"Marvel is running out of cash" says David Poland

[Dark Donnie]

I don't believe that Marvel lost money on Hulk, they can't have not broke even with DVD sales and Pay per view

Domestic: $134,806,913 51.2%
+ Foreign: $128,620,638 48.8%

= Worldwide: $263,427,551

Budget- $150,000,000.00 Million

According to Boxofficemojo.

Factor in prices for print, advertising, etc.

 

[topdog1]

He says fanboys throw a fit about everything, even when "someone sheds a tear," I think he's probably referring to Spider-man movies there.

Well, at least he got one thing right. Certain fanboy fits are why no one takes us seriously any more.

David Poland is entitled to his opinion but it's based on nothing. He's an entertainment blogger who tries to be the master of all but ends up being an expert in nothing.

I guarantee you that Incredible Hulk made money for Marvel. They've stated as much with figures to back it up in shareholder conference calls. I've listen to every shareholder conference call marking each quarter and you simply can't flat out lie. It may not have been huge Iron Man numbers but revenue was generated. How close to the percentage on the Merrill Lynch loan that they had to pay off is another matter, however. Bank of America Merrill Lynch did advise Marvel on the Disney sale. That loan is still in play and financing Marvel films until the Disney sale is approved by shareholders. I'm assuming that once it's approved that Disney will pay off the loan thus making future Marvel films more profitable because they don't have to pay a percentage back on financing a film.

 

[AVEITWITHJAMON]

Within a year, I wouldn't be surprised if Disney acquired Paramount from Viacom. Many of Paramount's successes can be attributed to existing relationships with other companies (Hasbro, Dreamworks...Marvel). They've already lost Dreamworks to Disney and now Marvel is being bought by them as well. I wouldn't say that they get sold off because of Disney's acquisition of Marvel, but it definitely pushes a potential sale along. Paramount doesn't have many strong franchises remaining that it actually owns ("Star Trek" and possibly "Indiana Jones" withstanding).

Call me crazy, but I would definitely watch what happens to Paramount over the next year because I would seriously be surprised if it doesn't get sold off. This of course would allow Disney to fully own and distribute all of the new Marvel films.

Paramount also own the Transformers franchise which has made them billions, I doubt they will be bought out to be honest.

 

[JackBauer]

I'd just like to point out: there's no way in hell Disney'll cancel the Marvel films, since the only films that have actually made any real money for them in the past decade have been Pixar ambitions. All of their motion-picture money has come from an out-of-house source. The same will be said with Marvel.

Really? I mean, REALLY?!

 

[Venom'sDad]

Well I was one of the guys telling people not to downplay TIH's box office numbers. I am not going back to beat the dead horse, but maybe those lack luster numbers just finally caught up to Marvel's finances. Maybe Disney feels they can't make 400 million plus on Thor/Cap WW. I just can't imagine a nightmare like that. X-Men movies with Fox in recent years would pale in comparison.

Well, I certainly think that may very well hold true in Cap as far as I'm concern... because of what Cap represent and the feeling, for the most part, worldwide for America.

I think Thor can come close..... +/- 50 million.

 

[TheVileOne]

Domestic: $134,806,913 51.2%
+ Foreign: $128,620,638 48.8%

= Worldwide: $263,427,551

Budget- $150,000,000.00 Million

According to Boxofficemojo.

Factor in prices for print, advertising, etc.

That doesn't automatically translate to $163 million in pure profit.

$150 million doesn't take production, advertising, and distribution fees into account.

$263 million, exhibitors get a piece of that, Universal gets a piece of it. So I mean, did it break even, I wonder. I'm sure with DVD and ancillary markets they probabaly didn't lose a lot of money.

But I mean movie studio accounting is messed up. Favreau said on Howard Stern that the studio claims they still haven't broken even yet for ELF. Elf which was like a $30 million movie Favreau directed that made like $140 million domestic.

 

[TheVileOne]

edit.

 

[smooth3006]

all i have to say is thor, captain, the avenger, ironman 3 and another hulk better damn well take place! i want confirmation on what he is saying! as far as going for pg movies, yes i fear that will happen very soon! this buy out was a huge mistake and we are all doomed!

 

[smooth3006]

Does this guy seriously think that Disney would go so far as to cancel Thor or The Avengers because they'd be "too expensive"?

