Magnolia Pictures

Business model offers boffo benefits

By ANTHONY KAUFMAN

Magnolia, the theatrical division of Mark Cuban and Todd Wagner's 2929 Entertainment, continues to quietly flourish, benefiting from its flush backers and its vertically integrated partners (2929 Prods., cabler HDNet and Landmark Theaters). Indeed, when 2929 couldn't get the price it wanted for high-profile Sundance pic "What Just Happened," it landed in Magnolia's lap.

The boutique distrib also has emerged as the sector's top docu marketer, with "Gonzo" and "Man on Wire" both breaking $1 million at the box office. Another top grosser for Magnolia was "Flawless" ($1.2 million). And while it didn't best the company's previous top pics, the Demi Moore heist film remains one of the most profitable titles in Magnolia's history, according to prexy Eamonn Bowles, thanks to extremely strong video-on-demand numbers.

"The VOD platform is the best paradigm we've come up with yet," Bowles says.

B.O. CUME: $6.6 million

TOP PIC: “Man on Wire,” $1.2 million

TOPPERS: Eamonn Bowles, prexy; Tom Quinn, sr. VP, acquisitions; Jeff Reichert, sr. VP, marketing and PR

UP NEXT: “A Thousand Years of Good Prayers” (Sept. 19), “Humboldt County” (Sept. 26), “A Good Day to Be Black and Sexy” (Sept. 26), “What Just Happened” (Oct. 17), “Let the Right One In” (Oct. 24), “Splinter” (Oct. 31), “Special” (Nov. 21), “Timecrimes” (Dec. 5)