Business Photo Slideshows

Evan Almighty

Photo by the Everett Collection

(Universal)
Worst Bet by Private Equity
This comedy was backed by Gun Hill Road II, a $700 million fund put together by investor Ryan Kavanaugh to finance pictures for Universal and Sony. It cost $175 million yet grossed just $100.2 million.

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Transformers

Photo by the Everett Collection

(Paramount)
Most Bang for the Budget
Paramount and DreamWorks made Transformers for $150 million and spent a tidy sum
marketing it. But the investment paid off when the movie racked up $319 million in ticket sales. The money shot: a pyrotechnic shootout between soldiers and a tank-size robot with a scorpion tail.

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Spider-Man 3

Photo by the Everett Collection

(Sony)
Most Underwhelming Investor Reaction to a Hit
While films are just a fraction of Sony's business, investors barely acknowledged this box office triumph. Spider-Man 3 grossed $169.4 million during its first five days; in the same period, Sony stock rose 69 cents, to $54.51 a share.

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USA Network

Photo by the Everett Collection

Most Aggressive Shopping by a Cable Channel
The network said it would pay $60 million for cable rights to 11 movies, including The Bourne Ultimatum, trumping the $40 million that E! reportedly paid for a package of films.

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The Invasion

Photo by the Everett Collection

(Warner Bros.)
Least Bang for the Budget
The Golden Compass wasn't the year's only flop to star Nicole Kidman and Daniel Craig. The Invasion, saddled with bad buzz and an $80 million budget, grossed $15 million.

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Paul Haggis

Photo by Jean-Paul Aussenard/Getty Images

Most Financially Unfortunate Followup
The Oscar golden boy struck out with his Iraq-war flick, In the Valley of Elah, which grossed just $6.7 million—a far cry from the $54.5 million his award-winning Crash took in.

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Sidney Kimmel

Photo by the Everett Collection

Worst Performance by an Individual Investor
Kimmel, the founder of Jones New York apparel, is known for investing in independent films. In 2007, his production company sank $38.7 million into a trio of them, including Talk to Me, with Don Cheadle (pictured). Together, the movies made $18.5 million at the box office.

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Sicko

Photo by the Everett Collection

(Weinstein Co.)
Best News for the Health-Care Industry
While U.S. audiences forked over $119.1 million to see documentary maker Michael Moore's anti-Bush film Fahrenheit 9/11, they were less enthusiastic about Sicko, his critique of the health-care system. Its total box office was $24.5 million.

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Superbad

Photo by the Everett Collection

(Sony)
Best Job of Beating Expectations
This adolescent comedy, co-written by Judd Apatow protégé Seth Rogen, was expected to reap $60 million to $70 million at the box office. Instead, it grossed $121.4 million.

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Ratatouille

Photo by the Everett Collection

(Disney)
Worst Opening for a Pixar Film in Almost a Decade
Ratatouille brought in $47 million during its three-day opening weekend in June. It was the softest Pixar debut since A Bug's Life, which took in $33 million during its opening weekend in 1998.

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The Brothers Solomon

Photo by the Everett Collection

(Sony)
Worst Overall Box Office
This summer comedy grossed $900,926, the least of any of the 166 films in wide release.

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I'm Not There

Photo by the Everett Collection

(Weinstein Co.)
Most Creative Financing
Finance group Cinetic Media raised about $10 million from advance sales to foreign distributors; another $10 million came from two funds and a rebate from the city of Montreal, where the movie—set largely in New York—was shot.

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Enchanted

Photo by the Everett Collection

(Disney)
Best Year-Ender for a Studio
This hit took in about $50 million over Thanksgiving. For studio chief Dick Cook, it capped a year that included $310 million from the latest Pirates of the Caribbean.

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Stacey Snider

Photo by Getty Images

(Dreamworks)
Best Performance by a Studio Head
Snider's studio grossed in excess of $1 billion this year, more than triple the amount of its sister studio Paramount Pictures. The keys to Snider's success: Shrek the Third and Disturbia, plus good relations with stars like Will Ferrell and Ben Stiller (pictured).

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