Fox Signs First-Look Deal With Comic Publisher BOOM! Studios

For those of you hoping that the era of comic book films was coming to an end, I have bad news for you. The era of the comic book film is about to elevate to a brand new level.

The Hollywood Reporter is stating that 20th Century Fox has signed a first-look deal with independent comic book publisher BOOM! Studios and Archaia Entertainment, another independent publisher BOOM! recently acquired.

The pact is unique in the fact that BOOM! will be getting a percentage of the “first-dollar gross” on any films Fox decides to make from BOOM! properties and that BOOM! will share this cut 50/50 with the originators of the property. The exact percentage is not known, but this deal could be very lucrative for the comic book company and the people who work for it.

BOOM! Studios was established in 2005 by Hollywood film producers Ross Ritchie and Andrew Cosby with a line of comics that tied into popular genres of the day (Zombie Tales, Pirate Tales), properties that were in the public domain (H.P. Lovecraft’s Chtulu and H.G. Wells War of the Worlds) and a few original works. The company’s profile increased in 2008as it started to go heavy into licensed properties with books based on the TV shows Eureka and Farscape. In 2009, they picked up the Disney license and entered into an agreement with Fox to publish the film studio’s FOX Atomic line of comics and adaptations based on the Die Hard, Planet of the Apes and Ice Age franchise.

As of late, BOOM! has worked with mainstream comic creators such as Mike Carey and Paul Jenkins to create new concepts for the company. Surely this is due in part to this agreement, to have some original content to go with BOOM! slate of mostly licensed material.

The recent Universal film 2 Guns was based on a BOOM! Studios comic. It debuted at #1 and has earned over $96 million worldwide. And Archaia property Rust in already under development at FOX.