The lacklustre performance of Catwoman at the worldwide box office has hit its co-producerVillage Roadshow (VRL) hard.

In an extraordinary statement released on Friday, theAustralian company said that the release of films in the next 12 months inwhich it is a production partner will be insufficient to cover the lossesincurred by Catwoman. VRL co-produced Catwoman with Warner Bros.

The $80m-plus Catwoman opened third at the US box office in July on avery tame $17.2m.

VRL said on August 3 this year that although the initialNorth American results for Catwoman werebelow expectations, it believed the film's performance outside of NorthAmerica would be stronger and closer to its expectations.

In its statement, company said "Unfortunately,following the release of the film in its ninth major international territory onthe weekend, it would now appear highly likely that the film'sperformance outside of North America will be below the company'sexpectations and more in line with the North American results."

The statement added: "The Company now believes thatthe forthcoming potential successful releases in the next 12 months including Oceans12, Miss Congeniality - Armed & Fabulous, Constantine, Charlie And TheChocolate Factory and House OfWax will be insufficient to cover thenegative financial performance of Catwoman.

In the statement, VRL said the pre-tax profit of $5.5m(A$7.7m) on the sale of its half interest in the advertising business Eye Shopwill substantially offset the loss from Catwoman. VRL's estimate of its net profit after tax for the year endingJune 30 next year remains at about $32m.

Topics