‘The Call’ Dials Up WWE’s Film Biz

Halle Berry is now WWE’s top star at the box office.

“The Call,” the thriller in which the actress stars, has crossed the $45 million mark and is expected to surpass $50 million by the end of its domestic run. It’s easily WWE’s top-grossing film it’s produced and financed. It’s other top earners were 2006’s “See No Evil” ($19 million worldwide) and John Cena vehicle “12 Rounds” ($17 million) in 2009.

It’s the kind of success WWE’s film division has long been looking for after pumping out a string of low-budget action, horror, and more recently, Hallmark-style dramas. But after taking the reigns of WWE Studios, in 2011, former Miramax executive Michael Luisi is finding a new strategy is starting to pay off for the company.

WWE Studios co-produced “The Call” with Troika Pictures, splitting the film’s roughly $13 million budget. Sony’s TriStar Pictures released the pic March 15.

It’s that kind of deal WWE Studios is looking to broker for most its films — mitigate the risk on projects through co-productions and find a studio partner to put some marketing and distribution muscle behind the releases.
Luisi’s first release as president of WWE Studios was last fall’s “The Day,” a horror pickup from the Toronto Film Festival that Anchor Bay gave a limited release but has sold well on homevideo.

However, March was a busy month for the division. “In a 10-day period we had three movies in the marketplace,” Luisi said...More?

source: variety.com