Casino Royale (1967) - michaeldvd.com.au

Hey, everyone! I’m continuing a series from last year where I looked into and analyzed the Big 5 studios (+United Artists Releasing and 20th Century Fox).
In this post, I will be focusing on United Artists Releasing/Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, the studio that’s well known for Gone With the Wind, Doctor Zhivago, the Rocky series, Rain Man, the 007 James Bond films, and multiple lions that started roaring at the audience since the 1930s. I originally planned for A Look into MGM/UA for last year, but I got a little too lazy and cancelled it. Now that United Artists celebrates its 100th Anniversary and has an interesting future, I think it would be a good time to look into United Artists and Metro-Goldwyn Mayer, two of the former major film studios of the film industry. I will keep the history as short as possible
United Artists - 1919-1981
United Artists was created by Charlie Chaplin, Douglas Fairbanks, D.W. Griffith, and Mary Pickford on February 5, 1919 as a way for the four of them and for other filmmakers to have more control over their work than at another studio like First National Pictures, Universal Pictures, or Famous Players-Lasky (later renamed to Paramount Pictures). Despite not owning any theaters, they would have contracts with exhibition companies to show their films. In 1967, Transamerica purchased a 98 percent stake in United Artists. Transamerica owned the studio until 1981 when Heaven’s Gate became one of the biggest box office bombs at the time. So much so that Transamerica sold their stake in United Artists to another film studio and merge with them. Notable United Artists films: His Majesty, the American, Charlie Chaplin Films, Dollars Trilogy (A Fistful of Dollars, For A Few Dollars More, The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly), 007 Franchise, The Magnificent Seven, West Side Story, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Rocky, Apocalypse Now, and Raging Bull
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer - 1924-1981
In 1924, Marcus Loew, a theater magnate needed films to show at his Loew’s Theatres chain. He bought Metro Pictures back in 1919, but that wasn’t enough. So he bought Goldwyn Pictures and Mayer Pictures. Then, Loew decided to fuse these companies together to form Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer with Louis B. Mayer (formerly the head of Mayer Pictures) to run MGM. MGM was already a merged company before United Artists joined as player four almost 60 years later. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer was the dominating studio throughout the Golden Age of Hollywood (1920s-1960s), kind of like how Disney is now. However, their weakness is what lead to their downfall. Starting with Ben-Hur (1959), MGM believed that it would be able to constantly replicate its success every year by having one epic film carry them for a year. However, there were way too many times were the epic film would fall flat on their face. Since they heavily depended on the success of one film, they would suffer as a result. In 1969, Kirk Kekorian bought MGM and would use that name to focus on hotels and casinos with the MGM likeness. While MGM was able to rebound from losses, they never reached the top like they were able to back in the Golden Age of Hollywood. At some point, 20th Century Fox (a company that already was composed of two merged companies) and MGM were in talks to merge, but plans failed (20th Century Fox would instead merge with Disney 48 years later). However, MGM was able to merge with another major film studio, albeit not as strong as 20th Century Fox. Notable MGM films: Mademoiselle Midnight, The Wizard of Oz, Gone with the Wind, An American in Paris, Singin in the Rain, Ben-Hur, Doctor Zhivago, Network, Fame, and Clash of the Titans
MGM/UA Entertainment Era - 1982-1986
