http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Name_of_the_Rose_(film)
The movie cost about 20 mil to make. It returned about 80 mil but only 10 within the US. If a movie flops in US theaters but makes a lot of money abroad is it considered a success or not?
The US are one, but nowadays definitely not the only huge market for movies. It is a complicated system, depending on percentage deals, distribution circumstances and value of production. You can generally estimate that about 45 to 50% of all box office results go back to the originator (although sometimes all rights in certain countries are completely sold and no profit will be given to the original producers in these areas). Video, Dvd, cable Tv and merchandise are not included in this, of course. THE NAME OF THE ROSE was considered a huge success worldwide, since it was a big budget effort to produce Hollywood-standard fare in Europe, with a European director and a European production team. It was rare these days.
shareJean Jacque Annaud had a similar experience with his next film THE BEAR. Didn't do much in the US but huge across Europe.
shareIf a movie flops in US theaters but makes a lot of money abroad is it considered a success or not?