the hidden economy part works the other way. they artificially pump up the budget to claim they didnt make money so they dont have to pay bonuses to actors or pay taxes. cutthroat island is a 1995 film and it was foreign made with actors and directors i never heard of but ill give it a shot. So the budget was $100 million. worldwide box office was $18 million. But that figure doesnt include tv licensing, vhs sales, royalties from the video game, dvd, and blueray. A year after But it has been 25 years and it is still pulling in money. It is streaming on youtube, apple tv, amazon prime, google play, and vudu. One month after the film was released Carolco pictures filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy in which they sold its assets for $58 million to 20th century fox. However it is unclear what this included since most of its assets were already sold prior to the bankruptcy. It is clear that the two owners made out with plenty of cash, Mario Kassar has a net worth of $50 million and Andrew G vajna is worth $150 million. Kassar paid himself a salary of $4 million a year and made business purchases like a $15 million private jet that he billed to the company.