Chapter 87: Dividing the Spoils
Getting the North American revenue share for The Rock as quickly as possible wouldn't be easy. Under Duke's contract with Warner Brothers, the studio would pay it out within six months of the film leaving theaters. Compared to Twentieth Century Fox paying the share for Speed early out of deference to Lucasfilm, this timeframe seemed long, but it was actually standard Hollywood practice.
As a director, Duke couldn't rely on Lucasfilm and George Lucas for favors every single time, nor would Warner Brothers necessarily bow to Lucasfilm's influence. Frankly, six months was practically the shortest payment window Nancy could negotiate.
By Hollywood convention, settling investment shares for a film was incredibly tedious. It wasn't uncommon for payments to drag on for years, and outside of a courtroom, there was nowhere to complain. Many film investment companies held out until bankruptcy without ever receiving their rightful cut.
As for directors, if a production company had no intention of continuing the working relationship, their owed compensation was frequently delayed for a long time. People like Michael Bay and Peter Jackson had both encountered this exact situation in the past.
Fortunately, Duke had thrown out a piece of bait early on and proven he had the ability to turn it into a massive catch. Warner Brothers was currently pushing forward with preliminary research for the Independence Day project, meaning the two parties would continue collaborating in the future. Paying the North American share on time wouldn't be an issue. Warner Brothers might pull some underhanded tricks with the overseas revenue, but they would keep it within a threshold Duke could tolerate.
Even with Duke hiring a professional team of lawyers and accountants for oversight, it was impossible to fully guarantee the authenticity of the final overseas revenue; they could only keep the discrepancies within a relatively small margin.
Compared to the overseas market, North America could be subjected to far stricter regulation. Shortly after The Rock ended its theatrical run, Duke's accountants, Rock Studio, and Warner Brothers simultaneously sent over the detailed financial statements.
The accounts were crystal clear. Even someone like Duke, who wasn't particularly well-versed in finance, could easily understand them.
The Rock grossed a total of 157.52 million dollars at the North American box office. According to the signed distribution agreement, after the theater chains deducted taxes and other fixed expenses, Warner Brothers received a total of 76.5 million dollars for their North American box office share.