Michael Mann’s ‘Ferrari’ Was Originally Planned to Go Direct-to-Streaming on Showtime or Paramount+

So, this is interesting. Michael Mann’s “Ferrari” was initially planned to go direct to streaming on either Showtime or Paramount+. According to Neon CEO, Tom Quinn, the decision to go theatrical only came after he came to save the day by snatching the film up for $15M.

We were the only company that stepped up to make sense of an awkward situation that stopped this movie from going straight to Paramount+ and Showtime. And to me, I don’t care what anybody says, that’s the success for me.

Quinn goes on to mention how “Ferrari” came very close to getting SAG-nominated Penelope Cruz an Oscar nomination for her volcanic performance as Laura Ferrari, Enzo’s wife.

Last year, it had been reported that STX (which funded 70% of the movie) was going to put “Ferrari” direct to streaming through its deal with Showtime; However, they wound up licensing it domestically so that Mann’s dream project would be seen on the big screen.

Watching “Ferrari,” you can see why STX might have wanted this one to go the streaming route. That is not a diss on the film, which I quite liked, but more about how “Ferrari,” which cost $100M, was a very hard sale for mainstream audiences.

“Ferrari” was a $100M arthouse project, and almost nobody went to see it. The film only grossed $18M domestically. It likely won’t make its money back.

I thought “Ferrari” flirted with greatness. I might be in the minority here, but I liked it quite a bit. The performances, framing, staging and atmosphere were wonderfully realized. Also, the racing scenes were some of the best I’d ever seen.

All of this doesn’t really matter to Mann because he finally made his life-long passion project and is still likely going to direct ‘Heat 2,’ which could very well just be an IP, since the original film has become immensely popular on home video over the years.