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Scott, $2 million is the cost Fox (the studio, not the movie channel) spent on restoring the films. I obtained that figure from one of the news articles that appeared early on during the controversy.
While it sounds high, it's makes sense once one considers that there were 23 films restored and that the average cost to restore a B&W film is approximately $100,000.
Keep in mind that these were (for the lack of a better word) "basic" restorations, not a "Casablanca" or "Sunset Boulevard" type restoration which cost considerably more to do.
Unfortunately, one of the greatest Chans of all 1931's "The Black Camel" which features a great Bela Lugosi performance was not restored. All anyone could get Fox to say about this was that they "didn't have access to the film at this time" leading some to speculate that the rights have shifted to another studio. The film does exist and does heavily circulate in the "collector to collector" market, but it would be nice to get a copy that isn't duped several times over. My own copy is poor. I'm working on getting it upgraded via another collector who has a razor sharp print of it.
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