International Actors a Passport to Profitability

The New York Times > Business > Media & Advertising: "'The Last Samurai.' That movie brought in $111 million at the domestic box office, which was disappointing given its $140 million production budget. Then, many in Hollywood predicted the movie would lose money. Instead the movie exceeded expectations in Japan, bringing in $127 million. That raised the worldwide total to $455 million, which the studio says, after adding in pay-television rights and DVD rentals and sales, made the movie profitable.

Jeff Robinov, president of production at Warner Brothers, which is owned by Time Warner Inc., said the Japanese actor Ken Watanabe was hired for the film because he was widely recognized in Japan and would attract moviegoers there. Last year, Warner Brothers International Cinemas opened a nine-screen multiplex theater in Shanghai. And in January, it entered into an agreement with the Dalian Wanda Group, one of China's largest commercial real-estate developers, for cinemas to be built in China over the next few years. "