[Chapter 278: The Emergence of Guess Pictures]
"Link, it seems like Nicole Kidman has a thing for you. She's been staring at you," Sophia remarked as they left the theater and headed to the car.
"Must be my undeniable charm," Link joked.
"Yeah, you do have that heartthrob appeal. But are you really going to pursue Nicole Kidman? If you end up in bed with her, remember to call me; I'd love to see what she's like in the sheets," Sophia said excitedly.
"I want to see too," Renee Zellweger chimed in with a laugh. "Nicole Kidman looks so poised, like a swan. I can't wait to see that swan shocked!"
"Come on, now! She's married to Tom Cruise. I'm not interested in someone else's wife," Link replied, shaking his head.
"That's a shame. She's tall and has a nice figure; she seems like she could be a lot of fun," Sophia said.
Link looked out the window, pondering, "Are we heading straight home?"
"How about we do some shopping? Christmas is just around the corner, and we should prepare a little," Jennifer Connelly suggested.
"Weren't we going to the Hawaiian estate for Christmas? Don't we need decorations here too?"
"A little setup would make things feel more festive," Jennifer insisted.
"Sure, just to experience the holiday vibe," they all agreed and drove downtown for some shopping.
---
After Good Will Hunting premiered, it debuted to a fantastic box office of $1.686 million across twelve theaters in its opening week. The film averaged a daily box office of $28,000 per theater, an outstanding performance, and received positive critical acclaim.
The Los Angeles Times described Good Will Hunting as a rare breath of fresh air in Hollywood, praising it for its intelligence, sincerity, and solid message. Acclaimed film critic Roger Ebert awarded the film four stars, noting that its success wasn't due to a single aspect but rather the accumulation of beautifully executed details. He highlighted it as a film that focused on the growth of young minds.
Due to its successful limited release, Good Will Hunting expanded to a wide release in its second week. The film grossed $24.59 million across 1,787 theaters and took the box office crown amid stiff competition from several holiday blockbusters.
In second place was Legends of the Fall, starring Brad Pitt, which brought in $20.59 million in its opening week. In third place was Little Women, featuring Winona Ryder, Susan Sarandon, and Christian Bale, which earned $14.77 million in its second week, totaling $21.25 million across two weeks.
This week, The Mask held the seventh spot at the box office, earning $4.49 million and bringing its total to $113 million -- making it the fourth film from Guess Pictures to break the $100 million mark in North America.
By its third week, Good Will Hunting managed to maintain its momentum, raking in $26.88 million across 2,025 theaters, once again claiming the top spot with a total North American gross of $53.12 million. According to Total Film magazine's projections, the movie was on track to gross over $100 million.
With a production budget of only $10 million, Good Will Hunting's box office return was set to exceed tenfold if predictions held true, marking it undoubtedly as a blockbuster.
...
Robert Reiner, president of Castle Rock Entertainment, nearly fainted upon seeing the box office numbers in the paper. Good Will Hunting was originally a project for Castle Rock, and while he thought the script was decent, he didn't expect it to be a major hit. To keep the script under the company's control, he had insisted that Matt Damon make multiple rewrites until Damon was willing to relinquish control of the script.
Later, Damon departed Castle Rock and took the script to Guess Pictures. Reiner had no idea that this seemingly decent script would turn into a hit, potentially surpassing $100 million at the box office.
He slammed his fist on the table in frustration. Over the past two years, Castle Rock had seen a significant decline in box office revenue due to the surprising rise of Guess Pictures, pushing them to the brink of bankruptcy.
If a blockbuster came along now, the company could quickly stabilize its finances and even have a chance at revival. But Reiner had missed out on Good Will Hunting, missing both the opportunity to improve the company's situation and allowing Link and Guess Pictures to profit immensely. It felt worse than a death sentence.
...
Fuming with anger, Reiner dialed Michael Ovitz, demanding to know why he hadn't taken steps to curb Guess Pictures' rise.
If Good Will Hunting crossed the $100 million mark, Guess Pictures would have five films this year grossing over $100 million, totaling more than $800 million, ultimately surpassing Paramount Pictures, which had held the top spot.
Moreover, Guess Pictures had only released nine films this year, less than half of what the seven major studios put out, with significantly lower production costs. Their performance had improved over last year's numbers, which had outperformed the year prior.
