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Dive into the high-stakes world of Hollywood bidding wars, where studios clash over film rights, scripts, and potential blockbusters. From classic literary adaptations to hot new spec scripts and major festival acquisitions, these battles are filled with scandals, drama, and record-breaking deals. Discover how some winning bids led to massive success while others ended in costly flops, revealing the unpredictable nature of movie acquisition.
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00:00It's a bidding war, sir.
00:02Do we know why it's happening?
00:06Well, do what you're doing.
00:08Welcome to Ms. Mojo.
00:10And today, we're looking at the scandals, drama, and high stakes
00:13of how movies are acquired through Hollywood bidding wars.
00:16You want us to give you cash right now?
00:19Oh, no, I didn't say that.
00:23As long as there's been more than one major movie studio,
00:27there's been competition in Hollywood.
00:28Which studio will have the biggest box office,
00:32which will win the most Oscars,
00:34and which will bid the most money for the industry's next big hit, or flop?
00:39Yes, obviously, I know that we are the ones who blew up the deal,
00:42but we've had second thoughts,
00:43and we would love to have Nick Stoller on Kool-Aid.
00:45I'll double his quote.
00:47Exploring the history of the industry's bidding wars,
00:49we can see how Hollywood has and hasn't changed throughout the decades.
00:54While Hollywood is more dependent on intellectual property than ever,
00:57there was never a time when studios weren't searching for IP that could make bankable movies.
01:03Before eyeing TV shows, video games, and toy lines,
01:07studios sought to acquire film rights to books and plays,
01:11especially if they had a big-name writer attached.
01:13Oh, I should be, I should be, I should be, it's very difficult to offhand, isn't it?
01:18Perhaps the murder of the Orient Express.
01:21In 1940, 20th Century Fox produced a film adaptation of John Steinbeck's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel,
01:27The Grapes of Wrath, becoming an instant cinematic classic.
01:31When Steinbeck published another novel, The Moon is Down, in 1942,
01:36studios were eager to make the next Grapes of Wrath.
01:39Perhaps I should warn you, gentlemen, not to be misled by my preference for peaceable methods.
01:48If it becomes necessary, I promise you I will not hesitate for one second to destroy this town utterly.
01:55The film rights reportedly attracted four bidders with a then-unprecedented asking price of $300,000,
02:02over $5 million today.
02:04The previous record was $283,000, which Paramount paid to adapt the musical Lady in the Dark,
02:11beating Columbia, Howard Hughes, and Warner Brothers.
02:14Are these the things from Hollywood?
02:15Here.
02:16Here's another one.
02:18You look small for our models.
02:21They've all gone anyway, I'm afraid.
02:22Maybe you'd better let them over in the morning.
02:24No, I'm going to model one myself.
02:26W.B. pulled out of The Moon is Down bidding war, figuring they could adapt another 1942 wartime book,
02:33Edge of Darkness, for cheaper.
02:35While two studios met the asking price, Steinbeck chose Fox, given their previous collaboration.
02:41If I tell them to go on, which I shall, they'll be glad.
02:47And I, who am not a very brave man, will have made them a little braver.
02:52Unfortunately, The Moon is Down wasn't exactly a critical or financial smash,
02:57showing that sometimes a bidding war's winner can actually be the loser.
03:00Other times, spending money makes money.
03:03Warner Brothers paid $175,000 in a bidding war for Edna Ferber's novel Saratoga Trunk,
03:09resulting in their biggest film of 1946.
03:12I'm going to have fun, I'm going to have money,
03:14jewels by the court, and fine clothes, and anything I want.
03:17While studios sought material that had already proven successful in other mediums,
03:21they usually weren't paying top dollar for original screenplays.
03:25With the old studio system, talent was under contract,
03:29which included writers who were assigned to scribe scripts.
03:32I want you to do this work.
03:34Me?
03:36I'm busy.
03:37I just finished a script and I'm doing another assignment.
03:40I don't care.
03:43You know, I'm pretty expensive.
03:45A studio buying a freelance project wasn't unheard of.
03:48After leaving Universal, Preston Sturgis sold his script for The Power and the Glory to Fox
03:53for $17,500, with a cut of the profits.
03:58You have a good time.
03:59We only live once.
04:02So I guess I can earn as much money as you can spend, huh?
04:06Still, deals like this were rare under the old studio system.
04:10This began to change with the rise of New Hollywood
04:12and the independent film scene in the 1960s.
