The Cloverfield films have been known to have an unorthodox marketing campaign. From out of nowhere a trailer can appear for a film that was produced under a different title. And for the most part, this strategy has worked. It may not produce wild box office numbers like blockbuster tentpoles do, but under the production and marketing budget of the two films so far, it is enough of a hit to warrant more.
However, it appears that Paramount Pictures is having second thoughts about releasing the next Cloverfield film, which is tentatively titled God Particle. There are reports now that the film might be heading to Netflix. More on the story below.
The Hollywood Reporter says Paramount might unload God Particle to Netflix because chairman Jim Gianopulos looked at the Paramount slate and decided which of the films can be considered theatrical. A source close to him told THR, “He sat down and looked at what is theatrical, what is not in this day and age.” But if we are going by that mentality, then one has to wonder why isn’t the next Cloverfield film considered theatrical if previous films did well at the box office.
The first Cloverfield (2008) was made on a $25 million budget and grossed $170 million worldwide. While the production budget for 10 Cloverfield Lane wasn’t disclosed, it is reported to have cost less than its predecessor. And it ended up grossing $110 million worldwide. So if these films are making a profit, how can it not be considered theatrical?
That’s still not clear. The next film, God Particle, which is also going under the title of Cloverfield Station, is reportedly budgeted at $40 million, making it the most costly of the three films. It stars David Oyelowo, Ziyi Zhang, Daniel Bruhl, Elizabeth Debicki and Gugu Mbatha-Raw.
However, with the clear lack of marketing and the release date being moved up twice, some started to speculate that the film had problems. Problems that producer J.J. Abrams intended to fix, but it was a little too late. Sources say that Abrams’ attention may have been diverted when he signed on to direct Star Wars: Episode IX.
Jeff Sneider, of The Tracking Board, also heard rumors of the title shifting to Netflix while at Sundance. Here’s his tweet:
We’ll just have to wait and see what happens.
[Source: THR]
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