If this trend continued, Guess Pictures would grow even stronger. Then it would be too late to confront Link or Guess Pictures.
Reiner's greater concern was that the way things were going, Castle Rock might not survive until the following year. Ovitz urged him to remain calm, assuring him that the shareholders of the seven major studios were just as worried about Guess Pictures making all that money.
They would take the initiative to find ways to deal with Guess Pictures, so there was no need to worry too much.
...
"Link's luck is unreal. He can just pick up any script and see it become a hit," Tom Cruise declared from his office at Paramount Pictures, staring at the magazine cover featuring Link, feeling a mix of disgust and envy.
Sherry Lansing sat silently, her expression cold. Under her leadership this year, Paramount had released several successful films, including Forrest Gump, Clear and Present Danger, Star Trek: Generations, Beverly Hills Cop III, and The Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult.
While a few films had underperformed, the overall box office results were decent, totaling $720 million -- surpassing last year's top competitor, Warner Bros.
In November, many media outlets reported that Paramount had taken the annual box office championship, praising her leadership as exemplary and designating her as a successful female CEO.
Sadly, starting in November, Guess Pictures had released two blockbusters back-to-back. The Mask had already surpassed $100 million, and Good Will Hunting was poised to do the same. With those two films making waves, Guess Pictures' total box office revenue skyrocketed to over $800 million, clinching first place in the industry, overtaking Paramount and Disney.
The box office leap left Guess Pictures not only on top but also dimmed Sherry's success.
"Sherry, this can't go on. Guess Pictures has taken too many profits that rightfully belong to the seven major studios. We need to take this seriously and find a way to shut them down," Tom Cruise insisted.
In November, he also had a film releasing -- a $60 million big-budget flick called Interview with the Vampire from Warner Bros. Although it had promising box office potential, it struggled against Guess Pictures' The Mask. The Mask maintained its lead, and Interview with the Vampire simply couldn't keep up.
Many media outlets mocked his inability to match the box office clout of Jim Carrey, and he blamed all of it on Link. He wanted nothing more than to see Link's downfall and for Guess Pictures to face bankruptcy.
"This isn't as simple as you think. Guess Pictures has J.P. Morgan and Vanguard Capital backing them. It will take more than just Paramount to take them down," Sherry said.
"We can reach out to other film companies. Guess Pictures' rise impacts more than just Paramount's interests; others will likely want to take action as well. I've heard Michael Ovitz is already working on this; we can consult him," she added.
As they discussed, the phone on the desk rang. Sherry picked it up.
...
"Look! Guess Pictures has another film hitting it big. It looks like they'll take this year's box office championship by storm," Richard Fox from Warner Bros. Productions said, scanning the headlines.
"Not just 'looks like,' but definitely. Paramount is over a hundred million behind Guess Pictures and won't catch up next year," President Terry Semel lamented.
Warner Bros. had been the leading studio in box office sales for the last decade, but this year, Guess Pictures was set to take that title. For Terry Semel, it was not a welcome development.
"Link is impressive; he not only produces hit films but also manages his company exceptionally well," Fox stated.
"His success is drawing board members' discontent towards our performance, urging us to strategize on reclaiming the box office market. They even agreed to let our media become involved," Terry Semel replied.
Fox added, "Link is indeed a box office magic charm. We should strengthen our collaboration with him."
Terry Semel nodded. "He may have that magic, but Guess Pictures is outshining everyone; they've become the enemy of the seven major studios. We should start differentiating how we view Link and Guess Pictures."
Fox agreed, recalling how Guess Pictures had initially been likened to a catfish, invigorating the North American movie market and enhancing competition among film studios. However, in just a year, that catfish had morphed into a ferocious predator, devouring box office profits rightfully belonging to the major studios.
They no longer could afford to overlook them; acting against them had become an inevitable choice.
The phone rang again. Terry Semel picked it up and listened before hanging up.
He informed Richard that it had been Michael Ovitz calling, inviting him to join the seven major studios for a strategy meeting on how to handle 'the emergence of Guess Pictures.'
He added that all the higher-ups from the seven studios planned to attend the meeting, so Terry Semel decided to accept the invitation.
*****
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