04:15I was just telling Lotus here how I'm finally making a picture with a major studio.
04:19We're going to do Alice in Wonderland.
04:21And Steven over there works for Ben Kalmanson,
04:25President of Warner Brothers.
04:26With long-term contracts no longer the norm,
04:30filmmakers were free to write their own scripts,
04:32which could then be shopped to studios for potential acquisition.
04:36According to William Goldman,
04:37only one studio was interested when he wrote his first original screenplay,
04:42Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.
04:44After making some minor changes, though,
04:46quote,
04:47every studio wanted it.
04:48You just keep thinking, Butch.
04:50That's what you're good at.
04:52Boy, I got vision and the rest of the world wears bifocals.
04:55It launched a bidding war that skyrocketed to a record high of $400,000.
05:01Fox won in more ways than one,
05:03as Butch and Sundance became 1969's highest-grossing film,
05:07while Goldman's screenplay won an Oscar.
05:10Well, looks like you just about cleaned everybody out, fella.
05:14You haven't lost a hand since you got the deal.
05:17What's the secret of your success?
05:23Prayer.
05:24Spec scripts continue to ignite bidding wars,
05:26with the 90s arguably being the high point.
05:29The Geffen Film Company bid $1.75 million for Shane Black's screenplay,
05:34The Last Boy Scout.
05:36You're supposed to be trembling with fear, something like that?
05:38Something like that.
05:40Fine.
05:41I'll start trembling in a minute.
05:43In the meantime, you think I could have a drink?
05:45That record sum would soon be topped by the Joe Esterhaas-scribed Basic Instinct,
05:50which Karolco Pictures bought for $3 million following an intense bidding war.
05:55Fox outbid the competition for Independence Day,
05:58agreeing to the filmmakers' $7.5 million pay or play fees.
06:04Let's bring it on.
06:07Let's bring that bad boy on, Cap.
06:09You lose?
06:10Yes, sir.
06:11You got your victory dance?
06:13Well, I got it right here.
06:15Yeah.
06:16In addition to summer blockbusters like Independence Day,
06:19studios waged war over potential Oscar players.
06:22DreamWorks picked up American Beauty for $250,000,
06:25beating at least four other studios.
06:28Castle Rock Entertainment paid $675,000 in a bidding war for Good Will Hunting,
06:34which in turn was sold to Miramax.
06:36In the business we have here too far,
06:40you can speak with my aforementioned attorney.
06:44Good day, gentlemen.
06:46And until that day comes,
06:48keep your head to the grindstone.
06:50Just because every studio is interested in a project
06:53doesn't mean audiences will be.
06:55Shane Black topped himself when New Line Cinema paid $4 million
06:58for the long Kiss Goodnight script.
07:01I never did one thing right in my life, you know that?
07:04Not one.
07:06That takes skill.
07:07While that 1996 thriller made money,
07:10it wasn't enough to justify a $65 million budget
07:13or the well-publicized bidding war.
07:16The same can be said about 2006's Deja Vu,
07:19which Jerry Bruckheimer acquired for $5 million.
07:23It made $180 million against a $75 million budget,
07:28only performing modestly despite the initial heat surrounding the script.
07:32It's what this job teaches you, doesn't it?
07:34No matter what,
07:36no matter how hard you grab onto something,
07:38you still lose it, right?
07:39In the mid-2000s,
07:40The Blacklist started keeping track of high-profile screenplays.
07:44Although many remain unproduced,
07:46others started bidding wars.
07:48For every Oscar winner like Spotlight,
07:50there's a Passengers or Don't Worry Darling
07:52that wasn't worth the fuss.
07:54Merciless foe at chaos.
07:58Energy unfocused,
08:00innovation hindered,
08:01hope strangled,
08:03greatness disguised.
08:04With spec scripts being hit or miss,
08:06studios focused more on acquiring properties
08:08that guaranteed long-term revenue.
08:10While billion-dollar brands like Harry Potter and Marvel
08:13have dominated the 21st century,
08:16not every IP lives up to the studio's investment.
08:19That's not what this is.
08:19This is a mistake.
08:20But I can fix it.
08:23In 2001,
08:24Warner Brothers won a bidding war
08:26to distribute Terminator 3 in North America,
08:29investing $50 million.
08:31That sequel didn't exceed its predecessor's intake,
08:34marking the beginning of this franchise's decline.
08:36Hey!
