 A "Slumdog" Kind of Night
by Angela Walker
Christian Cinema.Com
The 81st Academy® Awards show celebrated a different kind of film last night. Slumdog Millionaire, which won eight awards, was based on a novel by an Indian writer, filmed in Mumbai, India, and included an Indian cast. This film, originally destined for a straight-to-DVD release in the United States, took the country by storm when Fox Searchlight Pictures picked it up and took a chance on a theatrical release.
Someone at Warner Brothers Pictures is probably either jobless or very close to it today, as their specialty film division Warner Independent Pictures (which was closed down) was the original distributor for this sneak success. Slumdog Millionaire was produced by a British company (Celador Films) and co-financed by a French distributor.
 Fox Searchlight is building its reputation for distributing the daring type of film that most studios are avoiding, and that Slumdog Millionaire represents. Opening the second weekend of November in only 10 theaters, the movie averaged $36,000 per theater that first weekend. Then in a wider release (614 theaters) the day after Christmas, the film brought in $4.3 million. To date, the box office total internationally is $159.6 million, or 10 times the reported production budget of $15 million.
Although Fox Searchlight has had other Oscar® nominees (Juno, Little Miss Sunshine, and Sideways), it is the studio's first win. As an independent distributor, Fox Searchlight bypasses making their own movies and instead buying completed films at festivals. Originally, Fox Searchlight was offered Slumdog Millionaire for $5 million, which they refused. When Warner Brothers sold the distribution rights, Fox paid only $2.5.
It's anticipated that Slumdog Millionaire, with a domestic box office topping $98 million, could soon pass Fox Searchlight's highest-performing film to date: Juno, with a domestic box office total of $143 million.
Not bad for a film about the slums of India that contains subtitles, violence against children, and a Bollywood dance number for closing credits.
Christian Cinema.Com
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