Hollywood What If - Chapter 276
Chapter 276
The year 2002.
Just after the New Year, in an office.
“There are things that are easy to explain, but sometimes you have to hear it twice for the information to really sink in. So tell me again.”
“Sir,” the secretary swallowed hard. This folder had just been sent to her and she hadn’t researched it at all. That was the job of the sales and accounting department: to calculate the box office.
But since the acting CEO Tom Rothman was late, and the guy from the accounting department had a stomach ache, so the secretary became the one responsible for delivering the news to Tom Rothman.
“Sir, the worldwide box office for John Wick Chapter 2 is currently at $621 million. Our accounting department believed that John Wick Chapter 2 could surpass $650 million…”
“What about The Fast and The Furious? Come on, say it.”
Maybe Tom Rothman slept in the wrong position, the man was frowning. He seemed to be angry.
“The Fast and The Furious officially ended its worldwide run three days ago. Some countries were still calculating the box office. The movie has already grossed $502 million, excluding some countries that are still calculating the numbers…”
“Do you think that the box office of these movies is due to the success of the Continental Cinematic Universe? After Wanted, a lot of people became interested in the Continental Cinematic Universe. That is the effect of Wanted, a $1 billion movie.”
Tom Rothman didn’t sleep well last night because Rupert Murdoch told him to buy Grey Pictures and bring it into the “family.”
The reason he could not sleep was the fact that negotiating with Kazir Grey would be the hardest thing to do.
And now two of his movies just happened to drop explosive numbers at the box office!
‘What the fuck? That’s basically $1 billion! Grey Pictures, a second-tier production studio, just made $1 billion this year! No, they did it last year too with a single movie! This is getting stupid. How is that even possible?’ He gritted his teeth.
To be fair, the Big Six made over $7 billion at the box office last year.
20th Century Fox alone made over $1 billion last year with Big Momma’s House, X-Men, Cast Away, and so many dozens more.
Still, it was painful to see that one or two movies could easily make their year’s worth of hard work.
The only consolation was that Grey Pictures had no distribution channel.
‘This means that Kazir is open to negotiations, but my initial statement of $1.5 billion is definitely out of the conversation. At the very least, 20th Century Fox will have to acquire Grey Pictures for $2 billion. Damn, I guess Kazir really is a billionaire now, huh?’
Companies that could make a billion a year were hard to come by. But Grey Pictures did it twice in a row.
“You can go now.” Tom Rothman pinched his glabella as the secretary scurried out of the office like a mouse.
“I guess times are changing, well, we are at the beginning of a new century. Even DreamWorks is doing well. Fortunately, we managed to create cracks in the relationship between Jeffrey Katzenberg and Steven Spielberg. They’re friends, but they can’t overcome the terror of the Big Six. They will split, we will make sure of that.”
His last statement would technically become reality a few years later. Inside DreamWorks, two dragons decided to lead their own armies. Jeffrey Katzenberg had the authority over DreamWorks Animation, while Steven Spielberg reigned over DreamWorks Pictures.
“Spider-Man’s box office has already surpassed $830 million. Some countries are just starting to release the movie, and most believe that the movie will surpass $900 million. But after that, it will be a miracle. No one seems to think that Spider-Man will make $1 billion at the box office…”
But knowing Kazir, the idea was not impossible.
If Spider-Man indeed surpassed $1 billion, Kazir Grey would be the only director to have made two $1 billion movies, and to do it in two years. This was history. A world record that was impossible to beat.
Two movies.
$1 billion each.
In just two years.
“No, no, no, let’s not jinx it. Let’s not fucking jinx it.”
He gritted his teeth.
The acquisition was his job, a responsibility given to him by Rupert Murdoch. It would be harder if Kazir made another miracle.
“… The first thing to do is to make contact with Kazir and Grey Pictures.”
After only a minute of monologue, he called his secretary again.
“Tell Grey Pictures that 20th Century Fox will distribute their three films worldwide for 25% of the box office as a distribution fee. Tell them clearly.”
“Yes, sir.”
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone grossed $293 million on the first day of the year. It was still in theaters for 48 days.
As for The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, the film grossed $178 million after 15 days in theaters.
“Damn, Warner Brothers will have a festival this year! Harry Potter and The Lord of the Rings looks promising. If they do it right, they will have two strong franchises that will last a decade. 20th Century Fox really needs something like this.” Tom Rothman groaned. His head was aching so much.
Everyone in Hollywood believed that Harry Potter, The Lord of the Rings and Spider-Man would dominate the 2001 rankings.
However, it was still a mystery as to which would top the list.
One thing was certain. Grey Pictures’ two CCU movies were definitely part of the top 10.
John Wick Chapter 2 with $621 million.
The Fast and The Furious with $502 million.
From a business standpoint, Kazir’s existence was dangerous for the Big Six. But there were always two sides to a coin. If Kazir was dangerous, he was also a godsend once he allied himself with one of them.
20th Century Fox found this out with Napoleon Dynamite.
Warner Brothers with The Hangover.
And Sony-Columbia with Spider-Man.
Clear examples that Kazir was a good weapon when used properly.
++++
[Author’s note: I’m crazy.]
[Merry Christmas again, haha]