December 18th marked the beginning of the first week of the Christmas release season, as the previous week's box office numbers were officially released.
From December 11th to December 17th, "Home Alone 2" continued its reign at the top of the box office for the fourth consecutive week, raking in another $12.39 million. This sequel to the phenomenally successful children's comedy has amassed a cumulative gross of $121.76 million over the past month.
Given that its weekly earnings are still in the millions, "Home Alone 2" is projected to bring in at least another $50 million, with a North American box office total expected to land between $170 million and $200 million.
If it weren't for "Jurassic Park," "Home Alone 2" would undoubtedly be the hottest movie of this holiday season, spanning both Thanksgiving and Christmas.
However, that is only if.
As the potential conflict between Daenerys Entertainment and Time Warner over the DC cinematic universe rapidly gained media traction, "Jurassic Park's" box office performance also drew significant attention.
On December 18th, alongside "Jurassic Park," another film premiered in North America: "Toys," a fantasy comedy starring Robin Williams, opening on 1,272 screens. The film depicts a story where two heirs of a toy factory engage in a battle for control using toys.
In contrast to "Jurassic Park's" glowing post-premiere reviews with a composite media score of 9.3, Robin Williams' new movie received dismal reviews, earning a paltry average score of just 3.2.
In a luxury apartment in Manhattan's Upper East Side.
Since his comments at the Wednesday meeting were leaked, Gerald Levin had been in a state of agitation. The enthusiastic reception to "Jurassic Park" after its premiere only added to his unease.
Unsurprisingly, it seemed unlikely that Steve Ross would survive past this Christmas. Had Levin known this earlier, he wouldn't have been so eager to seize power.
Unfortunately, what's done is done, and it's too late for regrets.
All he could hope for now was that the power transition at Time Warner wouldn't face any unforeseen complications.
The biggest uncertainty lay with one young man.
Levin was well aware of the importance of the DC cinematic universe to Time Warner. His comments at the last meeting were merely a strategic move to undermine Ross's influence. Deep down, he had no real intention of renegotiating with Daenerys Entertainment, as any disruption to the DC cinematic universe would likely cost him his position as CEO of Time Warner, even if he succeeded in taking over.
What he hadn't anticipated was that someone would leak his comments to the press.
Levin was almost certain that Terry Semel was behind this leak.
However, he couldn't attack Semel over this.
Firstly, he had indeed said the things that were reported in the media. Even if some of his words were misinterpreted, the core facts were indisputable.
Secondly, without evidence, he couldn't take any action against Semel, even if the latter had broken the rules.
Although Daenerys Entertainment's reaction to the incident seemed muted, Levin remained uneasy.
The key issue was the silence of that young man.
Despite calling Simon Westeros a "young punk" during Wednesday's meeting, Levin knew what it meant to be a young man with a net worth of $65 billion.
Levin recalled the "The Bodyguard" soundtrack incident and understood that the seemingly non-aggressive young man would leave no stone unturned once provoked.
If Westeros decided to involve himself in Time Warner's internal power struggle because of Levin's comments, the outcome could be unpredictable.
Steve Ross had maintained his position at the helm of Time Warner for so long largely because of the support from a vast number of top Hollywood filmmakers. During Warner Bros.' toughest years in the 1980s, the board tried to oust Ross, but the move failed when high-profile directors like Steven Spielberg, Clint Eastwood, and Barbra Streisand publicly voiced their support for Ross, stalling the coup.
Currently, Simon Westeros's influence in Hollywood far surpassed that of Spielberg and his peers.
Moreover, because of their collaborations on the DC cinematic universe and other projects, Daenerys Entertainment and Time Warner were closely intertwined.
Even though Levin was widely recognized as the heir apparent to Ross's position as chairman, there were still competitors within the company. Despite being slightly less senior, both Terry Semel and Robert Daly could be viable candidates for the chairmanship if they had sufficient backing.
Over the past few days, Levin had repeatedly considered reaching out to gauge Westeros's intentions but couldn't bring himself to do so, constrained by his pride as a high-ranking media executive.
After yet another sleepless night, around four in the morning, the phone rang, and Levin sat up in bed to answer it.
Ignoring his wife's grumbling, Levin spoke briefly with the caller before getting up and heading to his study, where he logged onto the Egret portal website on his computer.
The site's bolded headline was impossible to miss and felt almost blinding.
"Jurassic Park Grosses $21.76 Million on Opening Day, Breaking Spielberg's Box Office Record."
Without clicking into the detailed article, Levin felt a bitter taste in his mouth.
With an opening day gross of $21.76 million, the film was projected to earn around $60 million over its first weekend and about $90 million over its first week.
Ninety million dollars.
Steven Spielberg's "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade," three years earlier, had only grossed about $46 million in its first week.
"Jurassic Park" reaching $90 million in its first week placed it on par with the highest-grossing films of the DC cinematic universe.
Levin's argument for renegotiating with Daenerys Entertainment during Wednesday's meeting was based on the premise that Daenerys also heavily relied on the DC cinematic universe and wouldn't risk severing ties easily.
Now, with "Jurassic Park" potentially undermining his stance, his argument was essentially nullified.
Moreover, unlike the shared DC cinematic universe, "Jurassic Park" was entirely Daenerys Entertainment's own project, meaning all profits would go to them. In effect, a single "Jurassic Park" film could generate profits equivalent to two DC cinematic universe films for Daenerys.
