Well it seems that this film was a flop even though its one of my favorite films. They estimate this film at 100m, yet only made 57m by april 2007. Lots of time since then but I couldn't imagine it could have made 43m. Its just really unfortunate. Yet each Twifag film makes tons of money.
shareI think this movie actually probably broke even or made a tiny profit, overall.
It failed to make its money back in the US (which has traditionally been a sign of failure for a Hollywood movie project), but in recent years international sales have become increasingly important and a weighty factor in a movie's performance. This movie grossed about $171 million worldwide. Combine that with DVD rentals/sales, and we can see that this movie grossed well over $100 million.
Of course we need to subtract -- from that total gross earned -- money spent for advertising/marketing (which seemed pretty basic and a relatively modest amount for this project), payment for distribution of the movie, payment to movie theaters, etc. etc.
However, even still, I think "Blood Diamond" made enough at the end for it to not be a financial failure.
I remember that the director(?) for "Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World" stated that his own movie did 'okay' at the box office but not enough for a sequel (its worldwide gross was $60 million above the budget), so I think Blood Diamond's similar difference between budget and worldwide gross would also be an instance of doing okay but not great.
I wish Hollywood would make more movies like this but unfortunately they dont like taking too many risks :[ I kind of blame moviegoers. They rather watch Twilight than a good movie.
Just sad.
This movie did far better overseas than it did here in the United States and it certainly made its money back and a profit.
It had a world wide box office of $171,377,916 Worldwide including the US. (114mil abroad and the 57mil usa) And then it also apparently made $62,706,043 in domestic DVD sales. So that's not too bad of a profit, though for a movie this good and with such big names as Leonardo Dicaprio and Jennifer Connelly I am surprised it didn't do better. I didn't even hear about it until after it came out, so they did a crummy job advertising it, if I had seen the trailer while it was still in theaters I would certainly have gone because the trailer is good, and the movie is great.
But yeah I wish movies like this did even better financially especially in the US so that hollywood would make more like it. Had action plus it was meaningful and intelligent and good drama not just mindless crap that makes it to the top of the box office charts far too often.
http://www.the-numbers.com/movies/2006/BDMND.php
This movie grossed about $171 million worldwide. Combine that with DVD rentals/sales, and we can see that this movie grossed well over $100 million.
It's a sad commentary on the current viewing habits of the public that a fantastic film like this couldn't crack $60 million domestic but crap like The Avengers is setting records. It's why they don't make serious films for adults anymore.
shareBased on the BOM numbers, it doesn't look like the theatrical run was profitable at all. With a Production Budget listed at $100M, and an international release (probably another $50M-$75M in Marketing/Distribution, which the studio and distribution partners foot, but isn't included in the listed Production Budget), factor in perhaps 50-55% box office take for the production studios(that's generous, usually 50% of revenues go to the theaters, with a larger portion for overseas distribution), looks like a loss of perhaps $60M or more on the theatrical run. Impossible to tell without seeing the books of the studios that financed the film, but that's using some typical trends and estimates in the film business.
BOM doesn't factor in rentals, DVD-BluRay sales, and whatever other post-theatrical revenue streams might exist. But considering the positive critical reception, and the fact that the movie is widely known today, I'd wager they did well in the post-theatrical period. Perhaps enough to make back the losses from the theatrical run, and create some profit.
In any case, it wasn't a blockbuster. Which really sucks considering it's a solid movie that is enjoyed by most who have seen it.