Chapter 192 187 Takes Down Marvel, Fierce Box Office Battle and Glory

Chapter 188: Taking down Marvel, a fierce box office battle and a brilliant premiere

New York, Fifth Avenue, Marvel headquarters.

Isaac Perlmutter hurriedly walked towards the office building after getting off the car. It was more like a trot than a walk.

When the Marvel employees saw him, they were frightened and made way. Perlmutter had a bad temper, and no one dared to provoke him.

In the elevator, one person stood in the middle, and the others shrank into the corner as much as possible.

Ding!

As the elevator door opened and the boss left, the others breathed a sigh of relief.

Recently, Isaac Perlmutter's temper has become more irritable.

Many employees heard that it was because of the conflict with Avi Arad, another senior executive of the company. The relationship between the two was originally very good, but they suddenly became tense for some reason.

Dong Dong Dong!

Pushing the door in, Isaac Perlmutter looked at his companion standing in front of the window. Since the last talk with Eric Cooper, their relationship has become tense.

The reason is simple. Isaac Perlmutter wants to exchange shares, but Avi Arad disagrees.

The two have talked many times, so many times that Isaac Perlmutter can't remember them all, and he almost lives in the other's house.

In order to persuade Avi Arad to exchange shares, he has already got through the relationship of the other's family, and everyone has come together to persuade him.

After more than a month of fatigue bombardment, the attitude of this old friend finally loosened.

"Avi, I know you regard Marvel as your child, but the problem now is that this child is almost starving to death."

"If we can't get the injection, Marvel can only continue to survive, and we may miss the current booming market."

"You don't want to mortgage the copyright anymore, right? The bank will not talk about feelings with us. Once the movie fails, Marvel will be doomed."

"Give it to MGM, at least the prospects are good, and Eric Cooper's ability is obvious to all in the industry."

Isaac Perlmutter has said these words many times.

Avi Arad stood on a high place with his arms folded across his chest, looking down, and all he could see were Transformers ads.

Even when he went downstairs to buy a cup of coffee, the Starbucks logo had been replaced with Autobots.

Although no one knows the quality of the finished film, judging from the trailer, it is indeed very exciting.

In addition, Eric Cooper just won the title of the youngest best screenwriter in history not long ago, and everything has been proven.

He is not a second-generation rich man who plays around, nor is he a movie idiot, but a real genius.

With money, power, and ability, and knowing how to operate and play with psychology, Marvel's superheroes may not shine in his hands.

But in the hands of others, at least the probability of shining is much greater.

And except for MGM, Marvel now has a very narrow range of options.

Sony, Fox, Universal, Warner, New Line, Lionsgate, etc. have all been ruled out in advance because these companies hold the copyrights that Marvel has sold before.

Warner even holds the entire DC.

They can't even shoot enough superheroes in their hands, will they give you money to play with them again?

What's more, Universal, which has ruined the Hulk IP, will not touch superhero themes again in the next few years.

Small companies can't afford to invest hundreds of millions of dollars, so Marvel can only choose from a few companies.

Holding Avi Arad's hand and returning to the desk, Isaac Perlmutter said excitedly: "And I just got another good news."

"Eric Cooper promised that the investment in the first movie will not be less than 400 million US dollars, and he will hire the best director and special effects team."

"In addition, after my mediation, he knows that you have a deep affection for Marvel, so he agreed that you can retain 2% of the shares."

"And continue to serve as one of Marvel's management, and the company's future development strategy will also allow you to participate. You have not given up your child."

Hearing this, Avi Arad's thick beard trembled: "Are you serious?"

"Of course it's true. These terms can be added to the contract. You just sent your child to a better school."

Somewhat moved in his heart, Avi Arad rubbed his temples hard.

As a long-time partner, Isaac Perlmutter knew that this was a sign of the other party's inner struggle.

He hastily added fuel to the fire: "Avi, this is really our last chance, it's too late."

"Look at the overwhelming publicity outside, it's only a few days away from the release of "Transformers."

"And once the movie is released, do you know what it means?"

"What?" Avi Arad's eyes widened.

"It means that MGM will officially start the re-listing process, and the stock price of this lion will soar."

"More than a month ago, Eric Cooper promised that our equity share would most likely be cut in half."

"Avi, you must be aware of one fact, that is, Marvel will become less and less valuable, and MGM will become more and more valuable."

"If we don't seize the last few days to sign the contract quickly, we could have gotten $200 million, but we may only have $100 million left."

"You have feelings for Marvel, but don't go against money, okay?"

These words are like the last straw that broke the camel's back. Anyway, there is really no better choice. The conditions offered by MGM are the most generous among several large companies.

If you continue to persevere, what is on your shoulders will not be your head, but the head of a donkey.

"Isaac, let's do it this way, but you must not tamper with the contract. I must review it myself."

