Chasing Liberty
Rate Movie[Total: 3 Average: 2]
- Directed By: Andy Cadiff
- Written By: Derek Guiley, David Schneiderman
- Release Date: January 9, 2004
- Domestic Distributor: Alcon (through Warner Bros)
- Cast: Mandy Moore, Matthew Goode, Jeremy Piven
Box Office Info:
| Budget: $23 million | Financed by: Alcon |
|---|---|
| Domestic Box Office: $12,195,626 | Overseas Box Office: $117,697 |
Alcon developed Chasing Liberty, which was formerly titled First Daughter and a competing movie at Regency with the same romantic comedy premise about the President’s daughter also titled First Daughter (with Katie Holmes) was racing to get behind the cameras first. Alcon eventually let Regency keep the title and Chasing Liberty entered production one week before First Daughter and Alcon quickly dated the picture for January 9, 2004. Both films failed at the box office. Alcon financed Chasing Liberty for $23 million and had a domestic distribution output deal with Warner Bros. Alcon covered all P&A expenses and used WB’s distribution resources and muscle and the studio received a fee.
Chasing Liberty landed mixed to poor reviews and bowed against My Baby’s Daddy and the wide expansion of Big Fish. Tracking was pointing to a poor mid single digit opening and it opened within its low expectations at $6,081,483 — placing #7 for the weekend led by the holdover The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. Chasing Liberty tumbled 53.9% the following weekend to $2,804,329 and it sank 75.7% in its third session to $681,286 and promptly lost most of its theater count. The domestic run closed with only $12,195,626. Alcon would see back about $6.6 million after theaters take their percentage of the gross, which would not cover much of their P&A costs and leave the budget at a loss — plus a fee to WB.
Chasing Liberty was dumped straight to video in almost every offshore market and grossed an anemic $117,697 from a tiny release in a few countries.