Gimme a f'n break.

he is right though, thor doesn't have that big of a fan base. can you imagine how much the avengers will cost to make let alone pay all of those possible big name actors? i think captain will be made but the avengers will all depend on the numbers they bank!

 

[Evil Twin]

That doesn't automatically translate to $163 million in pure profit.

$150 million doesn't take production, advertising, and distribution fees into account.

$263 million, exhibitors get a piece of that, Universal gets a piece of it. So I mean, did it break even, I wonder. I'm sure with DVD and ancillary markets they probabaly didn't lose a lot of money.

But I mean movie studio accounting is messed up. Favreau said on Howard Stern that the studio claims they still haven't broken even yet for ELF. Elf which was like a $30 million movie Favreau directed that made like $140 million domestic.

I'm sure when everything was added up, The Incredible Hulk made a profit. But, when you factor in all the other partners, taxes, overhead, payments of interest on the line of credit, etc., I'd suggest it was a pretty minor profit and an inadequate return on investment considering the alternatives. Heck, putting off TIH for a year so that it could compete in a weaker Summer might have been better. In 2009, Marvel Studios is carrying all their management overhead, is financing an expensive sequel, is financing the development of Thor and Captain America, and has little income coming in. The cash flow statement for this year is probably not looking so great, although that will obviously change when IM2 comes out.

 

[smooth3006]

what i wanna start seeing is the reactions of the actors and directors, writers...etc of the upcoming marvel flicks we were promised. i also would like to see stan lee comment on this situation. seems the board and net is split 50/50 on this deal. id try to stay optimistic but i just can't. marvel was hard up for money and they took the first bail out they could. i fear the avengers will NEVER see the light of day on the big screen other than an animated film done by pixar!

 

[FlawlessVictory]

what i wanna start seeing is the reactions of the actors and directors, writers...etc of the upcoming marvel flicks we were promised. i also would like to see stan lee comment on this situation. seems the board and net is split 50/50 on this deal. id try to stay optimistic but i just can't. marvel was hard up for money and they took the first bail out they could. i fear the avengers will NEVER see the light of day on the big screen other than an animated film done by pixar!

Stan Lee 'Couldn't Be Happier' About Disney Buying Marvel Entertainment

Posted 4 hrs ago by Josh Wigler in Marvel, News


The ramifications of Walt Disney Company acquiring Marvel Entertainment have yet to be fully grasped—though we're starting to get a vague picture—but that hasn't stopped the comic book community from speaking out regarding the announcement.

Now, legendary Marvel creator Stan Lee is adding his voice to the Disney-Marvel conversation. Considering how close Lee came to buying Marvel with Michael Jackson, it's not terribly surprising to learn that not only is he in favor of Disney's acquisition, he's actually thrilled by it.

"I couldn't be happier with this agreement," Lee said in a statement. "It's [a] great move for Disney, for Marvel and for my company Pow! Entertainment since Pow! has a first-look deal with Disney. From every point of view, the merger of Disney and Marvel is a match made in heaven."

While the prospects of ludicrous Marvel-Disney mash-ups have worried some in the fan community, Lee sees nothing in the new partnership except upside.

"Just imagine," he said, "with this deal Marvel gives Disney a library of literally hundreds of unique and colorful characters that have the potential to make great, high-concept movies and long-lasting franchises—and nobody knows how to play in that ball park better than Disney.

"This is a great day for the two companies and for the entertainment community as a whole," he continued. "To sum it up as simply as possible, when you combine the best with the best, everyone wins!"

http://splashpage.mtv.com/2009/09/0...ier-about-disney-buying-marvel-entertainment/

 

[luca_frontino]

I had my doubts on The Incredible Hulk been profitable for real.
Now Disney's move makes it all clear as day: Marvel Studios was losing money and the Thor/Cap flicks were going to put them in bankruptcy because there was no way those movies would have made a good profit.
The problem is that superhero movies non-Spider-Man/Dark Knight are not profitable solely through boxoffice income.
If Favreau really said Elf has not yet broken even when the budget/gross ratio is +450%, I really doubt TIH will start make money back before its 10th anniversary.
Anyway I don't really care for movie adaptations; just hope Disney won't force creative decisions on the comics department.

