People vs Larry Flynt grossed over $20 million domestically, and Boogie Nights grossed over $26 million at the box office domestically (and over $43 million internationally).
The creators (Malick, et al) originally peddled "Middle Men" to cable as a series, but when there were no takers, they decided to try and make it as a film.
Even with the "more traffic than God", traffic from Mansef / Manwin tube sites (built upon stolen content), it bombed big time.
The money that cable companies pay for a movie is largely based upon it's box office performance. The cable companies previously rejected "Middle Man" as a cable project. How much do you really think they are going to pay for it now?
Anyway you cut it, "Middle Men" was a dismal flop, and will most likely have to be sold as a loss leader...
As the Distributor, Paramount will likely get a lion's share of the ancillary markets, as paltry as that may be, given the poor box office performance numbers.
One more factor to consider is that even box office bonanza movies, only make back about what they make during their theatrical release through the various other markets (DVD, VOD, Cable, etc).
At this point, "Middle Men" has grossed less than $700k (that's not counting the ad budget, or deducting Paramount's distributor share, or even the theater's share), so any chance of this movie breaking even at this point appears to be a total pipe dream.
Not too worry though, because Middle Men is sure to make ~$20 more tonight, because I am heading out to see it shortly, since it will not be playing anywhere near me tomorrow, or much of anywhere for that matter.
I'll post my review tomorrow...
ADG