FOOTBALLERS’ FILM INVESTMENTS

Robbie Keane, John O’Shea and Kevin Kilbane are among a number of Republic of Ireland players who have coined it as a result of blockbuster movies, according to The Sunday Independent.

Keane has backed “massively successful Hollywood movies such as Avatar, X-Men, Rise of Planet of the Apes, Night at the Museum and A-Team” the newspaper says.

Keane was involved in a number of funds created by London-based Ingenious Investments. As in Ireland, film investment in the funds qualified for tax benefits as well as generating lucrative returns if movies were successful.

Ingenious helped to finance Avatar, the most successful film ever released following its 2009 debut.

“It is thought that Avatar’s budget was well north of €150m but it grossed more than €2bn worldwide, netting massive profits for its backers,” the newspaper notes. “Other production credits for the investment vehicle include the €110m budget X-Men Origins, €81m epic Australia and the Ben Stiller hit movie Night at the Museum, which grossed €422m worldwide.”