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Chapter 86: North America Down
🕑 Added 2024-10-03 16:22:56 +0000 UTCWhile Duke was relaxing on vacation, Nancy Josephson frequently contacted high-level executives from numerous companies such as Warner Bros. and 20th Century Fox, pushing hard for the progress of new film projects. The success of *The Rock* and the potential profit-sharing from it gave her endless motivation.
Although he was far away in New Zealand, Duke still communicated with Nancy every few days and officially named the sci-fi script, centered around July 4th, *Independence Day*!
"The project is tentatively titled *Independence Day*, and the Independence Day holiday would be the most suitable premiere date for the film."
In front of the numerous executives from Warner Bros., Nancy Josephson was more confident and assertive than before. She placed her hands on the conference table and said in an authoritative tone, "Time is running out. If Warner Bros. cannot expedite the review and approval process soon, Director Rosenberg will choose other companies as partners. Remember, 20th Century Fox…"
The conference room was filled with Nancy's unceasing voice. According to her description, *Independence Day* was undoubtedly the hottest project in Hollywood at the moment.
The executives at Warner Bros. were not foolish and were well-informed. They knew that 20th Century Fox had indeed contacted Nancy and Duke, but they were still in the preliminary review and wait-and-see stage, with no clear plans for approval. Walt Disney had also recently approached Nancy Josephson, but the details of their conversation were unknown.
However, Jeff Robinov and others were very clear that on a project with a production cost that could reach $100 million, whether for co-investment or public financing, any company would conduct a careful examination.
"Nancy, this is a $100 million investment."
After Nancy finished speaking, Jeff Robinov, representing Warner, said, "If we include the marketing costs, the total investment could easily exceed $130 million. Warner needs sufficient time for research and review!"
"Jeff, we are not discussing the film's peripheral aspects." Nancy Josephson's words remained assertive. "Just looking at the box office, *Speed* only had a production cost of $15 million, yet Duke turned it into a total box office of $350.74 million! While the cost of *The Rock* has risen to $50 million, let's not forget that its North American box office is already $144.88 million! The overseas box office has also exceeded $130 million, and the final box office could even approach $400 million!"
"Now let's look at *Independence Day*" Her words came rapidly, "I admit that the script quality is average; it is absolutely a collection of all the clichés of the summer blockbuster. But you can't deny that mainstream audiences love these! Moreover, Duke has proven that he has the ability to turn an average script into a blockbuster. Aren't the overwhelming explosion scenes in *Independence Day* exactly what he excels at?"
If it were a rookie director, Jeff Robinov would undoubtedly toss this script into the script library and never look at it again. But the problem was that Duke Rosenberg had already succeeded twice with similar types of films. Who dared to say he couldn't succeed a third time?
He didn't want to be one of those fools at 20th Century Fox, letting potential profits slip away.
In fact, Warner Bros. was still hesitating and had not yet initiated the formal review process, primarily due to the high production costs inevitably bringing high risks.
As a seasoned agent, Nancy Josephson understood Warner Bros.' concerns.
"I have a suggestion!" She suddenly shifted her tone. "Since Warner believes the investment and risk are too high, why not seek external cooperation? I understand that even after the preliminary review, financing and presales will take time. What if 20th Century Fox joins in? We could even bring other film companies on board to invest!"
Cooperation among large companies is common and is one of the most conventional ways to mitigate investment risks.
After the negotiations, Nancy left Burbank and headed to Fox Plaza in Century City. Although Warner Bros. hadn't made a clear statement, she believed that as the box office numbers for *The Rock* continued to rise, the project's progress would become smoother!
Throughout June, the North American film market was dominated by *Jurassic Park*. Films like *Cliffhanger*, *Interview with the Vampire*, and *The Rock*, which had already performed quite well at the box office, all had to take a backseat.
Eight weeks after its release, *The Rock* finally surpassed the $150 million mark at the North American box office, slowly reaching a total of $152.24 million. Meanwhile, the number of theaters screening the film had dropped to 500, with weekly box office receipts per theater falling below $1,500. Although it hadn't yet reached the critical point for forced removal from theaters, its potential was almost exhausted.
In contrast, *Interview with the Vampire* had a more tragic fate. Its North American box office had accumulated to $97.78 million, nearing the $100 million mark, but its weekly box office per theater had fallen below $500, already surpassing the psychological bottom line of $1,000 set by the theaters. If it weren't for the PR efforts of CAA, the film would have been forcibly removed from theaters days ago.
