‘Hustlers’ Studio STX Films Is Looking To Sell 46-Film Library To Resolve $150 Million Debt
By Joshua Meyer/Aug. 8, 2021 9:59 am EST
The studio merged with Eros, itself a Bollywood titan, in 2020 as the COVID-19 pandemic forced theaters to shut down and led to financial woes. One of its notable titles, the Gerard Butler disaster film, Greenland, ultimately skipped theaters and went to HBO Max, as the studio sold off distribution rights last year.
Gambling, Sometimes Successfully, on Women and Puppets
Since then, the studio has turned several films made on budgets in the $20-million range into $100-million-plus international grossers. In the U.S., it was the domestic distributor last year for Guy Ritchie’s The Gentleman. Yet it has also carved out an identity as a studio willing (per Forbes) “to bet on women,” with Oscar-nominated films like Molly’s Game.
Aaron Sorkin made his directorial debut with the Jessica Chastain-led crime drama, based on the life of Molly Bloom, an Olympic hopeful skier turned entrepreneur whose high-stakes poker game in L.A.’s Viper Room attracted celebrity players like Tobey Maguire, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Ben Affleck. In the movie, Michael Cera portrays Player X, a composite character, who Molly meets in the “Cobra Room.”
As Forbes notes:
Despite Hustlers and Bad Moms each grossing over $150 million worldwide (again, working with budgets in the $20-million range), not all of STX’s investments have paid off. One commercial and critical disappointment was The Happytime Murders, starring Melissa McCarthy (and Bill Barretta as a puppet named Phil).
We’ll keep you posted on the potential STX film library sale and further puppet-related developments.