08:38Hey!
08:39Are you gonna pay for that?
08:45Talk to the hand.
08:47WB also won the rights to adapt the bestseller,
08:50A Million Little Pieces,
08:51which blew up in their faces
08:53when word got out that James Fry's memoir
08:55wasn't all factual.
08:57Studios even went to war over the rights
08:59to produce the Emoji movie.
09:01Sony inadvertently took a bullet for WB
09:04and Paramount there.
09:05We're number two!
09:07We're number two!
09:09We're number two!
09:10See?
09:11Not every bidding war starts
09:12with an unproduced script or trendy IP.
09:15Sometimes a film will be independently produced,
09:18attracting distributors through the talent involved
09:20and positive buzz on the festival circuit.
09:23A real loser is somebody that's so afraid
09:25of not winning,
09:26they don't even try.
09:29Now you're trying, right?
09:32Yeah.
09:32Well, then you're not a loser.
09:34After Little Miss Sunshine premiered
09:35at the Sundance Film Festival in 2006,
09:38Fox Searchlight placed a $10.5 million winning bid.
09:42This little movie went on to gross over $100 million
09:44and won two Oscars.
09:46A decade later,
09:58Fox Searchlight entered another bidding war at Sundance
10:01for Nate Parker's The Birth of a Nation.
10:03While Netflix was willing to pay $20 million,
10:06Parker felt Fox Searchlight would give his film
10:09a better theatrical rollout,
10:11accepting their $17.5 million offer.
10:13I pray you sing to the Lord a new song.
10:22The Birth of a Nation was the biggest Sundance acquisition
10:24to date,
10:25but as awards season rolled around,
10:27Parker's history of sexual assault allegations
10:29came to light.
10:31Suddenly, the film went from being a potential Oscar frontrunner
10:34to getting zero nominations.
10:36At the box office,
10:37it failed to surpass the $17.5 million
10:40that Fox Searchlight put down.
10:42By secrecy that it was not altogether productive.
10:46Sundance sparked its most substantial bidding war yet
10:49with Sean Hader's Coda,
10:50which Apple won for a record $25 million.
10:54This acquisition had a happier ending,
10:56with Coda going on to win the Best Picture Oscar.
10:59As every fairy tale comes real,
11:04with streamers like Apple and Netflix having deep pockets,
11:13bidding wars have never been bigger on the festival scene.
11:16Of course,
11:17it's why some festival favorites now go straight to streaming.
11:20So, are you excited about this?
11:22How are you feeling?
11:23Um, good.
11:24Yeah, I think it'll be fun.
11:26Before we continue,
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11:40On the theatrical front,
11:43most studios remain focused on event pictures
11:46with built-in audiences.
11:48Occasionally, though,
11:49an original film from an acclaimed director can be an event.
11:52That's why Warner Brothers rolled the dice
11:54on Ryan Coogler's Sinners,
11:56beating bids from Sony and Universal.
11:58We throwing a big event tonight.
12:00What you need?
12:00I need catfish for 100 people.
12:02Y'all do good up in Chicago?
12:03Mm.
12:03I heard about some of them casinos up there.
12:05Y'all hit a big?
12:09We hit.
12:10Just not the way you're thinking.
12:11Sinners would have the best opening weekend
12:13for an original film since Jordan Peele's Us.
12:16Speaking of Peele,
12:17he was interested in acquiring
12:19Zack Kreger's weapons
12:20through Universal and Monkey Paw Productions.
12:23What's happening with the canine units?
12:25I haven't heard about any canine reports in a long time.
12:27That's because they don't report to you.
12:29Universal fell $7 million short of New Line
12:32and Warner Brothers' winning offer,
12:34which included a $38 million budget
12:37and $10 million going to Kreger.
12:39Peele subsequently severed ties with his managers,
12:42Peter Principato and Joel Zadig,
12:45the former of whom also represents Kreger.
12:47With me as always is my anger translator, Luther.
12:51I hate you!
12:53If there's one consistency with Hollywood's bidding wars,
12:56it's that there is no consistency.
12:58No matter how much a studio spends
13:00or how safe a bet appears,
13:02they never truly know what's a hit
13:03until the audience decides.
13:05I actually think our director, Nick Stoller,
13:07can speak to that.
13:08Nick, why don't you come back out here?
13:10Can you think of any other movies
13:12that caused bidding wars?
13:13Let us know in the comments.
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