The 2006 romantic comedy, which cost more than $100 million to produce, grossed only $63 million at the U.S. box office and had weak DVD sales.
"Crystal Skull," which opens worldwide May 22, is the first "Indiana Jones" movie in 19 years. The fourth installment in one of Hollywood's iconic franchises arrives after years of development, script rewrites and dashed hopes among fans who are anxious to see how the archaeologist-adventurer outsmarts another gang of nefarious forces.
Most movie franchises, including "Harry Potter," "Pirates of the Caribbean" and "Spider-Man," are owned by studios. The "Indiana Jones" copyright, however, is held by Lucas, who created the adventure story in the 1970s. Lucas, who also invented the "Star Wars" empire, is one of the few contemporary filmmakers to own and control his movie properties.
The structure of the deal between Paramount and Lucas' San Francisco-based Lucasfilm Ltd. predated the current 3-year-old regime at Paramount, headed by Brad Grey. Grey and his associates subsequently tweaked the arrangement to further lower the studio's risk. When it became clear the movie would cost more than expected, Lucas, Spielberg and Ford agreed to offset it by waiving their large upfront fees.
Paramount executives declined to be interviewed, as did Spielberg, Lucas and Ford. However, several people familiar with the deal behind "Crystal Skull" spoke on condition of anonymity because of the confidential arrangement.
According to these people, Paramount spent about $185 million to make the movie and will pay at least $150 million to market it worldwide. The studio will earn a distribution fee of 12.5% of the revenue it receives from the film's release in all media, including theaters, DVD and television.
In comparison, 20th Century Fox received a distribution fee of 6% to 8% for releasing Lucas' "Star Wars" movies. Fox's fee was smaller because Lucasfilm finances the "Star War" movies entirely and effectively pays the studio for distribution. Fox earned between $50 million and $75 million per picture, said a person familiar with the finances.
"Crystal Skull" will have to generate around $400 million for Paramount for the studio to make its money back and earn its distribution fee. Only at that point will Lucas, Spielberg, Ford and smaller profit participants, including screenwriter David Koepp, begin collecting their portion.
Paramount will take 12.5 cents from every dollar thereafter, while Lucas and company will earn 87.5 cents.