Kirk Kekorian’s Trancinda Corp purchased United Artists, which also owned Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The companies would merge to become MGM/UA Entertainment Company. At the time of the merger, David Begelman was fired due to greenlighting unsuccessful films with the sole exception of Poltergeist, meaning that MGM was struggling as well to a certain extent. In 1983, WarGames and Octopussy became a success for MGM, but the year wasn’t as profitable as Kekorian wanted. Not even MGM’s library was enough to help them get through the year. A year after the buyout, MGM started distributing independent films instead of financing their own films. On August 7, 1985, Ted Turner offered to buy MGM/UA for $1.5B. Turner immediately sold United Artists to Kekorian. Due to Turner having his own financial problems, Turner was forced to sell MGM’s production and distribution assets to United Artists for $340M. The MGM lot was sold to Lorimar Telepictures (which would later be bought by Sony to be renamed to Sony Pictures Studios). However, Ted Turner kept the RKO Pictures library that United Artists owned, the pre-1986 MGM library, and the pre-1950 Warner Bros library. Ted Turner’s Turner Broadcasting System would later merge with Time Warner (owner of Warner Bros), meaning that Warner Bros would regain their pre-1950 library that Jack Warner sold off back in the 50s, along with 99% of the RKO library and the pre-1986 MGM films. This is probably one of the factors that made Warner Bros the powerhouse they are today. Getting back on topic, this left MGM/UA with little to nothing. They have become a shell of their former selves and still are to this day as both United Artists and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer have lost their major film studio status in the 80s. They had to start from scratch like a brand new studio, but with a slight advantage of their brand recognition. Notable MGM/UA films: Rocky III, WarGames, Octopussy, Poltergeist, The Secret of NIMH, and Red Dawn
MGM/UA Communications Era - 1987-2010
When Kirk Kekorian reclaimed MGM, he renamed MGM/UA Entertainment Co. to MGM/UA Communications Co. Throughout the late 80s and 90s, the studio was able to stick around, but were far behind the big 6 at the time (Disney, 20th Century Fox, Columbia, Universal, Paramount, and Warner Bros). They had hits such as Moonstruck, Child’s Play, Rain Man, and Thelma & Louise. In 1997, MGM was able to strengthen their film library a little with the acquisition of Metromedia. Metromedia owned Orion Pictures, which made hits like First Blood, The Terminator, Three Amigos, Platoon, Robocop, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure, UHF, Dances with Wolves, and Silence of the Lambs. In 2003, MGM attempted to buy Universal Pictures (I don’t know how as Universal was the stronger film studio), but failed and lost $75M in doing so. In 2004, it was the major film studios’ turn to try to buy MGM. Time Warner attempted to take MGM, but failed. However, Sony Pictures Entertainment won the bid overall. Sony did this to ensure that MGM would support the Blu-Ray format over the HD-DVD format that was happening in the mid-2000s. Sony agreed to purchase MGM and would distribute some of their films like Casino Royale and Rocky Balboa. In 2007, they returned to distributing on their own. While they did have modest successes with films like Valkyrie, it wasn’t enough. In 2010, MGM supposedly released what many thought would be their swan song, Hot Tub Time Machine. Later that year, MGM filed for bankruptcy. Notable MGM/UA films: Dalton and Brosnan 007 Films, Rocky IV, Child’s Play, Spaceballs, Moonstruck, Rain Man, Road House, Thelma & Louise, Stargate, Valkyrie, Daniel Craig 007 Films (producing only), and Hot Tub Time Machine (last film that United Artists and MGM distribute before the Production Company Era)
Production Company Era - 2011-2017
In this era, MGM could only produce films and not distribute them. MGM co-produced a Poltergeist remake with 20th Century Fox. With Paramount Pictures, MGM made Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters, G.I. Joe: Retaliation, Hercules, Hot Tub Time Machine 2, and a Ben-Hur remake. With Warner Bros Pictures, MGM co-produced The Hobbit Trilogy, Hot Pursuit, Max, Creed, and Everything, Everything. And with Sony Pictures, MGM made Zookeeper, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Hope Springs, Carrie, The Magnificent Seven, Skyfall (which gave both MGM and Sony their first billion dollar film), and Spectre. With their co-production, they were able to make a small comeback. Notable MGM films (producing only): Skyfall, Spectre, Creed, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, 21 and 22 Jump Street, The Hobbit Trilogy, and The Magnificent Seven (2016)
Return to Distribution Era - 2018-Present
Mirror Releasing was founded as a joint distribution venture between Annapurna Pictures and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer to release their films under. MGM made a return to the world of distribution with Death Wish. Let’s see how well MGM did in 2018 and 2019.
