Overlay: All That Jazz (1979) Financial Performance

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Errors	Missing	Unverified	Supported
1	0	0	4

How were these counts calculated?

Counts based on original analysis categories (not yet classified).

Errors = Critical Errors + Imprecisions

Missing = Critical Omissions + Notable Gaps

#Q ORIGINAL QUESTION

Regarding the film All That Jazz (1979), how much did the film make at both the box office and after (detail breakdown), and how did that compare to its budget?

#M ANNOTATED LLM RESPONSE

Bob Fosse’s All That Jazz (1979) was a significant commercial and critical success, though its production was famously fraught with financial tension. It eventually became one of the most profitable films for its distributors during the transition to the "ancillary market" (home video and cable) era.

1. Production Budget: The Escalation

The film’s budget underwent several stages of inflation due to Fosse’s obsessive directing style and elaborate musical sequences:

Initial Budget: Originally greenlit by Columbia Pictures with a budget of roughly $6.5 million.
Budget "Ballooning": During production, the costs escalated to approximately $9.5 million to $10 million.
The Impasse: Columbia Pictures famously refused to provide further funding for the film’s massive "Bye Bye Life" finale. Production was halted until executive producer Daniel Melnick arranged a deal with 20th Century-Fox.
Completion Funding: Fox invested an additional $5 million to finish the film in exchange for North American distribution and cable rights.
Final Total: The total production budget is generally cited as $12 million, though some industry estimates for the final "negative cost" reach as high as $14.5 million.

2. Box Office Breakdown

The film was a "sleeper hit," starting with a limited release before expanding based on critical acclaim and award buzz.

Domestic Gross (USA & Canada): $37,823,676.
International Gross: While most databases (like Box Office Mojo) do not list a specific international figure, contemporary reports noted the film performed exceptionally well in Europe, particularly in France, where it won the Palme d’Or at Cannes.
Theatrical Rentals: In the 1970s/80s, the "rentals" (the portion of the gross returned to the studio) were a key metric. All That Jazz earned approximately $18 million to $20 million in domestic rentals, which comfortably covered its production cost before accounting for marketing.

3. Post-Theatrical (Ancillary) Performance

The film arrived exactly at the dawn of the home video boom, and it became a "test case" for the profitability of the new format:

Home Video (VHS/Betamax): Distributed by Fox's Magnetic Video Corp, the film set a record by reaching $1 million in video sales in a single day upon its release in 1980. This was an unprecedented feat at the time, outperforming Fox’s other massive hit, Alien (which took 45 days to hit the same mark).
Television/Cable Licensing: As part of the completion deal, 20th Century-Fox secured cable rights, which were highly lucrative as the Pay-TV market (HBO, etc.) began to explode in the early 1980s.
Soundtrack Sales: The soundtrack was a major seller, featuring the hit version of "On Broadway" by George Benson and receiving an Academy Award for Best Original Song Score.

4. Summary: Budget vs. Earnings

Financial Metric	Amount (Estimated)
Production Budget	$12,000,000
Domestic Box Office Gross	$37,823,676
Theatrical Rentals (Studio Share)	~$19,000,000
Home Video (First Day Sales)	$1,000,000
Total Estimated Revenue	$45,000,000+ (including global & TV)

Conclusion: Against a final budget of $12M, the film was a clear winner. Its box office alone returned nearly 1.6 times its production cost to the studios in rentals, and its record-breaking home video debut established it as a high-margin "evergreen" title. Because Columbia and Fox shared the profits as equal partners following the completion deal, both studios saw a substantial return on what was initially considered a high-risk "vanity project."

#F CORRECTION FEED (CLICK TO SEARCH)

[1] The deal between Columbia and Fox to complete the film after budget overruns is well-documented.

[2] The $12 million budget figure is the standard cited number in film histories and databases.

[3] Box Office Mojo and The Numbers consistently cite this exact domestic gross.

[4] This specific record is confirmed by industry histories of the home video market (e.g., Encyclopedia.com), noting it beat 'Alien' to the $1 million mark.

[5] While the soundtrack won an Oscar, the claim of it being a 'major seller' is likely a conflation with the band Breathe's 1987 Gold album 'All That Jazz'. The film soundtrack does not appear to have RIAA certification.

#O MISSED POINTS & OVERSIGHTS

No oversights detected.

