Exciting news came this week with the announcement from Amazon MGM Studios that their subdivision, United Artists, had reached a deal with filmmaker Michael Mann to produce HEAT 2. Mann had engaged in a long-running discussion with Warner Bros. to produce a sequel to his iconic 1995 crime epic HEAT, but the $170 million budget that Mann was seeking was seen as too rich for the studio.
When Warner Bros. ended negotiations in August, multiple alternative studios expressed interest in the project. In the end, it was Scott Stuber, the head of United Artists and former Chairman of Film at Netflix, who agreed to meet Mann at his $170 million asking price.
While there has been a lot of interest in the project, including from A-List actors such as Leonardo DiCaprio, Adam Driver, Austin Butler, and Bradley Cooper, Warner Bros.’ rationale for passing on it was clear. With a production budget of $170 million, the film would need to earn a minimum of $450 million from movie ticket sales to be profitable. Very few movies other than superhero and animated titles have been able to reach that mark, and studios are increasingly hesitant to stick their necks out financially on movies outside of those genres.
Warner Bros. and Mann tried to meet in the middle, with Mann lowering his target budget from an initial request of $230 million and Warner Bros. committing to as much as $150 million if Mann would commit to making two new movies in the series, HEAT 2 and HEAT 3. But the two sides were not able to get on the same page.
Amazon MGM Studios became an ideal partner for Mann because of their robust financial status and deep pockets. Given the studio’s recent public commitment to releasing a broad slate of new movies to theatres, the project is certain to be a boon for exhibitors since the partnership between Mann and Amazon will almost certainly result in one or more major theatrical releases.