MGM was hoping for a 30 to 35 million opening weekend on HOT TUB. The film was estimated to cost around 35 to 40 million and they got approval from the debt holders to spend $40 million on marketing. While they would not get the cost of the film back from US theatres they can use the opening to show the banks that they know what they are doing and work on a better interest payments and allow them some say in the future. Since it only opened with only 13.7 the first weekend and should have a 60+ decrease this weekend, there are a lot of people having sleepless nights including the banks. In fact today Sony announced that they are taking over the US distribution of ZOOKEEPER, a co-production between Sony and MGM, this fall. The move was made to ensure that the marketing and release wasn’t affected by a reorganization that hasn't been settled.Originally Posted by MatthewA
Everyone in America would have to see Hot Tub Time Machine 10 times at full price to pull MGM out of the hole. I would have taken Time Warner's offer.