The encyclopedia · Product & Design · Product decision · 2023
The Covenant — Guy Ritchie's $55M war drama that grossed $21.9M
STX and MGM backed Guy Ritchie's Afghanistan rescue drama with $55M; it grossed $21.9M worldwide — under half its budget.
STXfilms · MGM · 2023-04-21
What happened
The Covenant is a war drama about a US Army sergeant and the Afghan interpreter who saved him, and the sergeant's mission to return and rescue the interpreter. STXfilms financed it, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer distributed it in the US, and Toff Guy produced, on a reported budget of $55 million.
Released on April 21, 2023, it opened softly and closed at about $21.9 million worldwide — under half of its production cost, before marketing and distribution are counted.
The shortfall of roughly $33 million at the box office alone made it a clear loss for STX, which was already under financial strain, and the film joined the studio's run of mid-budget releases that failed to find an audience.
Why it happened
- STX financed a mid-budget war drama its shrinking distribution network could not sell, betting Ritchie's name would carry a niche, real-conflict story past its release-weekend ceiling.
- Set in a recent war, the film sat between the art-house and blockbuster lanes, so neither audience turned out in numbers that matched its $55M bill.
- The marketing leaned on Ritchie's heist-movie reputation, which did not fit a grim rescue story, leaving the launch without a clear draw.
The lesson
A director's name does not price a film's ticket: STX spent $55M on a niche war drama it had no distribution strength to carry, so a story that needed a wide push opened to a fraction of its budget.
Sources
- Wikipedia — The Covenant (2023 film)
- The Covenant (2023) — Box Office Mojo
- Amazon & MGM × STX deal, $55M budget — Deadline
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