Levin also knew that from the beginning, Daenerys Entertainment had planned for "Jurassic Park" to be a trilogy.
In reality, Daenerys Entertainment's reliance on the DC cinematic universe had never been as strong as Time Warner's.
With the success of "Jurassic Park," the question now was whether Daenerys Entertainment would want to renegotiate to secure a larger share of the DC cinematic universe's profits.
Staring blankly at the computer screen for a moment, Levin finally picked up the phone and instructed his assistant to arrange a call with Simon Westeros.
Meanwhile, in Melbourne, Simon had been following the recent developments in North America with keen interest.
After Levin's comments from the internal meeting were leaked, Simon received a call from Terry Semel, who earnestly assured him that as long as he remained in charge of Warner Bros., there would be no disruptions to the DC cinematic universe plan.
Soon after, when the first-day box office numbers for "Jurassic Park" were released, Levin's call came through as well.
Simon's approach was largely one of detached observation.
With the experience of two lifetimes, he easily saw through the convoluted maneuvers at play.
While leveraging his current influence could indeed derail Levin's plans to succeed Ross, Simon saw no compelling reason to do so.
Daenerys Entertainment and Time Warner were, after all, competitors in the media industry.
It was far better to let a rival be mired in internal discord than to face a united opponent.
Thus, despite Daenerys Entertainment's assertive public stance, showing no intention of backing down, Simon's private instructions to Amy Pascal were simple: just watch the spectacle.
The drama continued until Sunday, December 20th, when another significant piece of news broke.
Steve Ross passed away on the evening of December 20th at his estate in East Hampton, aged 65. This media titan, a contemporary of Rupert Murdoch and Sumner Redstone, had ultimately succumbed to time.
North American media were soon flooded with tributes to Ross, and numerous Hollywood figures expressed their condolences.
Simon didn't return to North America before Ross's death to see him one last time. Although they had a good relationship, it wasn't close enough to warrant such a gesture. However, Simon accepted an invitation from Ross's family to attend his funeral on December 27th, necessitating an earlier return to North America and cutting short his time in Melbourne for the New Year.
While Time Warner Group mourned Ross's death, they did not immediately announce his successor, indicating that the internal power struggle was still ongoing.
The North American holiday season, however, was not much affected by the passing of a media mogul.
After its opening day gross of $21.76 million, "Jurassic Park" continued its box office rampage, earning $60.31 million over its first weekend.
By the end of its first week, this visually stunning prehistoric monster movie had grossed an astounding $91.38 million.
Even with Daenerys Entertainment's recent streak of box office miracles, the media were still astonished by "Jurassic Park's" first-week earnings.
In the meantime, Gerald Levin's comments during the internal Warner meeting resurfaced, reigniting media speculation.
With a first-week gross of $91.38 million, "Jurassic Park" was almost guaranteed to reach at least $300 million in the North American box office alone.
Given the film's subject matter, its international box office prospects were equally strong.
Additionally, with "Jurassic Park
's" explosive box office success, the film's merchandise sales also took off. The merchandising opportunities were prominently showcased in the film's souvenir shop scenes, and the numerous dinosaur characters were perfect for product development.
Although Daenerys Entertainment had not released official data, many media outlets were already confident that the earnings from the "Jurassic Park" project would rival those of a DC cinematic universe blockbuster.
More accurately, because the DC cinematic universe projects typically involved profit sharing between Daenerys and Time Warner, the revenue from "Jurassic Park" for Daenerys Entertainment alone could be equivalent to the earnings from two DC cinematic universe films.
In this scenario, Daenerys Entertainment might very well prioritize developing "Jurassic Park," even if it meant sidelining the DC cinematic universe.
Furthermore, when "Jurassic Park's" first-weekend box office results were revealed, Daenerys Entertainment executives immediately hinted at plans for a sequel.
From the outset, this phenomenal dinosaur movie was planned as a trilogy.
Rene Russo, the film's lead actress, confirmed in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter that she had signed on for a trilogy and shared some enticing behind-the-scenes insights, revealing that Simon Westeros had plotted out the three-part storyline from the beginning, much like the DC cinematic universe.
Although Steven Spielberg later told the media that his next priority was to complete "Schindler's List," suggesting a lack of enthusiasm for directing the "Jurassic Park" sequels, the presence of Simon Westeros assured everyone that the franchise could continue successfully even without Spielberg at the helm.
In fact, some critics argued that "Jurassic Park" was not flawless, with its plot sometimes relying too heavily on a young girl's screams to drive the narrative. They speculated that if Spielberg chose not to direct the sequels and Simon Westeros took over, the quality might even improve.
For traditional Hollywood studios, a blockbuster trilogy often provides a decade's worth of revenue, much like Paramount's "Indiana Jones" series, Universal's "Back to the Future" series, and Columbia Pictures' "Ghostbusters" series in the 1980s.
A mega-hit like "Jurassic Park," with a domestic box office starting at $300 million, could sustain a major studio for five years, even with just one film, through global box office, home video sales, TV broadcasts, and merchandise.
With such a massive hit as its foundation and considering Daenerys Entertainment's consistent presence at the top of the box office charts in recent years, the real question now was whether Daenerys would even bother renegotiating the DC cinematic universe profit-sharing terms with Time Warner.
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