After the Thanksgiving season opened, for a complete week from November 17th to November 23rd, the outstanding "Beauty and the Beast" finally earned US$68.73 million in the first seven days of filming, easily winning the weekly box office championship.
This result ranks third among the four Pixar animated films, lower than the US$87.31 million of "Toy Story 2" and US$70.31 million of "The Lion King" in its first week, but higher than the US$46.73 million of "Toy Story" in the same period in 1991. . Of course, even if it ranks third, "Beauty and the Beast"'s box office of $68.73 million in its first week is still beyond the reach of many Hollywood movies.
"The White House," which ranked second on the list, took in $13.49 million at the box office in its first seven days.
Even if it can get out of a slightly better curve, the local box office of the film will only be about 50 million U.S. dollars. The huge production budget of 62 million U.S. dollars can only be said to be another expensive tuition fee for Sony.
"The Conjuring 2", also owned by Daenerys Entertainment, occupies the third place on the list.
In its fourth week of release, even though the themes are not conflicting, "The Conjuring 2" was still impacted by "Beauty and the Beast". The box office dropped by 38% in a single week, and it continued to earn US$10.39 million. The film's cumulative local box office successfully crossed the 100 million mark. The club threshold reaches US$105.12 million.
The fourth place is an old film released on October 20, called "Get Shorty". This is a black comedy adapted from a novel, produced by MGM, directed by Barry Sonnenfeld and starring John Travor Starring Erta and Rene Russo, the production cost $30 million.
With an excellent media score of 8.7, "The King of Shorts" started with only $16.78 million in its first week, but it successfully built a very beautiful long-term success.
In its fifth week of release from November 17th to November 23rd, "Get Shorty" saw a single-week decline of 36%, earning US$6.09 million, with a cumulative box office of US$59.61 million.
Simon actually knew about this project and personally selected the stunningly beautiful heroine Rene Russo in the original version. However, after the film was completed, MGM was not very confident in the commercial prospects of the project, so it placed it on an unpopular schedule at the end of October. When it was released, these Simons did not interfere anymore, mainly because the unpopular schedule in October is actually suitable for non-mainstream genre films that rely on word-of-mouth to survive.
The success of the project was also expected by Simon.
Moreover, what Simon cares more about is the director of "Get Shorty", Barry Sonnenfeld.
This is the director of the original "Men in Black" series.
It just so happens that the copyright of "Men in Black" has already been acquired by Daenerys Entertainment.
Simon has no plans to launch the "Men in Black" series in the short term. After all, until 1997, Daenerys Entertainment's film list was basically full.
"Cutthroat Island", which cost US$100 million, finally ranked fifth in the weekly box office list.
The box office had a disastrous start, but no miracles happened after that. In the first seven days, the cumulative box office of "Cutthroat Island" was 4.96 million, and it failed to even break the US$5 million threshold.
After calculation, the opening scale of 2,505 screens will only cost US$1,980 in the first week.
Hollywood studios and North American theaters usually sign guaranteed screening contracts for two weeks, some for four weeks, and then make adjustments based on specific box office conditions.
Now, "Cutthroat Island"'s first-week average library price is less than $2,000, which has already hit the lower threshold. You know, "Beauty and the Beast" topped the weekly box office, with a theater average of US$25,600, more than ten times that of "Cutthroat Island". The attendance rate is low, but the theater's operating costs will not be reduced, even if it only needs to continue Faced with losses during the week of screening, many theaters either negotiated a compromise agreement with Paramount, or simply broke the contract to pay liquidated damages. In any case, they insisted on removing most of the "Cutthroat Island" canvases.
When a new box office week began, the number of screens for "Cutthroat Island" had plummeted from 2,505 to 1,196.
On November 24, the Thanksgiving holiday season entered its second week, and the number of films opening in North American theaters increased to 7.
Four of them are commercial films with openings of more than 1,000 yuan, namely "Casino", a new film starring Martin Scorsese and Robert De Niro produced by Warner Bros., and the family comedy "Good Deeds" produced by MGM. "Two", Paramount's Johnny Depp thriller "Gattaca" and Sony Pictures' "Silver Linings" starring black action star Wesley Snipes.
Three new films were screened on a small scale, two of which are from Gomen Pictures, namely "72 Hours" directed by Sean Penn and another French drama "Love Under the Stars". The last one is Orion Pictures, a subsidiary of Paramount, produces the drama "Twenty-Five" starring Al Pacino.
