by: Carl Rinsch
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Starring:
Keanu Reeves
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Produced by: Scott Stuber
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Universal and Elliot Inc.’s $175 million budgeted samurai film took a $175 million write down, losing all but the marketing spend for one of the biggest flops not only of 2013, but of all time. 47 Ronin was a troubled production that was originally scheduled for release on November 21, 2012 but was delayed until February 8, 2013 and then delayed again because of a late ill fated decision to add 3D and additional reshoots, which sent its budget into the stratosphere. Budgets estimates go as high as $225 million, though Universal insists its closer to $175 million. First time director Carl Rinsch was canned during post production and a slew of editors tried their hand at salvaging the film.
The film’s rollout began in Japan and did poorly with a $1,022,721 opening weekend and closed with under $3 million, but while that stirred a lot of negative buzz about a samurai film tanking in Japan, their market is not very welcoming to foreign films, as they have a strong local market of movies. More troubling was the mediocre to poor numbers 47 Ronin posted everywhere else, with the exception of a strong $26,058,135 gross from Russia. 47 Ronin pulled in $113.3 million overseas.
47 Ronin opened in the US over a crowded christmas frame and bowed against The Wolf of Wall Street, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, Believe and Grudge Match. 47 Ronin was tracking very poorly and received awful reviews. It pulled in a troubling $9,910,310 and placed #9 for the weekend. 47 Ronin fell 49% in its second weekend over the New Years’ frame to $5,057,215 and sank 67.5% in its third weekend to $1,644,310 and promptly lost most of its theater count. The domestic run closed with $38,362,475. The worldwide total was $151.6 million, returning about $83.3 million to Universal after theaters take their percentage of the gross — covering most of the P&A expenses, but leaving a giant red gap of $175 million.