Even so, breaking the $100 million mark with just over $2 million in remaining screening time and theaters was an impossible task.
However, someone would eventually push *Interview with the Vampire*'s North American box office past the $100 million mark. This was not just a difference of a few million dollars; in Hollywood, whether a film starring major actors and produced by major studios reached box office numbers in the tens of millions or the hundreds of millions was entirely two different concepts. The treatment for subsequent films could vary significantly.
"$2.3 million isn't enough, Pat!"
In his Beverly Hills mansion, Tom Cruise was laying down the ultimate ultimatum to his agent. "If the film barely exceeds $100 million, everyone will know we're faking it. I want that number pushed to $100 million!"
"Tom, your salary for this film is only $15 million." Pat Kingsley replied calmly. "After taxes and necessary expenses, along with the $3 million invested in the first week, are you planning to invest $7 million into the box office of *Interview with the Vampire*? That means your earnings from this film could be negative, and all your work in the past year will have been for nothing!"
"Money can be earned again, but I want my film's North American box office to exceed $100 million!" Tom Cruise shouted hoarsely.
Nicole Kidman, who usually had no say in these matters, sat quietly in the corner of the meeting room. Only she knew how frustrated the proud Tom Cruise was. The two had erupted in arguments several times recently and were currently sleeping in separate rooms. Every time she saw her arrogant and self-important husband, she felt that marrying him had been a wrong decision.
He was short-sighted and narrow-minded; without someone to point it out to him, he would always do something foolish. It was simply…
And what about Duke Rosenberg, the apparent rival? Although they hadn't interacted deeply, based on her observations and some comments from Naomi Watts, she faintly sensed he was a person of profound thought with independent opinions. From his and Cruise's mutual roasting incidents, she could see that he would never miss an opportunity to capitalize on success and would retreat voluntarily when the opportunity was gone, much like a seemingly harmless snake.
Mature in mind, with a clear sense of advance and retreat…
With this in mind, Nicole Kidman suddenly felt that aside from being more famous and richer, Tom Cruise seemed to fall short of that young director in other respects.
And wealth and fame could accumulate over time. The only thing the young Duke Rosenberg lacked was time, right?
Time could change so much. In the ninth week after its release, *Interview with the Vampire* suddenly saw a surge in box office, with daily earnings that had previously been below $100,000 suddenly rising to about $600,000. Although the data could deceive the public and cheer Cruise's supporters, it couldn't fool the theater owners. After that weekend, *Interview with the Vampire* was forcibly removed from theaters by the North American Theater Alliance, with the North American box office stopping at $101.326 million.
Duke also finished his vacation and returned to Los Angeles. With Nancy's coordination, he met with high-level executives from both Warner Bros. and 20th Century Fox, and the *Independence Day* project made preliminary progress.
Meanwhile, the screening of *The Rock* in North America also reached its final stage. After holding on for just ten more days than *Interview with the Vampire*, it was also forcibly removed from theaters after the Independence Day holiday due to consistently poor performance in box office receipts per theater, with its potential completely exhausted.
In the end, *The Rock*'s North American box office settled at $157.52 million, allowing Duke to successfully break the North American box office record set by *Speed*. The film's overseas box office also performed well, steadily approaching the $300 million mark worldwide. According to several professional agencies' forecasts, the global box office would eventually exceed that of *Speed*.
With two consecutive blockbuster hits, Duke drew the attention of many media outlets and production companies. MGM, which had swallowed up United Artists, even tested Nancy about inviting Duke to direct the latest installment of the James Bond franchise.
If this were before *Speed*, Duke would definitely have accepted. Now, however, he declined without hesitation. Directors who had opened up their paths in Hollywood rarely directed the *007* series.
The film's rave reviews and box office success can only be considered icing on the cake for a director like Duke. After all, few people would credit the director, but only think it was the power of the series.
If it fails... for a movie with such a broad fan base to fail, it would almost be self-destructive.
Besides, Duke already had a plan for himself!
After "The Rock" was withdrawn from the shelves, the work on the film in North America also entered the final stage. When the theater chain transferred the film's share of the profits to the account of the distributor Warner Bros., a new round of spoils-sharing meeting kicked off.