Among the seven new films, only Martin Scorsese's "Casino" is considered a blockbuster, with a production cost of US$52 million.
The original negotiating partner for the project was Daenerys Entertainment, and Simon = recommended it to Warner Bros. Pictures.
This is not because Simon is not optimistic about this project. Although the box office of the film in memory is indeed unsatisfactory, Simon did this mainly because Daenerys' film list is already full and lacks suitable schedules.
Martin Scorsese's projects have gradually become less popular in Hollywood in recent years, but this is a director whom Simon admires and admires very much. Simon insists that Hollywood should not only be limited to superhero movies or films just for profit. Commercial films such as animated films.
The lack of movie types ultimately harms the interests of Hollywood. The current Daenerys Entertainment is basically equal to half of Hollywood, so it is harming the interests of Daenerys Entertainment.
If Warner Bros. Pictures had not taken over the project, Simon also planned for Daenerys Entertainment to take over it personally, but the schedule would inevitably be delayed.
MGM's "Good Things Come Two" still follows the development strategy of a few blockbusters and focusing on mid-to-low-cost genre films that Simon personally determined for the studio. The production cost of the film is only $10 million, starring the Olsen twins. , who is the twin sister of Elizabeth Olsen, the former Marvel Scarlet Witch. The film opens with a screen size of 1,545.
"Gattaca" starring Johnny Depp and "Silver Linings" starring Wesley Snipes are both low- and medium-scale films with a cost of less than US$30 million.
Simon has no memory of the last three award-winning movies, and the quality of the finished films he watched in advance was not satisfactory, and they were basically cannon fodder.
With the release of the tragic first-week box office data of "Cutthroat Island" and the failure of this summer's "Showgirls", which cost $50 million to produce, Carlock Pictures, the main investor in the two projects, has made great progress in Hollywood. The Dragon Crossing the River, which has been around for many years, has come to an end.
Simon had been thinking about it in recent days.
In the 1990s, due to the continued opening of overseas film markets and the rapid recovery of the global economy, the overall upward trend of the Hollywood film industry did not slow down because of the continuous failures of one film company.
If some measures are not taken, more capital will definitely enter the market to disrupt the situation.
This is actually another manifestation of fullness and warmth.
Once you have money, you always hope to gain some fame. The Hollywood Vanity Fair is undoubtedly the best shortcut to fame. Even if you don't appear in person, you can hold a large amount of money in your hands, invest in some projects, and hold the title of executive producer, you can successfully break into this glamorous circle and be influenced by big names that can only be seen on the movie and TV screens. Celebrity compliments and favors can indirectly enhance the global visibility of the company behind the investor, killing multiple birds with one stone.
Therefore, the influx of foreign capital into Hollywood is simply inevitable.
If you can't block it, you can only open it up.
Take the initiative to open up some places for foreign capital.
Or, even if you want to play alone and try to be a hero, you must be within the control of the Westeros system.
If possible, it is best to move to other industries.
For example, in the field of new technology.
Therefore, in the week before and after Thanksgiving, Simon has been frequently discussing response strategies with the core members of the Westeros system.
When Thanksgiving is over, many ideas have basically taken shape.
The three labels of Daenerys Entertainment will still not be open to the outside world. This is the first thing to be sure.
In the past, major Hollywood studios relied heavily on external funds. This was mainly due to the restrictive policies of the media industry that restricted the diversified expansion of Hollywood giants. The lack of income channels made it impossible for major studios to generate their own sustainable cash flow. , so we can only continue to raise funds and borrow money. When the project makes money, most of the funds have to be returned to the investors. If the project loses money, it often forms long-term liabilities for the studio.
MGM, which was almost unable to recover in the 1980s, fell into this vicious cycle of continuous failure.
Daenerys Entertainment has grown up since childhood, and its series of projects have been very profitable. It can be said that it is the only major studio in Hollywood that has successfully completed self-sufficiency in funds. Even Warner Bros. Pictures, which is backed by Time Warner, cannot. to this point.
In Simon's memory, Disney is the only one who can really do this.
To form sustainable own cash flow, it no longer relies on external funds, and it will be responsible for its profits and losses. If it is a simple large studio, the risk is still very high, and it may not be able to survive for many years before it will return to the status quo. While Daenerys Entertainment has achieved financial self-sufficiency, it has also encountered a good opportunity as the United States continues to open up its policies towards the media industry. It has successfully diversified the company through continuous mergers and acquisitions, thus significantly increasing its ability to resist risks.