2018
For MGM’s first film in years, Death Wish didn’t make twice its budget, which made $50M on a budget of $30M and neither did MGM’s second film in years, Operation Finale which made $18M on a budget of $24M. To be fair, Netflix distributed the film internationally, so they must’ve paid half. Even then, $18M in the US on a budget of $12M is nothing to get excited about. Annapurna wasn’t doing that great either. The only film they released that year that can really be considered profitable is Sorry to Bother You, which made $18M on a budget of $3M. The Sisters Brothers and Destroyer failed to recoup their budget, and If Beale Street Could Talk and Vice couldn’t make twice its budget. Unlike Annapurna, MGM had a major hit with Creed II, which made $214M on a budget of $50M. However, this isn’t completely MGM’s success story as Warner Bros distributed the film worldwide. In the US, Creed II made $116M on a halved budget (assuming MGM and WB split the bill) of $25M for MGM. This is still a major win for MGM, though that isn’t saying much compared to their slate. Mirror Releasing’s 2018 slate is at worst awful and at best mediocre, with Annapurna not helping matters.
Biggest Win: Creed II Biggest Loses: The Sisters Brothers, If Beale Street Could Talk, and Vice
2019
On February 5, 2019, United Artists celebrates its 100th Anniversary. As a way to celebrate the film studio, Mirror Releasing was renamed to United Artists Releasing with the name first appearing in Missing Link. Annapurna released three films this year. While Booksmart was able to be profitable making $25M on a budget of $6M, Where’d You Go, Bernadette failed to make its budget back, making $10M on a budget of $18M. However, this wouldn’t be Annapurna’s biggest loss. Missing Link bombed really hard, only making $26M on a budget of $100M, severely damaging Annapurna to the point of being on the verge of bankruptcy. This wasn’t just because of Missing Link. This was also due to the other films that Annapurna distributed in 2018, which didn’t make much of a profit either. As of now, it is unknown whether Annapurna will distribute films for United Artists Releasing next year. Orion Pictures would be apart of the United Artists Releasing group with Child’s Play. The Child’s Play remake made $45M on a budget of $10M, making it profitable. MGM released three films this year and they were all profitable. Fighting With My Family made $39M on a budget of $11M. The Hustle made $95M on a budget of $21M. And as of now, The Addams Family made $88M on a budget of $40M. It should be able to make $100M by the end of its run. Overall, United Artists Releasing’s 2019 slate is pretty good, and would’ve been amazing had Missing Link and Where’d You Go, Bernadette weren’t released by United Artists Releasing. Then again, Annapurna is the one suffering the losses and not MGM. MGM has a good year, even if it’s not enough to compete with the other studios like Lionsgate or Paramount. But that’s okay because it’s just baby steps. Overall, this was a decent year for United Artists’ 100th Anniversary, with two exceptions.. Biggest Win: The Hustle, Child’s Play, and The Addams Family Biggest Loses: Missing Link and Where’d You Go, Bernadette
2020: The next year is coming, and it’s time to look at what United Artists Releasing has in-store for everyone next year. I’ll try to keep it short (with a basic description of each one if necessary and how well it might do). The numbers I have won’t be accurate, so take it with a grain of salt.
Gretel & Hansel - it’s a supernatural horror film directed by Oz Perkins. As a horror film in January, I’d say that this could make some decent profit. The biggest concern is how many other horror films trying to capitalize on the January spot like The Grudge (Sony Pictures), Underwater (20th Century Fox), and The Turning (Universal Pictures). If I were being optimistic, I’d say it could make $40M DOM and $70M WW.
No Time To Die - it’s a spy film directed by Cary Joji Fukunaga and is the 25th film in the Bond franchise and the 5th and final Bond film starring Daniel Craig as the iconic James Bond. This is the film that United Artists Releasing needs to succeed in the future, and they are relying on it to be their largest film this year. I could see this making as low as $180M DOM and $800M WW and as high as $220M DOM and $1B WW. It could make a little less than Spectre or more, but I don’t see this surpassing Skyfall. Regardless, this should be a large hit for UAR. However, they are only handling domestic distribution while Universal Pictures handles international distribution, meaning that they aren’t going to be getting even half of the profits made from No Time to Die. This is almost guaranteed to be a hit for both United Artists Releasing and Universal Pictures.
