 The movie was a huge hit. When MGM discovered that a clause in  director King Vidor (qv)s contract entitled him to 20% of the net  profits, studio lawyers called a meeting with him. At the meeting,  MGM accountants played up the costs of the picture while downgrading  the studio forecast of its potential success. Vidor was persuaded to  sell his stake in the film for a small sum. The film ran for 96  weeks at the Astor Theater and grossed $5 million (approximately $50  million in 2003 dollars) domestically by 1930, making it the most  profitable release in MGM history at that point. Said Vidor, "I thus  spared myself from becoming a millionaire instead of a struggling  young director trying to do something interesting and better with a  camera."