Last night I reported that Warner Brothers and Fox had reached a settlement with respect to Fox’s claim over distribution rights to Watchmen. Now the details are out; Nikki Finke says WB will fork over up to 8.5% gross participation, plus some up front cash “including recoupment of its development costs and attorney fees,” and that Fox will have a piece of the franchise going forward with respect to possible sequels and spin-offs, which is a good a reason as any for WB not to make an unneccessary sequel.
Note the last point contradicts what I posted last night; THR got it wrong and corrected later.
The joint statement: “Warner Bros. and Twentieth Century Fox have resolved their dispute regarding the rights to the upcoming motion picture Watchmen in a confidential settlement. Warner Bros acknowledges that Fox acted in good faith in bringing its claims, which were asserted prior to the start of principal photography. Fox acknowledges that Warner Bros. acted in good faith in defending against those claims Warner Bros. and Fox, like all Watchmen fans, look forward with great anticipation to this film’s March 6 release in theatres.”
There you have it. The movie still hits on March 6 of this year, and Fox has probably made the best business deal they’ll make all year. Let this be a lesson, kids: if you’re playing with hundred million dollar properties, don’t assume anything. It’s been fun watching people sling shit at Fox for this, but it’s a great business move on the studio’s part. Yeah, it’s a dick move, but this is Hollywood. Everybody’s a dick sometime.