Bad Trip - it’s a hidden camera comedy film directed by Kitao Sakurai. I don’t know how this is going to work, but based on the synopsis that it’s just a group of people traveling around and pranking people, I don’t see this doing gangbusters. I’d say $20M DOM and $30M WW.
Legally Blonde 3 - it’s a comedy film and the third film in the Legally Blonde series. I don’t think it will break records due to nostalgia, but it should get a decent amount of people into seats if it can get the casual and fans interested in the film. I’d say the highest it can make is $80M DOM and $100M WW.
Respect - it’s a music biopic film directed by Liesl Tommy and is based on the life of singer Aretha Franklin. This is coming off the success of other music biopics like Bohemian Rhapsody and Rocketman. I highly doubt this film will make even half of what Bohemian Rhapsody, let alone make close to those numbers (Bohemian Rhapsody made $904M. That’s not going to happen to Respect). Rocketman is more comparable to Respect and based off Rocketman’s $196M, I’d say this could make $100M DOM and $220M WW.
Bill & Ted Face the Music - it’s a sci-fi comedy film directed by Dean Parisot and is the third film in the Bill & Ted series. Bill & Ted has become a cult classic, so the release of a third film should get fans of the first two films to come see this one. With some help from the international audience (though it will make the most in the US), I’d say this could make $60M DOM and $80M WW.
Samaritan - it’s a film directed by Julius Avery and stars Sylvester Stallone. Not much is known besides that. Basing it off of how well both of their previous movies did, this should make about $30M DOM and $50M WW.
Robocop Returns - it’s a science fiction action film and is set to be a sequel to the original Robocop. Neil Blomkamp was originally attached to direct but left on August 2019. As of now, there’s no director. It’s highly unlikely that this film will come out next year, unless MGM can find a director and start filming sometime before the end of this year. I only have this up here because it’s still slated for 2020 and it’s not entirely impossible for this to come out next year, just very unlikely. If it does happen next year or gets pushed back to 2021, I’d say this could make $70M DOM and $160M WW with good reviews. This shouldn’t be too bad as long as the budget is $60M or less, which can be done.
Thoughts on the 2020 Slate: As a small film studio, United Artists Releasing has a promising slate. The overall domestic total should be around $500M, which is a large step forward for them. Their films are going to rely on the US market for success with the exception of No Time to Die. No Time to Die is a guaranteed money maker for both UAR and Universal and will be UAR’s biggest film to date. Legally Blonde 3, Bill & Ted Face the Music, and maybe Robocop Returns (if it comes out) will bring in fans of the series back after a long hiatus, especially Bill & Ted Face the Music. Another guaranteed hit for UAR will be Respect as music biopics are all the craze these days and Aretha Franklin is a well known singer with lots of fans. Bad Trip and Samaritan should be modest successes as original films from the studio. Gretel & Hansel is probably the only film I’m concerned about and that’s mostly due to how saturated January 2020 will be of horror films. It should do okay as long as the budget is low.
The Future: - Besides Robocop Returns possibly happening in 2021 instead of 2020, MGM has plans to make a sequel to Tomb Raider and to their most recent success, the Addams Family. Valley Girl from 1983 is getting a remake (if anyone remembers that). A remake of Night of the Comet is in development at Orion Pictures. As for the future of United Artists Releasing, if they can keep up with their small scale successes while successfully reviving their old franchises, a comeback will most likely happen for United Artists Releasing, to the point where they can do as well as Lionsgate and possibly even Paramount if they still have a hard time breaking $1B domestically.

Somewhere on an alternate Earth, the film rights for all the James Bond novels are sold to the producers who would eventually go on to make the 1967 Casino Royale. From there, the film was a huge success and established the James Bond movies as a classic comedy film franchise. You are now tasked with selecting an actocomedian to play the role of James Bond in present day for the next installment. Who do you pick?
There's no limit to the absurdity. Can be male or female of any race and nationality. Bonus points for details and general synopsis of film. Extra bonus points if you pick the actors/comedians who played Bond in every decade leading up to this hypothetical present.
Edit: Added another distinction.