'Spidey 2' arrives with TV deal all wrapped up
Spidey to hit TV
June 30, 2004
Before Columbia Pictures lets "Spider-Man 2" loose in theaters today, the webslinger already has snatched a rich TV deal.
Fox Broadcasting Co. and its sibling cable network FX have nabbed the rights to "Spider-Man 2" from Sony Pictures TV in a deal that observers pegged at about $50 million. It's understood that the license fee is not tied to the film's final boxoffice tally, which protects Fox and FX should the sequel approach the $400 million-plus haul of 2002's "Spider-Man."
The length of the license term is said to be 10 years. It is expected to begin in January 2006, after the film's pay TV window on HBO.
Additionally, Sony has the right to carve out broadcast/cable windows in the middle of "Spider-Man 2's" run on Fox and FX that could fetch an extra $10 million for the studio. Sony Pictures TV executives declined comment on the deal Tuesday.
The fee snared by "Spider-Man 2" is impressive given the weakness in the market for TV feature licensing deals in recent years, even for top boxoffice titles.
Two other very successful sequels, "Shrek 2" and "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban," have yet to land TV homes weeks after their theatrical debuts.
"Shrek 2" is on track to surpass the first "Spider-Man's" domestic boxoffice haul of $403.7 million by the end of the week, while "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban" has amassed $213 million.
In May 2001, NBC nabbed the rights to DreamWorks' "Shrek" in a $30 million deal. Later that year, ABC inked a $140 million 10-year deal for the first two "Harry Potter" movies.
As part of the deal, ABC had an option for the third "Harry Potter" installment from Warner Bros., but sources said the network passed. NBC also had a shot at nabbing "Shrek 2" but passed, sources said.
Both "Shrek" and "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" premiered to respectable numbers during the past TV season, but neither made it into the top 10 movie or telefilm telecasts of the season among the Big Four networks. A DreamWorks spokeswoman said a number of networks have expressed interest in licensing "Shrek 2," while a Warners spokesman said the same thing regarding "Azkaban."
In the case of "Spider-Man 2," sources said the prerelease bidding was spurred by a special screening for prospective network and cable buyers held a month ago in which the film's director, Sam Raimi, talked about the movie and introduced a 12-minute segment.
After a healthy bidding, Sony felt that it had a strong enough offer to cut a deal before the movie's opening.
Fox also has the rights to the first "Spider-Man" through a 10-year $60 million-plus deal shared with the cable outlets owned by Turner Broadcasting.
Fox Broadcasting Co. and its sibling cable network FX have nabbed the rights to "Spider-Man 2" from Sony Pictures TV in a deal that observers pegged at about $50 million. It's understood that the license fee is not tied to the film's final boxoffice tally, which protects Fox and FX should the sequel approach the $400 million-plus haul of 2002's "Spider-Man."
The length of the license term is said to be 10 years. It is expected to begin in January 2006, after the film's pay TV window on HBO.
Additionally, Sony has the right to carve out broadcast/cable windows in the middle of "Spider-Man 2's" run on Fox and FX that could fetch an extra $10 million for the studio. Sony Pictures TV executives declined comment on the deal Tuesday.
The fee snared by "Spider-Man 2" is impressive given the weakness in the market for TV feature licensing deals in recent years, even for top boxoffice titles.
Two other very successful sequels, "Shrek 2" and "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban," have yet to land TV homes weeks after their theatrical debuts.
"Shrek 2" is on track to surpass the first "Spider-Man's" domestic boxoffice haul of $403.7 million by the end of the week, while "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban" has amassed $213 million.
In May 2001, NBC nabbed the rights to DreamWorks' "Shrek" in a $30 million deal. Later that year, ABC inked a $140 million 10-year deal for the first two "Harry Potter" movies.
As part of the deal, ABC had an option for the third "Harry Potter" installment from Warner Bros., but sources said the network passed. NBC also had a shot at nabbing "Shrek 2" but passed, sources said.
Both "Shrek" and "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" premiered to respectable numbers during the past TV season, but neither made it into the top 10 movie or telefilm telecasts of the season among the Big Four networks. A DreamWorks spokeswoman said a number of networks have expressed interest in licensing "Shrek 2," while a Warners spokesman said the same thing regarding "Azkaban."
In the case of "Spider-Man 2," sources said the prerelease bidding was spurred by a special screening for prospective network and cable buyers held a month ago in which the film's director, Sam Raimi, talked about the movie and introduced a 12-minute segment.
After a healthy bidding, Sony felt that it had a strong enough offer to cut a deal before the movie's opening.
Fox also has the rights to the first "Spider-Man" through a 10-year $60 million-plus deal shared with the cable outlets owned by Turner Broadcasting.
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