Entertainment

Emily Blunt and John Krasinski butt heads with Paramount over A Quiet Place II release


Emily Blunt and John Krasinski are reportedly in a battle with Paramount Pictures over their compensation for their upcoming film A Quiet Place II.

The celebrity couple are said to be fighting for additional compensation from the studio after it opted to shorten the horror film’s exclusive theatrical window, a person familiar with the negotiations told Bloomberg.

According to the source, Krasinski and Blunt are keen to make up for the lost revenue, as most of their payment is tied to how well the film performs in theaters, as opposed to on streaming service.

DailyMail.com has reached out to representatives for Blunt and Krasinski for comment.

Pay up! Emily Blunt, 38, and John Krasinski, 41, are negotiating with Paramount for more compensation on A Quiet Place II after the studio shrank the exclusive theatrical window on the film, Bloomberg reported on Friday

Pay up! Emily Blunt, 38, and John Krasinski, 41, are negotiating with Paramount for more compensation on A Quiet Place II after the studio shrank the exclusive theatrical window on the film, Bloomberg reported on Friday

Paramount allegedly plans to cut the film’s exclusive 90-day theatrical window in half to only 45 days before making the movie available on its fledgling Paramount+ streaming service.

That would likely significantly shrink the compensation for Blunt, 38, and Krasinski, 41, as Paramount+ subscribers will be able to see the film for less than the cost of going to a theater. 

Currently, most actor’s contracts don’t include a mechanism for them to make money off a film’s streaming performance.

With a much shorter stay in theaters, some viewers may simply decide they can wait it out until the movie pops up on streaming. 

Cut in half: Most of Blunt and Krasinski's pay is tied to how the film performers in theaters, but now it will only be in theaters for 45 days before it pops up on Paramount+ for streaming; still from A Quiet Place

Cut in half: Most of Blunt and Krasinski’s pay is tied to how the film performers in theaters, but now it will only be in theaters for 45 days before it pops up on Paramount+ for streaming; still from A Quiet Place

Bad timing: Many viewers may wait out the halved timeframe to just watch the film on Paramount+. The studio also moved up the release date from September, so some people may stay home now due to the pandemic; seen in 2018 in London

Bad timing: Many viewers may wait out the halved timeframe to just watch the film on Paramount+. The studio also moved up the release date from September, so some people may stay home now due to the pandemic; seen in 2018 in London

The film is also set for a May 28 theatrical release, but many theaters throughout the United States and the rest of the world are still closed, further eating into the couple’s profits.

Even theaters that are open may be limited to a smaller capacity to help prevent coronavirus infections. 

Although Covid-19 cases are trending downward in parts of the US, viewers in some areas may decide late May is still too early to safely go to a public movie theater.

Representatives for Blunt, Krasinski, and the film’s producers, including Michael Bay, have all asked Paramount to raise their compensation on the picture, though so far the studio isn’t budging, according to the same source.

There’s reportedly no mechanism in Blunt and Krasinski’s contract for them to get extra money to make up for lost theatrical grosses, so the studio could simply choose to leave the couple with a smaller payday if it wanted.

Hardball: Representatives for Blunt, Krasinski, and producer Michael Bay have asked Paramount to raise their pay on the picture, though so far the studio isn't budging; still from A Quiet Place

Hardball: Representatives for Blunt, Krasinski, and producer Michael Bay have asked Paramount to raise their pay on the picture, though so far the studio isn’t budging; still from A Quiet Place

More to come? Negotiations continue, and Hollywood's ongoing obsession with sequels means the studio likely wants the two to make a third Quiet Place film; seen in 2019 in LA

More to come? Negotiations continue, and Hollywood’s ongoing obsession with sequels means the studio likely wants the two to make a third Quiet Place film; seen in 2019 in LA

However, negotiations continue, and Hollywood’s ongoing obsession with sequels means the studio likely wants to keep a good relationship with the two in hopes that they’ll make a third Quiet Place film.

Paramount also produces Krasinksi’s Jack Ryan TV show, which airs on Amazon Prime, so it has an ongoing relationship with the actor, writer and director. 

The studio made the unusual choice amid the ongoing pandemic of moving up the film’s release date from September to late May after previously pushing it back several times.

A Quiet Place II originally had its premiere on March 8, 2020, just days before much of the world shut down to the pandemic, which is still raging unchecked across much of the globe.

The first film in the series was a hit with critics and a massive success for Paramount. It was the studio’s second highest-grossing film of 2018 with $341 million, according to Box Office Mojo.

It's a hit! The original film was Paramount's second highest-grossing film of 2018, thanks to being a hit with fans and only costing a modest $20 million; still from A Quiet Place

It’s a hit! The original film was Paramount’s second highest-grossing film of 2018, thanks to being a hit with fans and only costing a modest $20 million; still from A Quiet Place

It helped that the film only cost about $20 million to make, a relatively modest sum by Hollywood standards.

Warner Bros. faced a similar dilemma when it premiered many of its biggest films, including Godzilla Vs. Kong, to simultaneous premieres on HBO Max and in theaters, but it compensated its filmmakers and stars to make up for their lost payments.

Streaming services like Netflix have already been paying talent higher salaries, as most of its films have minimal theatrical release if they get one at all.



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