Isaac Perlmutter gave Avi Arad an excited bear hug and hurried out of the office.

"I have revised the contract many times. It is in the safe. I will show it to you now. You can hire a lawyer."

"It's best if we fly to Los Angeles this afternoon or tomorrow morning."

In autumn in the United States, the weather has turned cold, and passers-by have put on woolen coats and leather jackets.

However, compared with the cold weather, movie theaters have ushered in a popular period, and all major film companies have come up with their best-selling works.

"Breathless" only held the top spot at the box office for one week, taking in $36 million, before it was deprived of the top spot by Disney's new film.

Following last year's "Treasure Island", Mickey Mouse once again took out a big animated movie "Bear's Tale".

2,511 movie theaters opened at the same time, and it seems that they have clearly understood their positioning. 3D is really not Disney's strength.

So this time they returned to 2D and told a touching story of an ancient legend.

The G-rated rating made the movie popular among all ages, and critics and audiences also gave positive reviews. "Bear Bear" directly topped the box office in its first week, earning 41 million U.S. dollars in one fell swoop.

However, "The Legend of the Bear" did not keep the championship title warm. In the second week, it faced challenges from MGM's "Legally Blonde 2" and New Line's "The New Texas Chainsaw Massacre."

The former opened in 2,240 theaters, bringing the first-week box office of "Legally Blonde 2" to nearly $39 million.

The latter is weaker, but the killer still has the power and has a fixed fan base, taking in $29 million at the box office.

Compared with the cost of less than 10 million US dollars, it once again proves that horror movies are definitely the best choice for small and big.

The box office revenue of the two films also exceeded the second week of "Bear Bear" by US$25 million, and even exceeded the third week of "Breatheless" by US$13 million.

At the same time, four films accounted for 75% of the total market share, and the remaining 51 films shared 25%, fully demonstrating the cruelty of the film market.

But "Legally Blonde 2" has not yet secured its butt, and the pink lawyer can only win one championship at most.

Entering the fourth week of October, Dimensions entered the cinema with its golden signature "Scream 3", which it has created in recent years.

Not only does Anna Faris continue to join the series as the heroine, but Charlie Sheen is also invited to play the male lead.

Charlie Sheen is a well-known bad boy in Hollywood. You can say that his character is rubbish, but you cannot say that he is good.

This guy's acting skills are always online, and he is an actor who can adapt to dramas and comedies.

As usual, movies have spoofed a large number of IPs, such as "The Grudge", "Signs", "The Matrix", "The Sixth Sense", "8 Mile", "Independence Day", "The Incredible Hulk" and so on.

Eric and Theron also contributed two movie tickets, which made them laugh out loud.

However, the director of "Scream 3" was replaced by David Zucker, and the original Wayans brothers were poached by AK Films to film "Sharknado 2".

Relying on the influence of the previous film and its good ability to make people laugh, "Scream 3" took home $49.7 million at the box office as expected, becoming a box office champion.

In just October, the box office battle has already made many companies and film critics shout that it is exciting and unbearable.

The cruel competition has caused the box office results predicted by major institutions to be invalid, with all of them being hundreds of millions of dollars lower than predicted.

But where is this?

Entering November, more fierce competition is about to take place.

The first to enter the market was Disney. Rob Minkoff, the director of "The Lion King", launched his latest masterpiece "The Haunting of Hill House" in the three major theaters.

The movie cost $90 million and, like "Pirates of the Caribbean," was to promote the haunted house project in Disneyland.

Rob Minkoff has not only made "The Lion King" but also "The Little Mermaid."

A few years later, "The King of Kung Fu" was filmed, which was the only film together between Jet Li and Jackie Chan.

"Pirates of the Caribbean" was a huge success, so Disney naturally had high hopes for "The Haunting of Hill House."

Unfortunately, reality gave Big Mouse a hard blow, and the box office in its first week was only US$24 million.

If it is a low-budget movie, it is worthy of celebration, but for "The Haunted Mansion", it is completely unworthy of the investment and lineup of the movie.

The one that defeated it was Warner Bros.'s trump card "The Matrix Revolutions."

The release date chosen for "The Matrix 3" is November 5, not Friday, but Wednesday.

As I said before, people who usually do fancy things like this are either bad at it, or they are talented people and are bold.

In just three days, "The Matrix 3" grossed 48 million at the box office, knocking the box office of "The Haunted Mansion" to the ground in a week.

The latter's release time was twice that of the former, while the former's box office was twice that of the latter.

Then New Line also entered the battlefield again. On November 7, it brought the fantasy comedy "Christmas Elf" directed by Jon Favreau and starring Will Ferrell.

In the final week of fierce fighting, "Christmas Elf" took away $32 million at the box office.

The Matrix 3 continued to dominate, becoming the only movie to win the box office championship for two consecutive weeks in more than a month.

At this time, it was November 14th. Hold Your Breath had been removed from North America, and only a few countries overseas were still showing it.

