How does Woody Allen keep making movies?

drc

drc

I'm a huge Woody Allen fan. He is, in my opinion, the best director of all time when it comes to comedy.

I can't help but notice though that his films are rarely very profitable, much less blockbusters. According to Wiki, his average film grosses $12 million. His past 4 or so have become more profitable but he's also had a lot of flops. Anything Else (2003) lost $4 million, Hollywood Ending (2002) lost $2 million, The Curse of the Jade Scorpion (2001) lost $5 million and Celebrity (1998) lost $6 million. This is just based on his production budget, not including what money was lost on advertising.

Compare Woody's $12 million average to someone like Shyamalan, whose average film grosses in the $300 million range and often makes over 300% of it's production budget. The Sixth Sense made $672 million on a $40 million production budget.

Despite this, Woody Allen has a new movie come out on a yearly basis. He's around 40 movies made. I'm not saying he shouldn't because I love his movies, but why do producers and financiers continue risking money on movies that are likely to barely turn a profit or even lose money?
 
Good point. Woody Allen is so good, I never thought his movies are not that profitable...
Maybe the people who finance him are his fans too and want to watch his next film.
 
I'm not sure about DVD sales but the numbers include worldwide total box office collections.
 
Murdock said:
This was my thought. Businesses almost always try and show a loss. That doesn't mean they didn't make money.
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Yes but even if the numbers are played down, they are played down across the board. His films rarely get the returns that other films (also played down by accountants) get. IDK I just found it odd that he can create a movie just about every single year for the last 40 years. He makes getting a movie green-lit seem effortless.
 
drc said:
Yes but even if the numbers are played down, they are played down across the board. His films rarely get the returns that other films (also played down by accountants) get. IDK I just found it odd that he can create a movie just about every single year for the last 40 years. He makes getting a movie green-lit seem effortless.
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IDK. But youre right. There must be a reason??

Docu. idea??
 
Its a very interesting phenomena, just riffing here but maybe its more of a "network" kinda thing.. Sure, the end products dont make money, but everyone gets paid along the way. Face it, I bet most big but not quite HUGE actors would work for FREE in a Woody film, its quite the gold star on the RESUME... so maybe you invest in a woody film NOT to make money, but to shelter some tax loss AND to "be in movies" and get invited to parties.. in short, for influence, which is a tangible hard to acquire commodity.
 
How much do you think Tree of Life cost? And how much do you reckon it took?
How much do you think Antichrist cost? And how much do you reckon it took?
How much do you think Tetro cost? And how much do you reckon it took?
How much do you think Redacted cost? And how much do you reckon it took?

Ok, ok, I'm starting to flog a dead horse but I'm sure the idea is getting across. Truly great filmmakers never have to worry about people being willing to finance their movies. If they don't make some money (and my guess is that pretty much all of Woody's do some small business) then there's the boon of awards, prestige, networking...etc

A studio that's worked with Allen or Malick or Coppola is always going to be thought of highly and that'll help them get dibs on the best and brightest scripts being written about town.
 
drc said:
I'm not sure about DVD sales but the numbers include worldwide total box office collections.
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You pay for the film with box office, then your profit comes from the after market.

Anyone who makes 90% of their money back at the box office will get that amount again in profits from home sales and rentals.

The Matrix for example just broke even at the box office, and then did a half billion in aftermarket sales and rentals.
 
drc said:
Despite this, Woody Allen has a new movie come out on a yearly basis. He's around 40 movies made. I'm not saying he shouldn't because I love his movies, but why do producers and financiers continue risking money on movies that are likely to barely turn a profit or even lose money?
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Because his movies are inexpensive to make, he attracts name
talent and worldwide more of his movies turn a profit than lose
money. No financier ever really looses big and many see a very
nice return.

All movie financing is a risk. Statistically his movies are a good
investment.
 
Its the script people. Woody Allen a heck of a writer, finishes his films under budget, on time and without drama. He doesn't need much $$ to make a film and he has a built-in audience just waiting to buy his next story.

Top dollar says gear freaks and techies don't run his set.
 
I think Allen's value cannot be simplified to box office numbers. He's been around for a while and he always writes about human emotion and common situations with a comedic twist. Some movies do better and some don't but like someone else said he doesn't have to worry because he's already established his name and credibility. Who would pass up what could be his next annie hall because he made a flop a couple years ago. He's gonna make movies til he dies.
 
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