/Film has brought word that the Sundance horror hit Splice is being opted for a summer release by a proposed deal between Joel Silver and Dark Castle. The deal will reportedly give Splice a 3000-screen summer release with a print and advertising deal costing as much as $40 million. That’s a lot of dough for such a small flick.
According to IMDb, Splice will be about “two young rebellious scientists…[who] forge ahead with a dangerous experiment: splicing together human and animal DNA to create a new organism.” If there’s anything that films such as Saw and Hostel have taught us, it is the promising box-office possibilities of these low-budget horror films, but $40 million simply for advertising still feels awfully steep to me. Then again, if a film like this achieves cult status, it could continue raking in money once it hits DVD as well.
Do you think the price for this Sundance hit is too high?