Road Housedirector Doug Liman has made a stark claim about the lack of revenue he and star Jake Gyllenhaal have seen from the massive success of the movie. Liman has been frequently outspoken about Prime Video’s exclusive streaming release of the movie, rather than putting it out in theaters. Liman was so upset by its streaming-only release that he previously released a scathing article on the subject, and threatened to boycott the movie’s premiere. Even though the director ultimately attended that event, he has become no less frustrated about the situation over time, especially considering the huge viewership the film drew in on Prime Video.
During a chat withIndieWirepromoting his new Apple TV+ film,The Instigators, Liman clarified his position onRoad House’sstreaming release. The director made it clear that he has no issue with streaming, especially since he is currently promoting a movie set for a streaming service, but it appears the terms of theRoad Housedeal changed when the film headed direct to streaming after Amazon acquired MGM. He said:
“First of all, I have no issue with streaming. We need streaming movies cause, we need writers to go to work and directors to go to work and actors to go to work and not every movie should be in a movie theater. So I’m a big advocate of TV series, of streaming movies, of theatrical movies, we should have it all. My issue on ‘Road House’ is that we made the movie for MGM to be in theaters, everyone was paid as if it was going to be in theaters. Then Amazon switched it on us and nobody got compensated.”
Forget about the effect on the industry - 50 million people saw ‘Road House’ - I didn’t get a cent, Jake Gyllenhaal didn’t get a cent, [producer] Joel Silver didn’t get a cent. That’s wrong.
Road House
WhenRoad Houselaunched on Prime Video, Amazon was quick to boast about its success. The company revealed back in April thatRoad Houseregistered 50 million viewers globallyin the first weeks, making it their"most-watched produced film debut ever on a worldwide basis.“While traditional theatrical releases usually include additional bonuses based on the success of a movie, the switch in release strategy meant that there was no such compensatory plan in place forRoad House.
A similar issue arose when Scarlett Johansson sued Disney over lost revenue from the streaming release ofBlack Widowduring the Covid pandemic, which she said massively hindered the film’s box office performance. The actress ultimately filed a lawsuit against Disney, which played out in a very nasty and public way. Ultimately, the partiescame to a settlement regarding that matter.
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Road House star Jake Gyllenhaal is ready to get going on the Amazon sequel.
When it comes to Liman’sRoad Houseissues, it was previously reported that the creative parties involved were given a choiceregarding the release ofRoad Houseafter Amazon acquired MGM. One option was to make the movie for $60 million and get an exclusive theatrical debut or make the film for $85 million but settle for a streaming release. While there was some dispute over who ultimately made the decision, Liman has made it clear that this was not an issue he had with Apple TV+ when it came to his latest movie.
“In the case of Apple, right from the beginning, we said we’re making this for streaming, our contracts compensated streaming, we’re all compensated for it being on streaming - there’s something called a streaming buyout - so Apple has been above-board from the beginning.”
The success ofRoad Houseon Prime Video paved the way for a sequel, which wasannounced back in May. Gyllenhaal is confirmed to be returning, but given Liman’s relationship with Amazon following the first film’s release, it is yet to be seen whether he is willing to step back behind the camera for them.
