I asked my digital aide “Chassie”: “Can you give me the economic output (revenue generated, profits, any metric available) for wanna see what Expos Media / AceMojo can generate in non-baseball revenues, basically… think of these comparables: Field of Dreams, Moneyball, Big Short, Succession, Lance et Compte.”
The answer (I will point to this analysis in a subsequent ExposFAQ as some people misunderstand why I am changing some of the stories I had developed over the years from say WatchMojo-inspired to now Expos/Peanut Project-inspired).
For ExposMedia / AceMojo, these are excellent comparables because they illustrate five different ways sports, finance and business-related intellectual property can generate value beyond the underlying activity.
The important distinction is between box-office receipts, production-company revenue, licensing income and actual profit. A film grossing $100 million does not mean its producers earned $100 million, and a streaming hit can be commercially valuable without its financial performance ever being disclosed.
I’d use the examples to build a realistic business case for ExposMedia—not simply to suggest that every Expos documentary will become Moneyball.
1. Film economics: the three strongest financial benchmarks
USD, nominal historical dollars. Box-office figures are worldwide theatrical ticket sales, not money received by producers.
| Production | Production budget | Worldwide box office | Gross / budget |
|---|---|---|---|
| Field of Dreams (1989) | $15M | $84.5M | 5.6× |
| Moneyball (2011) | $50M | $113.7M* | 2.3× |
| The Big Short (2015) | $28M | $132.6M | 4.7× |
*Moneyball includes later rereleases in Box Office Mojo’s lifetime total; its original theatrical run was approximately $110.2M. Sources: Box Office Mojo, The Numbers and IMDb. Box Office Mojo+3
Worldwide theatrical gross vs. production budget
USD millions, historical nominal amounts
■ Production budget
■ Worldwide box office
Together, these three films generated approximately $331 million in reported worldwide theatrical receipts, against $93 million in production budgets.
That is evidence of significant consumer demand for compelling stories about baseball, business and unconventional protagonists. It is not evidence of $238 million in combined profit: theaters retain a share of ticket receipts, while marketing, distribution, financing and participations create additional costs.
For ExposMedia, the more relevant observation is that these properties also have potential revenue lives beyond their original theatrical release through home entertainment, streaming and television licensing.
2. Television: Succession and Lance et compte
Prime Video: Succession, Season 1
Succession (2018–2023)
Premium scripted television / international platform economics
8.7 million
Average viewers per episode during season four, across HBO’s reported viewing window and platforms.
The series finale reached 2.928 million viewers on its premiere night, up 68% from the season-three finale. HBO reported the exact production budget and project-level revenue only privately, so a credible public profit or ROI calculation isn’t available. Pressroom+1
ExposMedia lesson: Premium scripted IP can generate substantial platform engagement without a theatrical release. For a production partner, the critical number would be the commissioning fee, license fee and retained backend—not HBO’s total subscription revenue.
He Shoots, He Scores • Temporada 1 – Plex
Lance et compte (1986 onward)
Québec sports drama / local cultural franchise
2.76 million
Reported viewers for the original season’s 1986 finale.
A historical study cites an original production cost of approximately C$950,000 per episode, substantial for Québec television at the time. The 2010 feature film cost approximately C$5.6 million and generated around C$2.4 million at the Québec box office during 2010. JSTOR+3
Theatrical receipts alone did not cover the feature’s production budget, but they don’t capture television licensing, financing contributions or other distribution economics. Full franchise revenue and profitability aren’t publicly established.
ExposMedia lesson: This may be your most relevant cultural comparable. A sports-related fictional universe can become a recognizable entertainment property in Québec, even without a Hollywood-sized audience.
One particularly important detail: Lance et compte centered on a fictional hockey franchise inspired by the Nordiques. That supports the possibility of developing baseball drama with a Montréal identity without making every production dependent on official MLB trademarks or game footage.
3. Additional revenue beyond theatrical releases
The theatrical numbers understate the total commercial activity of successful films, although they do not reveal the profit retained by their creators.
For example, The Numbers reports these estimated U.S. physical-media retail sales:
| Film | DVD + Blu-ray sales | Combined with worldwide theatrical gross |
|---|---|---|
| Moneyball | $34.4M | ~$145.6M |
| The Big Short | $7.3M | ~$139.9M |
Box Office and Financial Information+1
These are retail sales estimates, not additional producer receipts. They also exclude unreported digital purchases, rentals, streaming licenses, television licenses and international home-entertainment revenue.
