The Descent

I've read that Lions Gate bought North American distribution rights to The Descent for just $1 million. So if you go by my definition of actual domestic profitability, the movie turned a profit the day it came out.

But with cheaper titles, my definition of profitability doesn't cut it, because if you're going to release a movie wide, it's going to cost you $20 million no matter what the movie itself cost. Which is why I've waited till today to add The Descent to my list of the year's actually profitable movies.

With a gross to date of $23 million, whether you compare that gross to Lions Gate's costs or to the movie's original production budget of $6.5 million, the North American release of The Descent has been a huge success. Great news, as it's one of the year's best movies.