When
Brad Pitt and
Jennifer Aniston made their break-up official with a Jan. 7 statement, they had plenty to say about remaining "committed and caring friends." But they said nothing about the ramifications for the businesses they own or impact.
Instantly, millions of dollars were at stake -- both on newsstands and at Warner Bros., which had spent the past three years acquiring one highbrow project after another for the couple's Plan B shingle.
While all the film projects acquired and announced by Warners are likely to stay there (among them, "Mighty Heart" by journo Daniel Pearl's widow
Marianne Pearl, and "The Timetraveler's Wife" at New Line) no one at the studio is sure whether one or both of the stars will decamp to Paramount to follow their manager and business partner
Brad Grey in his new gig as CEO.
The couple's split, however, is a big windfall for celebrity mags. Few cover subjects sell better than Brad & Jen, and the relationship ups and downs of
Ben Affleck and
Jennifer Lopez as well as
Britney Spears and
Justin Timberlake were newsstand bonanzas.
As
Kent Brownridge, general manager of Wenner Media, which publishes Us Weekly, says, "For a celebrity weekly, this is our tsunami." (He later apologized for the metaphor, but not the sentiment.)
People, Us Weekly and In Touch all rushed out issues trumpeting the Brad and Jen breakup, with staffs working 'round the clock. Sales numbers won't be available for months, but People, which hit stands first Jan. 10, could see a circulation bump of 500,000 copies from that issue.
With a cover price of $3.49, that's $1.75 million in sales, about half of which ends up back in People's coffers.
Contact the Variety newsroom at
news@variety.com