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Nov 15, 2006 2:29 pm US/Central
Blockbuster Makes Deal With Weinstein Co.
DALLAS (AP) ―
Blockbuster Inc. said Wednesday it has reached a deal for exclusive U.S. rental rights to movies from The Weinstein Co., whose founders created the Miramax studio and sold it to Disney.
The agreement runs from Jan. 1 through 2010 and gives Blockbuster three years of exclusive rental rights to Weinstein movies. The deal doesn't cover retail sales of the movies.
Blockbuster said it would pay Weinstein a minimum amount based on box-office performance of theatrical releases and production costs of direct-to-video movies. Detailed terms were not disclosed.
The companies said the deal would cover upcoming movies including "Bobby," a biopic about Sen. Robert F. Kennedy that opens this month, "The Nanny Diaries," starring Scarlett Johansson and Paul Giamatti, and a martial-arts film, "The Protector."
Weinstein said it expected the deal to increase exposure of its movies. Blockbuster Chairman and Chief Executive John Antioco said movies by producers Bob and Harvey Weinstein have long been customer favorites at his company's stores.
The Weinstein brothers founded Miramax, which became part of the independent film movement in the 1990s and produced several high-grossing movies including "Chicago."
The Walt Disney Co. bought Miramax in the early 1990s, but the Weinstein brothers continued to run the studio until last year, when they left to form their own studio.
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