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SCI and Paramount talk on Tomb Raider 3 movie
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SCI, the computer games company that owns Lara Croft, along with her Tomb Raider franchise, is in talks with Paramount Pictures over licensing the property for a third Hollywood movie.
The previous two movies have grossed more than $450m (€383m) at the box office and are based on the video game of the same name.
It was originally produced by Eidos, a one-time stock market darling that has slipped from its £1bn valuation and struggled financially in recent years. The company was bought by SCI earlier this year.
Sources in Hollywood say negotiations have started between Paramount and SCI for the latest movie, and Angelina Jolie has once again expressed an interest in starring as Lara Croft, the English archaeologist-adventurer.
The video game and film industries have grown closer over the years, as games are licensed to film studios. The Tomb Raider game has sold more than 30m copies since 1996.
It is thought that Eidos took a one-off licensing fee from Paramount in 1998 and collected a percentage of the film’s gross receipts. It also gets a cut of sales from Tomb Raider merchandising.
SCI is likely to negotiate a tougher deal for its property under chief executive Jane Cavanagh, who is one of Britain’s most successful female executives.
SCI does not time the release of forthcoming Tomb Raider games with movies. The next game, Tomb Raider Legend, will come out at Easter on Play Station 2 and Xbox 360.
Cavanagh runs a much tighter ship than Eidos and has been successfully completing the integration of Eidos within the SCI business.
Tomb Raider games have benefited from the publicity generated by the film. Cavanagh is sure to embark on new marketing opportunities similar to the one with GlaxoSmithKline where it renamed its Lucozade energy drink “Larazade”. This helped bring the property into the mainstream and boost sales of the games.
Story by: Rupert Steiner - The Business Online
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