[Chapter 453: Overseas Box Office Results Are Out, Regrets from the Past]
"God bless, please let Titanic not become a huge hit," Harvey prayed again.
But unfortunately, God couldn't help him. In its second week, Titanic grossed $72.09 million at 2,711 theaters, with box office and attendance even better than its first week -- a feat few films achieve.
At the same time, Titanic opened in over fifty countries and regions overseas, with distribution handled by Guess Pictures.
In the first week, it earned $255 million in Canada, the UK, France, Germany, Australia, Japan, and other territories, setting a record for North American films' overseas opening week box office.
"$255 million first week? That's even more than the domestic box office?"
"Guess Pictures must be making insane profits."
"I really envy Link. That guy has never failed in movie investments."
"Haha, Fox Studios must be kicking themselves. They could have earned a lot more by investing an additional $100 million, but they didn't stick with it."
When Titanic's opening week overseas box office data was released, it caused a huge stir in Hollywood.
In 1995, Guess Pictures invested $100 million to acquire the overseas distribution rights for Titanic.
Many doubted this deal initially, thinking Guess Pictures' investment would go down the drain and that it would seriously harm their growth.
But now, after just one week overseas, Titanic had made $255 million, more than enough to break even for Guess Pictures, and everything beyond that was pure profit.
Total Film magazine estimated Titanic's overseas box office would exceed $1 billion based on its growing popularity and box office figures.
If true, Guess Pictures' $100 million investment would yield over ten times that in profit.
What an incredible deal.
...
"Damn! How did this movie make so much money?"
At Fox Studios' CEO office, Barry Diller angrily threw down his newspaper, his face twisted in a scowl.
As one of Titanic's investors, he had hoped the film would be a box office hit and save the company from losses before its release.
When Titanic's first-week box office came out, he breathed a sigh of relief, thinking the film would recoup costs and spare him from board criticism.
In the second week, Titanic's box office didn't drop; it increased to $124 million.
With these numbers, Titanic's domestic box office had huge potential to exceed $400 million, and Fox Studios was poised to make a significant profit.
Barry Diller felt overjoyed and couldn't stop smiling while congratulating friends.
But his joy didn't last long. The overseas box office results for Titanic were released: $255 million in its first week -- an even more astonishing figure than domestic results.
Guess Pictures seemed to be the biggest winner of the Titanic project.
Barry's mind filled with regret and frustration upon hearing this.
When Fox Studios initially invested in Titanic, the executives had lost confidence due to massive losses on ocean-themed films like Cutthroat Island and Waterworld, leading them to reduce funding for Titanic.
They intended to pressure director James Cameron into cutting costs by revising the script.
But Cameron was stubborn and refused. He approached Guess Pictures for investment, who then intervened in the project.
Had Fox Studios not stopped funding Titanic or not sold the overseas rights cheaply to Guess Pictures for $100 million, Fox would have made tremendous profits worldwide.
As the Fox CEO and the project lead, Barry would have earned endless praise and envy.
But selling the overseas rights cheaply to Guess Pictures allowed them to pick up a huge bargain and earn over a billion dollars extra.
Now, his peers saw him as a fool and a cheapskate CEO with poor vision -- a cautionary tale in film executive circles.
Meanwhile, Link was praised as a sharp investor and envied by many.
"Damn it!"
Barry clenched his fist in anger, filled with deep regret for not continuing the Titanic investment and allowing Guess Pictures to benefit so greatly.
If he could turn back time to two years ago, he would have fought hard to convince the board to continue funding, no matter how much Cameron spent on the film.
He would never have let Link intervene.
But time couldn't be reversed, nor could he undo the company's and his personal reputation's losses.
...
The red phone on the desk rang. Barry took a deep breath and answered. It was Rupert Murdoch, chairman of Fox's parent company.
Murdoch asked if there was any chance of reclaiming the overseas rights to Titanic.
Barry said no. After filming, the movie's master copy was split into two versions -- one given to Fox and one to Guess Pictures. The version held by Guess Pictures was edited personally by Link and differed slightly from the US version, making it impossible to control with the master copy.
Murdoch inquired whether contract loopholes could be exploited to reclaim the rights.
Barry said no.
Guess Pictures had been very cautious with the contract, employing over ten experienced attorneys to draft it and inserting numerous clauses to prevent loopholes.
They couldn't use the contract to retrieve the rights.
Murdoch said nothing further, quietly said "hmm," and hung up.
Barry knew Murdoch was angry, which was understandable.
If the overseas rights hadn't been sold off, Fox would have made over a billion more dollars, benefiting Murdoch and the shareholders a lot.
Now that money had been taken by Guess Pictures.
No one could stay calm in such a situation.
...
The phone rang again. This time it was Ron Meyer calling, asking much the same: if Fox could recover Titanic's overseas distribution rights.
Barry said no for two reasons: the contracts had no loopholes, and Guess Pictures was a large company with ample resources; they wouldn't be bullied.
"Such a shame!" Ron sighed, disappointed that Fox couldn't get the rights back.
A few more acquaintances called afterward, asking the same question, hoping Fox would wrest back the rights so Guess Pictures wouldn't profit.
Hearing it was impossible, they sympathized with Barry.
Fox had spent over four years painstakingly making a great film, only to see Guess Pictures become the main winner upon release -- something that angered many.
Barry hung up the phone with a grim expression.
At first, Titanic's overseas success only made him regretful, but after hearing everyone's sighs, his regret turned to anger.
Had Guess Pictures not meddled when Titanic lacked funds, Fox would have continued investing and reaped all the box office and honors.
Now, due to Guess Pictures, he and the company lost a lot of money and became a joke in the industry.
He wouldn't let this go easily and vowed to retaliate when opportunity arose.
---
Titanic had been in US theaters for three weeks, grossing $169 million with great momentum.
However, overseas box office growth was even stronger.
After two weeks overseas, Titanic had earned $513 million in 76 countries.
As it opened in more territories in the coming months, its box office would continue to rise.
Meanwhile, Saving Private Ryan, released in November, was also doing excellently worldwide.
The film had played for nine weeks in North America, grossing $284 million, with a global total of $635 million, expected to exceed $1 billion globally.
Titanic and Saving Private Ryan dominated nearly every box office sector in North America and overseas.
As distributors of both, Guess Pictures again became the envy and jealousy of countless industry peers.
Executives of the Hollywood Big Seven Studios seethed with envy when discussing Guess Pictures, wishing to see the company disappear and its box office taken away.
Meanwhile, after both films became huge hits, Guess Pictures' shareholders kept calling Link, praising his leadership, sharp investment eye, excellent business management, and great partnership trustworthiness.
They used every compliment imaginable on him.
The media also praised Guess Pictures' performance that year.
Link remained calm, not letting the praise go to his head.
*****
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