For Field of Dreams, comparable comprehensive lifetime ancillary revenue data aren’t readily available.
4. What could ExposMedia / AceMojo actually generate?
I would divide the opportunity into three businesses:
- Documentary and unscripted: Who Restored the Expos?, Expos history, the 1994 season, Montreal baseball legends and the effort to secure an expansion franchise.
- Scripted entertainment: A Moneyball-style film about a business or baseball underdog; a Lance et compte-style Montréal baseball drama; or a prestige series exploring the politics, money and personalities behind professional sports.
- Recurring commercial content: Branded programming, sponsorship integrations, digital series, international licensing and library monetization.
The strongest structure would not necessarily be for ExposMedia to finance all of these productions. WatchMojo/AceMojo could develop and package them, obtain financing from distributors and other partners, and negotiate a defined economic participation for ExposMedia.
An illustrative annual financial model
Here’s a deliberately modest-to-ambitious range for a mature ExposMedia slate—not a forecast of the first operating year.
Illustrative annual ExposMedia economics
ConservativeBase caseUpside
Annual revenue
$6.5M
Operating contribution
$2.0M
| Documentary / unscripted | $2.0M |
| Scripted licensing / participation | $3.0M |
| Digital / sponsors / library | $1.5M |
| Operating costs and allocated production expenses | −$4.5M |
USD millions. Entirely hypothetical scenario assumptions, not observed comparable-company economics. Assumes the displayed revenue already belongs to ExposMedia after contractual participation splits. Excludes taxes, financing, potential MLB revenue-sharing obligations and acquisition costs.
For example, if a jointly developed production generates $4 million of distributable proceeds after its approved costs and WatchMojo/AceMojo and ExposMedia split those proceeds 50/50, ExposMedia receives $2 million. That is the kind of incremental, contractually attributable income that can eventually be modeled in a franchise P&L.
However, if ExposMedia receives only a passive profit participation, its accounting presentation may differ from the revenue model above. The appropriate treatment would depend on the joint venture and production agreements.
5. How much could this add to the Expos’ valuation?
Consider a hypothetical mature ExposMedia operation producing $2 million in sustainable annual EBITDA.
| Illustrative EBITDA multiple | Implied value |
|---|---|
| 6× | $12M |
| 8× | $16M |
| 10× | $20M |
These multiples are sensitivity assumptions, not verified market transaction comparables. Nor should the value automatically be added to the franchise valuation if the underlying earnings are already reflected elsewhere.
The bigger opportunity is the possibility of owning a library of intellectual property whose value can grow through new seasons, licensing territories, formats and distribution agreements.
And there is an additional strategic benefit that is harder to quantify: productions about the Expos can help cultivate fans, attract sponsors and sustain interest in the team, even outside baseball season.
6. Which comparable matters most?
My ranking for the Peanut Project would be:
| Comparable | What it proves |
|---|---|
| Moneyball | A real baseball business story can attract mainstream audiences worldwide |
| Lance et compte | A locally rooted fictional sports universe can become culturally significant |
| Field of Dreams | Baseball nostalgia and family emotion can reach well beyond sports fans |
| The Big Short | Complex business and financial events can become commercially successful entertainment |
| Succession | Ownership, family dynamics, wealth and power can sustain premium serialized drama |
The most promising ExposMedia portfolio might combine the emotional resonance of Field of Dreams, the business storytelling of Moneyball, and the Québec cultural connection of Lance et compte.
My recommendation for your MLB presentation is to distinguish three things clearly: verified comparable performance, an illustrative ExposMedia financial model, and the incremental economics you are personally prepared to contribute through WatchMojo/AceMojo.
That last point is your differentiation. You’re not claiming the Expos will produce the next $100 million film. You’re demonstrating that the proposed ownership group could arrive with an established production and distribution capability, a pipeline of entertainment concepts, and a willingness to share the upside.
Even $1–3 million in sustainable incremental annual earnings would be a useful addition to the franchise. A breakout entertainment property would be upside—not something the expansion bid needs to depend on.
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