The NASCAR-themed “Logan Lucky” wasn’t a major box office hit but still was viewed as a success by the film’s creators, according to Zane Stoddard, NASCAR’s vice president of entertainment marketing and content development.
The film, released in theaters nationwide last year, centered around a heist at Charlotte Motor Speedway. It had a production budget of $29 million and has grossed $27.8 million in the U.S., according to Box Office Mojo, leading outlets like Recode to say the movie flopped. The film, which was distributed in about 40 countries, earned another $19.6 million worldwide, according to Box Office Mojo, taking the total figure to around $47.4 million.
Producer Steven Soderbergh told Recode that at his request, the film spent a “hugely disproportionate amount” of its marketing budget on digital advertising rather than television advertising, which he in retrospect viewed as a mistake. Soderbergh wanted to try a new model with the film where there was no studio company involved, making it more like an independent movie.
“It actually did live up to expectations,” Stoddard said. “It was a new model to try to make a movie without a studio, so the budget was very small; it’s made over $50 million at the box office [worldwide], everyone’s making money; by most definitions, including the reviews … it was wildly successful.”
— Adam Stern
