That's a much lower stipend than 15% of domestic box office, which used to be the benchmark for a successful theatrical-movie deal in the network window.

But times have changed. Since "Worlds" has grossed more than $230 million domestically, 15% would come to $34.5 million -- an impossible figure for distributor DreamWorks to draw in a sluggish broadcast and cable marketplace for theatricals.

Unlike in the past, the broadcast networks now buy theatricals only sparingly, and big-spending cable nets like TNT and USA have become more selective, hurt by the decline of movie ratings over the last few years.

A big reason for that decline is that massive use of titles in DVD, pay-per-view, video-on-demand and pay TV have eroded their value by the time the pics make their way to the network window.

TNT and USA are scheduling more original series and special-event programming, lessening their need for theatricals.

Bowing to the new reality, distribs have put a cap on the total license fee, which can start as low as $22 million and rise to as high as $27 million a title, unless the buyer gets more runs and a longer exclusive license term.

Before ABC can get its hands on "War of the Worlds," HBO has the exclusive pay TV window from summer 2006 through the end of 2007. ABC gets the movie in the second quarter of 2008 exclusively for three years, during which term it will take two or three primetime runs. "Worlds" then goes to TNT for multiple runs over two years.

HBO comes back into the picture in 2013 for a second, and final, pay window of 12 months.

In 2014 "Worlds" returns to ABC and TNT, but DreamWorks will be able to extract an additional two-run window in TV syndication.

Tribune Entertainment has signed a deal that gives it the right to clear TV stations (including the Tribune-owned outlets) for all DreamWorks titles. Stations get one month for two runs of each of the modest-grossing titles but only nine days for blockbusters like "Worlds" to get them back to TNT quicker. Stations pay no cash for these runs, instead handing over 14 minutes within each two-hour run to Tribune, which sells the spots to national advertisers on behalf of DreamWorks.