Adam Dawtrey from Variety reports that the fate of The Subtle Knife is more complicated than it seems: many of the foreign distributors have the first rights for foreign distribution for any possibly sequels for The Golden Compass. For very good reason, considering the film’s superb overseas performance, Warner Bros. would much rather distribute via Warner Int’l. However, it may not be so simple when the distributors for The Golden Compass in Europe, Asia, and Africa also have first grab for The Subtle Knife.

With this predicament, The Golden Compass’ successful overseas performance may not necessarily be the selling point to engage the film franchise for sequels as fans have hoped. Without foreign distribution rights, Warner will not be able to take advantage of profits from overseas screenings. “Warner’s lawyers will doubtless be scouring the fine print of those deals. If the studio does decide that it wants to continue with the franchise — and that’s a big if — it faces a tricky calculation and negotiation over how much of the world it is prepared to give up in order to do so.” Read more. Thanks to skylights for the tip.