| Errors | Missing | Unverified | Supported |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | 6 | 0 | 15 |
The film Arsenic and Old Lace (1944) was a significant financial success for Warner Bros., earning a substantial profit against its production cost.
Here is a detailed breakdown of the film's finances, focusing on its initial release and specific contractual details regarding its earnings.
The film's initial theatrical gross was four times its production budget, resulting in a large profit before distribution costs and profit-sharing were factored in.
| Financial Metric | Amount (USD) | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| Production Budget | $1.2 million | The total cost of production. This figure includes an initial cost of $175,000 for the film rights to Joseph Kesselring's stage play. |
| Total Box Office Gross | $4.8 million | The reported gross revenue from its initial theatrical run. |
| Initial Gross Profit | $3.6 million | This is the gross revenue minus the production budget ($4.8M - $1.2M), before accounting for distribution/marketing costs or profit participation. |
The initial $4.8 million gross revenue can be broken down into domestic and international receipts:
The earnings after the initial production and box office run primarily revolve around two key details: ongoing profit participation and subsequent revenue streams.
A key detail of the film's long-term financial structure was a contractual agreement with the producers of the original Broadway play.
While specific revenue figures for subsequent decades are not consolidated in a single total, the film's long-term earnings came from the following sources:
The query asks about financial performance, and Capra's profit participation is a significant detail about how the film's revenue was distributed. This contextualizes the business structure beyond just box office totals.
This provides important context for evaluating the film's financial performance - it could have earned significantly more if released earlier during peak wartime attendance.
This represents a hidden cost that affected the film's net profitability to the studio, relevant to understanding the complete financial picture.
Some sources reference a '$2 million budget' while others state the cost was 'just over $1.2 million.' This ambiguity should be acknowledged when discussing the budget.
The summary mentions VHS/LaserDisc but doesn't acknowledge later format releases that continued generating revenue.
Arsenic and Old Lace (1944) - Complete Financial Breakdown:
Production Budget: Just over $1.2 million, which included $175,000 for film rights to Joseph Kesselring's stage play (though sources are ambiguous whether the $175k is part of or additional to the $1.2M figure).
Initial Box Office Performance:
Revenue Distribution & Obligations:
Special Release Details:
Post-Theatrical Revenue Streams:
Financial Context:
The film was commercially successful with a gross-to-budget ratio of nearly 4:1, though specific net profit figures after distribution, marketing, and profit participation are not publicly consolidated. The delayed release meant the film missed peak wartime attendance, potentially limiting its earnings. TCM noted that 'when it finally went into release it was a commercial success,' and Variety in September 1944 called it 'definitely in the higher brackets as a money-getter.'