Ince was about to begin a struggle to maintain his organization against First National in 1922. The grosses of Associated Producers had halved almost immediately after the merger with First National, and the residual gross was not over $1 million, less than half what was expected. This left many of the producers unable even to recoup the cost of their negatives, some losing up to $75,000 on each film. First National theaters were being sold lower-grade product as the best available, ignoring the Associated Producers movies. On May 13, First National Pictures wrote to Ince, rejecting his demand for a new contract and dismissing his claims about the difficulties in performance of the contract with the distribution of Hail the Woman. As a result, for some months Ince placed his production and delivery on hold until the distribution crisis could be resolved. Ince's attempt to secure his own independence as a producer by allying with what he hoped was an organization that shared the same goals had trapped him.