The Federal Police, within the scope of Operation Compliance Zero, which investigated the business dealings of Banco Master, revealed documents and messages about the film Dark Horse, a production about the trajectory of former President Jair Bolsonaro. The materials show that the investors and producers of the feature film had high expectations regarding the financial return of the project.
According to the gross box office revenue projections presented in the documents, the pessimistic scenario foresaw US$ 45 million, the conservative US$ 70 million, and the optimistic US$ 100 million, which is equivalent to just over R$ 500 million.
To put these expectations into perspective, the operation highlights that the highest box office result in the history of Brazilian cinema was achieved by the film Minha Mãe é uma Peça 3 (2019), with approximately R$ 120 million — equivalent, at the time, to about US$ 30 million.
This means that even the most pessimistic forecast for Dark Horse would surpass the Brazilian historical box office record. The optimistic scenario projected for the film would exceed that record by more than three times, placing the production in the performance range of major international productions.