After this battle, the global box office finally reached only 3.6 billion US dollars.

Although it still made a lot of money, it was the worst performance among the projects led by Eric.

The release time of Legally Blonde 2 has also reached one month. The current global box office is 1.7 billion US dollars, and it is expected to end at 500 million US dollars.

Today is Friday, the traditional movie premiere day, Miramax's Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World landed in 2,900 theaters.

The investment in the movie is as high as 500 million US dollars, and the director is Peter Weir, who has directed classic movies such as Dead Poets Society and The Truman Show.

The leading actor is Russell Crowe, who won the Oscar for Best Actor with Gladiator two years ago.

The big production and the big cast all show the potential for a big box office explosion, and Miramax has done enough publicity.

The Weinstein brothers held a premiere and invited many celebrities to attend.

Although Eric did not think that the other party could challenge "Transformers", he still took it seriously to show respect.

He also disguised himself at night and sneaked into the cinema with the Olsen sisters to watch.

However, after buying the tickets and entering the screening room, Eric felt that he was worrying too much.

Because the attendance rate was very low, only a dozen people sat sparsely in the 300 seats.

And when the movie was over, his remaining worries were thrown out of the window.

Even the Olsen sisters said that the plot was extremely boring. If it weren't for Eric, the two sisters would have left early.

In fact, the movie was less than 40 minutes long, and some of the original dozen or so audiences left.

They shook their heads and cursed as they walked, and words such as boring, garbage, and waste of ticket money came out of their mouths.

Completely free of worries, Eric was in a good mood and fought with the two sisters until dawn.

The situation was just as he expected. The first day box office of Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World only earned more than 12 million US dollars.

The second day was even worse, less than 9 million US dollars.

The third day was directly cut in half, leaving only 4 million US dollars.

In the end, the most profitable first three days only earned 25 million US dollars.

Compared with the investment of 500 million US dollars, this number is enough to scare Miramax.

Eric can already imagine Harvey Weinstein's dead face.

November 16, Los Angeles, Arclight Cinema.

MGM once again chose this place as the venue for the premiere of Transformers.

A long red carpet extended from the interior of the theater, with a length of 100 meters, directly to the edge of the asphalt road.

On both sides of the entrance of the cinema, Transformers such as Optimus Prime, Megatron, Bumblebee, Barricade, Vertigo, and Ironhide stood on both sides, adding infinite momentum.

Even though many people have already seen one of them, the scene of so many Transformers gathering together is still very attractive.

From day to dusk, tens of thousands of people checked in, took photos and shared them.

It's a pity that the tickets for the premiere had been snapped up long ago, and most people could only wait around to join in the fun.

It was 8 o'clock in the evening, and the cool breeze blew, and the temperature dropped a lot, but there were still thousands of people watching on both sides of the red carpet.

As a stretched Lincoln slowly stopped, Eric led the crew to arrive first.

Gadot, Chris Evans, Ryan Reynolds, the British trio, Chloë Sevigny and others accompanied them.

Everyone held a small Transformer in their hands, which was the Soojin body chaos among the Decepticons.

At the beginning, they could still maintain the group, but after a few steps, everyone separated and dispersed to take photos and sign autographs with fans.

The red carpet was not even halfway walked here, and the joint arrival of Johnny Depp and Hugo Mortensen triggered a carnival for fans again.

"Captain Jack, Captain Jack! I love you!"

"Aragorn, Aragorn, give me an autograph, don't squeeze!"

Depp was blowing kisses to female fans, Brad Pitt and his wife Jennifer Anniston also arrived, Eric gave Rachel a heroine, the couple certainly know how to return the favor.

"Rachel! Pitt!"

"Rachel, I love you, marry me."

Anniston covered her mouth and laughed: "Sorry, my husband is right next to me."

"Dude, this proposal is not very good." Pitt also replied in a funny way at the right time.

Then there were Pierce Brosnan, Cate Blanchett, Mel Gibson, Tom Hanks, Edward Norton, Jessica Alba, Keira Knightley, Hugh Jackman

Over the past year, Eric has gradually built up his own network of resources.

Last year's premiere of "Red Dragon" still required the help of his father.

This year, just one phone call is enough, and half of Hollywood will give him face.

Even Theron, Nicole and the Olsen sisters attended together.

They didn't come at Eric's request, but they came on their own.

Eric couldn't tell them not to come, because their rivals were there, so they could only hope that something exciting would happen.

The last to arrive were Sergei Hassenfeld and Kate Winslet, who didn't enter together, but one after the other.

But when Eric saw them appear, he probably understood.

After the lively red carpet session was over, everyone entered the stage session.

Including various questions, narration, tidbits, and introductions to each Transformer.

Until the clock struck midnight, the lights in the theater suddenly went out.

On the big screen, after the lion roared, the Autobots officially appeared.