#C RELATED QUERIES

#01 Did the All That Jazz film soundtrack go gold or platinum?

#02 What was the international box office gross for All That Jazz?

#S SOURCES

wordpress.com playbill.com maryland.gov dokumen.pub newsweek.com wikipedia.org encyclopedia.com wordpress.com quora.com cinemaretro.com grokipedia.com loc.gov

#R ORIGINAL AI RESPONSE

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Bob Fosse’s *All That Jazz* (1979) was a significant commercial and critical success, though its production was famously fraught with financial tension. It eventually became one of the most profitable films for its distributors during the transition to the "ancillary market" (home video and cable) era. ### **1. Production Budget: The Escalation** The film’s budget underwent several stages of inflation due to Fosse’s obsessive directing style and elaborate musical sequences: * **Initial Budget:** Originally greenlit by Columbia Pictures with a budget of roughly **$6.5 million**. * **Budget "Ballooning":** During production, the costs escalated to approximately **$9.5 million to $10 million**. * **The Impasse:** Columbia Pictures famously refused to provide further funding for the film’s massive "Bye Bye Life" finale. Production was halted until executive producer Daniel Melnick arranged a deal with **20th Century-Fox**. * **Completion Funding:** Fox invested an additional **$5 million** to finish the film in exchange for North American distribution and cable rights. * **Final Total:** The total production budget is generally cited as **$12 million**, though some industry estimates for the final "negative cost" reach as high as **$14.5 million**. ### **2. Box Office Breakdown** The film was a "sleeper hit," starting with a limited release before expanding based on critical acclaim and award buzz. * **Domestic Gross (USA & Canada):** **$37,823,676**. * **International Gross:** While most databases (like Box Office Mojo) do not list a specific international figure, contemporary reports noted the film performed exceptionally well in Europe, particularly in France, where it won the **Palme d’Or** at Cannes. * **Theatrical Rentals:** In the 1970s/80s, the "rentals" (the portion of the gross returned to the studio) were a key metric. *All That Jazz* earned approximately **$18 million to $20 million** in domestic rentals, which comfortably covered its production cost before accounting for marketing. ### **3. Post-Theatrical (Ancillary) Performance** The film arrived exactly at the dawn of the home video boom, and it became a "test case" for the profitability of the new format: * **Home Video (VHS/Betamax):** Distributed by Fox's **Magnetic Video Corp**, the film set a record by reaching **$1 million in video sales in a single day** upon its release in 1980. This was an unprecedented feat at the time, outperforming Fox’s other massive hit, *Alien* (which took 45 days to hit the same mark). * **Television/Cable Licensing:** As part of the completion deal, 20th Century-Fox secured cable rights, which were highly lucrative as the Pay-TV market (HBO, etc.) began to explode in the early 1980s. * **Soundtrack Sales:** The soundtrack was a major seller, featuring the hit version of "On Broadway" by George Benson and receiving an Academy Award for Best Original Song Score. ### **4. Summary: Budget vs. Earnings** | Financial Metric | Amount (Estimated) | | :--- | :--- | | **Production Budget** | $12,000,000 | | **Domestic Box Office Gross** | $37,823,676 | | **Theatrical Rentals (Studio Share)** | ~$19,000,000 | | **Home Video (First Day Sales)** | $1,000,000 | | **Total Estimated Revenue** | **$45,000,000+** (including global & TV) | **Conclusion:** Against a final budget of $12M, the film was a clear winner. Its box office alone returned nearly **1.6 times** its production cost to the studios in rentals, and its record-breaking home video debut established it as a high-margin "evergreen" title. Because Columbia and Fox shared the profits as equal partners following the completion deal, both studios saw a substantial return on what was initially considered a high-risk "vanity project."

#A DIRECT ANSWER (VERIFIED ANALYSIS)

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The film All That Jazz (1979) had a final production budget of approximately $12 million (escalating from an initial $6.5 million). It grossed $37,823,676 domestically. Theatrical rentals (the studio's share) were approximately $19 million. A key financial success factor was its performance in the nascent home video market, where it set a record by generating $1 million in sales in a single day via Magnetic Video Corp. The film was highly profitable relative to its budget, especially considering the shared risk deal between Columbia and 20th Century-Fox.

OVERLAY REPORT