 

[FaT_tONle]

I had my doubts on The Incredible Hulk been profitable for real.
Now Disney's move makes it all clear as day: Marvel Studios was losing money and the Thor/Cap flicks were going to put them in bankruptcy because there was no way those movies would have made a good profit.
The problem is that superhero movies non-Spider-Man/Dark Knight are not profitable solely through boxoffice income.
If Favreau really said Elf has not yet broken even when the budget/gross ratio is +450%, I really doubt TIH will start make money back before its 10th anniversary.
Anyway I don't really care for movie adaptations; just hope Disney won't force creative decisions on the comics department.

They cleaned house on their 2-D cartoon drawing animation artists not so long ago in favor of 100% digital animation. If the comic book artists/writers fail to be profitable, they will clean house there as well.

 

[TheVileOne]

luca frontino.

My actual point with that is to show how shady Hollywood accounting is. Meaning, even though we all think and believe on paper The Incredible Hulk made money, Hollywood studios and companies can twist the numbers and the books.

The Elf example straight from Favreau is one such example of a studio twisting the numbers as they see fit, perhaps in the studios' mind to not have to pay Favreau any backend or extra profits they get out of Elf.

 

[Obi-Ron]

-He says fanboys throw a fit about everything, even when "someone sheds a tear," I think he's probably referring to Spider-man movies there.

Clearly it's a reference to Wolverine..."the best there is at what he does, and what he does is blubber like a baby in every movie he's in."

 

[TheVileOne]

Is that something Poland wrote or is that from the message board?

 

[KBX]

Was Paramounts last movie with Marvel suppose to be Iron man 3?

 

[Chewy]

Yep. Paramount issued a statement that it still had the distribution rights on 5 movies, Iron Man 2/Thor/Captain America/Avengers/Iron Man 3.

 

[Sawyer]

I've got to be honest with you, this guy really sounds like he's full of ****.

 

[Hiruu]

David Poland was on G4's Attack of the Show tonight to talk about the acquisition. He made some rather concerning observations:

-He said that Marvel was running out of cash, and even though Iron Man was a big success, the Hulk movie was not.

-He said the Disney merger means more cash for the coiffers and that if Marvel runs out of money for the movies, Disney will have funding ready for them.

-He suggested after Iron Man 2, the movies that were originally planned might not take place because they are so expensive. He said Disney might kill Thor and Avengers because they might not be willing to pay for Thor. The suggestion was basically there that there isn't money to pay for the other three movies and Disney might not want to oblige.

-He said Disney might want more of the movies to be PG to reach a wider audience and also said the built in demographic for these movies is very "narrow."

-He said the publishing model will probably stay same based off of how Miramax was run which had very edgy and hardcore stuff, so lines like MAX and Icon probably won't go away.

-He says fanboys throw a fit about everything, even when "someone sheds a tear," I think he's probably referring to Spider-man movies there.

David Polland is a damn fool...confirmed! How can you make stupid statements like, Marvel is running out of money, when their last 10-Q showed them with MILLIONS of FREE CASH...ZERO debt...how the F@#SK does that guy get any cred to be on TV?

 

[wobbly]

Have to call bull on the notion of them canning future films. Why the hell buy Marvel for that kind of money if they don't want to pursue that very big movie cash cow?

 

[wobbly]

"He said Disney might want more of the movies to be PG to reach a wider audience and also said the built in demographic for these movies is very "narrow."

The built in demographic (comic book fans presumably) might be 'narrow' but the general audience certainly made a lot of money for Spider-Man, Iron Man and TDK.

 

[Hiruu]

"He said Disney might want more of the movies to be PG to reach a wider audience and also said the built in demographic for these movies is very "narrow."

The built in demographic (comic book fans presumably) might be 'narrow' but the general audience certainly made a lot of money for Spider-Man, Iron Man and TDK.

The guy is a freaking flake...Iron Man made HOW much money again??? Even TIH did great business, and Marvel stated on multiple ocassions that they made money off the film, after all the dust settled. He's a clown.

 

[cerealkiller182]

-He said Disney might want more of the movies to be PG to reach a wider audience and also said the built in demographic for these movies is very "narrow."

This seems to contradict this...

-He said the publishing model will probably stay same based off of how Miramax was run which had very edgy and hardcore stuff, so lines like MAX and Icon probably won't go away.

They are gonna make badass books but then turn them into wimpy movies (sweeping generalizations of course)? That makes little sense to me.