The encyclopedia · Product & Design · Product decision · 2005
Sony sandwiched Zathura between Chicken Little and a new Harry Potter, and it lost money
The Jumanji follow-up looked to break even at a $65M budget against $65.1M gross, but the studio's real return after distribution costs left it in the red.
Sony Pictures · Columbia Pictures · 2005-11-11
What happened
Sony's Columbia Pictures produced Zathura: A Space Adventure, a family science-fiction film from the same source author as Jumanji, directed by Jon Favreau, on a budget of about $65 million, positioning it as counter-programming for the November family-film season.
The studio scheduled Zathura's release between the family-animated Chicken Little and the highly anticipated Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, a slot that left it squeezed between two much bigger family-audience draws competing for the same moviegoers.
Zathura grossed $65.1 million worldwide, a number that appeared to roughly match its budget, but once theaters' box office share is applied, Sony's actual return came to about $35.3 million — leaving much of the production and marketing spend uncovered despite reviews that were largely positive.
Why it happened
- Release scheduling put the film in direct competition with two much larger family-audience blockbusters for the same viewers.
- A surface-level budget-versus-gross comparison masked the real shortfall once the theatrical revenue split was applied.
- Positive critical reception wasn't enough to overcome the disadvantageous release date against stronger competition.
- The studio didn't reposition the release date even as the surrounding family-film calendar became increasingly crowded.
The lesson
A budget that roughly matches the box office gross can still be a loss — the studio's real return is a fraction of the ticket total, not the whole number.
Aftermath
Zathura's underperformance was one of several 2005 disappointments that led Sony to replace its head of worldwide marketing, and it remains cited as a cautionary example of poor release-date positioning against stronger competition.
Sources
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