Leonardo DiCaprio bought the movie rights for what would be The Wolf of Wall Street back in 2007. But it wasn’t until a little-known Hollywood production company came along six years later that the story of high-rolling fraudsters got off the ground.
On Wednesday, the Malaysian co-founder of that company, Red Granite Pictures, was accused in US civil lawsuits of using $100 million (Dh367 million) allegedly diverted from Malaysian state development fund 1MDB in a money-laundering scheme to finance the film.
Directed by Martin Scorsese and starring DiCaprio as real-life convicted stockbroker Jordan Belfort The Wolf of Wall Street, went on to make some $400 million at the worldwide box office, get five Oscar nominations, and win a Golden Globe for the popular actor.
Wednesday’s lawsuits aim to seize the proceeds from the 2013 film. Now back in the spotlight, the rollicking tale of drugs, sex and money laundering should make tens of millions of dollars more, industry analysts say.
“A film like Wolf of Wall Street with DiCaprio and Scorsese is an evergreen property and it could easily make another $100 million in the near future,” said Jeff Bock, senior box-office analyst at Exhibitor Relations.
The renewed attention on the film won’t hurt either. “All the talk just helps remind people about the movie,” Bock said.
Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for global media measurement company comScore, said Wolf of Wall Street is the kind of movie that does well for years. It is available on iTunes, home video, streaming services and on demand and premium cable TV networks.
The movie’s distributor, Paramount Pictures, did not return calls for comment, nor did Red Granite Pictures and its co-founder, Riza Aziz.
DiCaprio and Scorsese were also producers of the movie but were not named in Wednesday’s lawsuits. They did not return calls for comment.
Aziz, the stepson of Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, and his Los Angeles-based Red Granite Pictures were little known in Hollywood before putting up the bulk of the cash for The Wolf of Wall Street. According to boxofficemojo.com the film had a production budget of about $100 million.
Red Granite had previously financed the 2011 indie film Friends with Kids. It has since helped produce or finance a handful of other movies including the comedies Dumb and Dumber To and Daddy’s Home. The company’s website says its slate of films has brought in more than $825 million worldwide at the box office since the company was founded in 2010.
