film per year, the first being Broken City. The companies aimed to hire the cast and crew by late 2008. Production did not commence as planned, and the project remained in an incomplete state of development. It became part of the film industry's 2008 black list of "best, albeit unproduced, screenplays." In June 2011, Emmett/Furla Films began development of Broken City with an anticipated budget of . Allen Hughes was attached to direct. By the following October, Regency Enterprises joined the project to co-finance with Emmett/Furla Films. Variety reported that Regency founder Arnon Milchan wanted to produce "edgier fare" like it previously did with the 1990s films Heat and L.A. Confidential. This would be Hughes' first feature film directing effort without his twin brother Albert. (Allen also directed the TV movie Knights of the South Bronx (2005) and a few episodes of the American version of the TV series Touching Evil.) Hughes said about working on his own, "The issue is learning that you're going to be in a room sometimes, and there's going to be eight guys assaulting you, creatively. Back in the day, when it was me and him, they could have had 15 people in the room, and they were all getting laid out." He met Tucker in 2010 at the Palm restaurant in West Hollywood, where he learned about the screenwriter's Broken City. With a production budget of , shooting began in New York City in November 2011. Filming also took place in the Carrollton neighborhood of New Orleans and in other parts of Louisiana. Release Broken City was released in in the United States and Canada on , 2013. The film competed with fellow openers Mama and The Last Stand, as well as Silver Linings Playbook in its widening release. The Los Angeles Times said the film drew "the most interest from older audiences". Prior to Broken Citys release, Variety reported that the film was estimated to have "a low to mid-teens opening" weekend. It grossed on Friday through Sunday, ranking fifth. It grossed through the holiday (Martin Luther King, Jr. Day) on Monday. Broken City grossed in the United States and Canada. Home media Broken City was released on DVD and Blu-ray on April 30, 2013. Critical reception On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 28% based on 153 reviews, with an average rating of 4.70/10. The site's