The Blind Side,
a football movie starring Sandra Bullock, has been in theaters less
than two weeks. The family-friendly film has grossed nearly $107
million at the box office…more than triple the $30 million needed
for production costs. It was produced and marketed by Alcon
Entertainment, a small 12-year-old production company owned by FedEx
CEO Frederick W. Smith.
The entrepreneurial production company persuaded Ms. Bullock to
accept a small upfront payment (far below her usual
multimillion-dollar fee) in exchange for a substantial percentage of
the company’s profits—in the neighborhood of 25%.
The company expects to pay box-office bonuses to many actors, as
well as the movie’s director, all of whom claimed a percentage of
the film’s profits in exchange for reduced payments upfront.