Currently, Daenerys Entertainment will basically not return to a state of relying on external funds as long as there is no particularly huge change.
This is certainly not to say that external funding is not needed.
But without this money, Daenerys Entertainment can still live a prosperous and long-term life.
There is no need to give up most of the income. Diversification can also maximize the benefits of various income channels in a more refined way, thus forming the most virtuous and sustainable cycle.
After finally realizing this situation, Simon will certainly not reverse course and reopen the door in order to divert foreign capital from Hollywood.
In this case, although there is no direct equity relationship with Daenerys Entertainment, MGM, which is also controlled by the Westeros system because of the Australian capital behind the scenes, has become a good platform. In addition, Time Warner and 20th Century Fox, which have close ties with Daenerys Entertainment, can also take on this task.
As for the other companies, Simon's current strategy is to suppress them mercilessly, with the ultimate goal of turning Disney and Paramount into second-tier film companies.
This is why the last batch of external cooperation projects did not involve these studios.
After completing the IPO, Daenerys Entertainment has been connected with a large number of American investors, and Simon now has much fewer worries.
The method of guiding external funds is, in the final analysis, very simple.
It is better to come up with some projects for investment by these external capitals.
In order to avoid project failure causing the studio to take on additional debt, this time it will not be debt financing, but a direct investment with shared profits and losses.
Of course, Simon would not just treat anyone as a fool.
Therefore, the selected projects are sure to be quite attractive.
Two films have been quickly finalized in recent days.
The first is a new film that Robert Zemeckis is preparing called "Contact."
The success of "Forrest Gump" is still fresh in our minds, so "Contact" definitely has enough appeal. Simon knew, however, that this movie was not as successful as imagined. It cost 90 million US dollars, and the global box office in his memory was only 170 million. Not to mention the income from subsequent channels, the producer still lost money at the box office.
So Simon gave the project to MGM.
By introducing external investment, MGM will only earn an issuance fee this time, and it can also avoid risks to the greatest extent. After all, MGM still bears a large amount of debt that has not been paid off.
The other one is "Alien 2".
The first "Alien" was a huge success due to Natasha Henstridge's stunning appearance, so a sequel was a natural choice. However, Henstridge was reluctant to participate again. After all, she was Simon's woman, so no one could force her, so the project was shelved.
During this time, Shirley Lansing, the head of MGM, personally mentioned it to Simon, hoping that Simon would come forward to persuade a certain girl to show her face in "Alien 2", even if it is not naked or not, MGM can put this The eye-catching task was given to other actresses, and Simon agreed.
However, the cost of making a sequel will definitely increase significantly, and Natasha Henstridge is only a guest star, so the risks will naturally increase.
Therefore, Simon asked MGM to bear at most half of the investment and obtain the remaining half from outside.
In addition to these two attractive projects, there will definitely be others.
Simon's plan is to package at least five movies and introduce external investment together, treating it as another 'foreign cooperation plan'. In order to show attention, Daenerys Entertainment will also invest a sum of money if necessary, and Warner and Fox can also participate. .
On the other hand, for those hot money who are not too determined to invest in Hollywood, Simon hopes to introduce them to Silicon Valley.
Therefore, some popular projects incubated by the Westeros system, such as eBay, iPets, etc., will start a round of financing, of course there will be no shortage of IPO operations.
In order to allow investors to gain the same fame from investing in these projects as investing in Hollywood, the Westeros system will also use its own media resources to build momentum for it. For example, a certain Latin American business tycoon unconditionally invested in eBay because he was optimistic about it. As long as this kind of joke spreads, all parties will benefit.
These are very detailed operations, but Simon doesn't mind watching them personally.
The entire Westeros system is now a very large business empire. It is impossible for Simon to cover everything, and it is inevitable to control the general direction of operation.
However, if you only focus on the general direction, you will inevitably ignore various subtle hidden dangers, and ultimately the embankment of thousands of miles may be destroyed by ant nests. Therefore, many times, Simon has to become a micromanager and personally intervene in some details.
To some extent, this is actually more important than controlling the general direction.
Governing a big country is like cooking small dishes.
There are too many cases in my mind. After sorting through and summarizing them over the years, I found that this ancient saying is absolutely a classic and a wise truth.