Chapter 455: Chapter 455: The Big Event
The day after "The Flash" premiere, the film's media reviews were officially released.
The quality of this superhero blockbuster was unquestionable.
In addition, Warner Bros. had invested $50 million in the film's marketing budget and had been relentless in their media relations.
Driven by these factors, even though it was a standard popcorn commercial movie, "The Flash" received overwhelmingly positive reviews from mainstream North American media platforms.
According to a 10-point rating system, "The Flash" achieved an astounding average score of 9.1.
Simon himself believed that considering the era's filmmaking standards and the quality of "The Flash," an 8-point rating was quite reasonable. The 9.1 score clearly had elements of Warner's public relations efforts.
American film critics, while claiming to be objective and impartial, are not immune to influence.
Major studios typically don't interfere too much with media evaluations of a film, but for key projects like "The Flash," which are critical to broader strategic plans, they occasionally exert influence, and critics are often willing to reciprocate.
After all, film critics survive by being part of the Hollywood ecosystem.
In the original timeline, the Marvel Cinematic Universe consistently received high scores. It was evident to any keen observer that the scores weren't solely due to the films' inherent quality.
Regardless, the excellent media reception of 9.1, coupled with extensive promotional campaigns, over 3,000 opening screens, and the inherent appeal of a well-known superhero IP, ensured that this blockbuster made a spectacular debut.
On December 20th, including advance and midnight screenings, "The Flash" grossed $16.12 million on its opening day.
In comparison, Spielberg's "Hook," which had the same $70 million production budget and opened on December 13th, only managed to accumulate $17.55 million over seven days.
"The Flash" earned $16.12 million on its opening day alone, almost matching "Hook's" entire first-week earnings.
This stark contrast highlighted "The Flash's" overwhelming success.
From December 20th to December 22nd, "The Flash" grossed $49.31 million in its opening weekend. This box office performance was second only to the previous two "Batman" films, outclassing any other Hollywood release.
As a result, "The Hollywood Reporter" noted that Hollywood movies could now be categorized into two types: DC Universe films and everything else.
"The Flash's" powerful debut had a significant impact on existing films that would typically see a box office rebound during the Christmas season.
With the intense media comparison, the reputation of "Hook" among critics and audiences further deteriorated, leading to a 28% drop in its second weekend box office—a severe decline for a period that should see positive growth.
Moreover, "Hook's" initial box office was already very low.
Consequently, compared to "The Flash's" $49.31 million opening weekend, "Hook's" second weekend only brought in $9.68 million.
In ten days, this highly anticipated blockbuster from Columbia Pictures only grossed $27.23 million.
In the original timeline, despite poor reviews, "Hook" managed to surpass $100 million in North America due to the lack of competing films during the holiday season, making it a family-friendly option that achieved over $100 million in cumulative box office.
Now, with "The Flash," an IP as popular as Peter Pan, and the stark quality and media reception differences between the two films, the audience's choice was obvious.
Furthermore, "Toy Story," a 3D animated film suitable for family audiences released during Thanksgiving, still maintained strong momentum.
Given "Hook's" ten-day cumulative box office and the impact of "The Flash" and other films, media predicted that this blockbuster's North American total box office would likely stop at $60 million.
This figure represented a more than 40% drop from "Hook's" original timeline performance.
A North American box office of $60 million might be considered successful for other films.
However, for "Hook," with a $70 million production cost and over $100 million combined production and marketing budget, it was a financial disaster.
In the original timeline, "Hook" barely recouped its costs after several years through various distribution channels.
Now, with the box office expected to drop by 40%, even through overseas distribution and home video sales, "Hook" would struggle to break even.
Not only "Hook" but also "JFK," released the same week, and a series of films released during Thanksgiving experienced significant box office impacts.
With a $49.31 million opening weekend, combined with the film's positive reception, "The Flash" was almost guaranteed to reach $250 million in North American box office.
$250 million would take a substantial chunk out of the holiday season box office market.
"The Flash" taking such a large share meant significantly less for other films.
As the new week began and Christmas approached, the world's attention was drawn to Moscow.
After more than two years of turmoil in Europe, Gorbachev's failed reforms culminated in the recent months' events.
Over the past two years, East and West Germany unified, Eastern European countries announced their withdrawal from the Warsaw Pact, and some Soviet republics declared independence. The Soviet Union, which had opposed the Western world for half a century, was in its final moments.
Finally, after Christmas Eve, on Christmas Day, Soviet leader Gorbachev announced his resignation from all positions, and all political, economic, and military assets of the Soviet Union were transferred to Russia.
The next day, following the final Supreme Soviet session, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics officially disbanded.
As global media covered this monumental event, Simon watched the changes with a detached eye.
The Russians seemed to have gained the freedom they desired.
However, they did not realize that they were about to face an even harsher winter.
This made Simon appreciate how fortunate America was as a country.
With George Washington, decentralized power, a bottom-up power structure, and only one significant domestic conflict, the Civil War, the United States had been relatively unscathed. With the Soviet Union's collapse, it was poised to become the planet's sole superpower.
For many years to come, as the world's only superpower, America would be the one bullying others.
While the world celebrated the arrival of a peaceful era, Simon knew that peace was always temporary.
War, war never changes.
The selfishness and aggressiveness rooted in all living beings' genes ensured that many things would ultimately end in tragedy.
The world would not change because of Simon's inherent pessimism.
As countries planned for the post-Soviet world order, the entire Westeros system began discussing its next expansion plans.
After acquiring MCA, Simon had already initiated plans to tap into emerging markets within the Danelys Entertainment Group.
With the Soviet Union's dissolution, the opening Eastern European market became Danelys Entertainment's next focus.
Additionally, Westeros Company overall was drafting expansion plans into Eastern Europe, with Cersei Capital already forming a fund dedicated to investing in Eastern European countries.
Even the Johnston family in Australia, with Anthony Johnston planning a trip to Moscow soon.
After all, Russia was known for its rich resources.
Since the Soviet Union's accumulated wealth was bound to be squandered by Yeltsin, Simon didn't mind taking a share. Thus, while continuing to accompany Janet during her maternity leave, he began considering some plans.
Meanwhile, the world changes did not affect the North American Christmas box office.
Following its $49.31 million opening weekend, "The Flash" grossed $72.86 million in its first seven days, securing the top spot in the weekly box office chart and leaving other films far behind.
From December 20th to December 26th, the second place wasn't "Hook" or Oliver Stone and Kevin Costner's "JFK," but Danelys Entertainment's 3D animated film "Toy Story," released during Thanksgiving.
Thanks to Christmas, "Toy Story" maintained a slight 7% box office decline, earning another $16.71 million.
In five weeks, this 3D animated film had accumulated $140.69 million.
Considering its weekly box office still maintained a high of $16.71 million and the long-term appeal of animated films, "Toy Story" was poised to steadily reach the $200 million mark, surpassing the $190 million of the 1995 original.
Given the resources Danelys Entertainment invested in this project, a $200 million box office seemed justifiable.
If not for "The Flash's" impact, this version of "Toy Story" might have achieved even higher box office results.
Though trailing "The Flash" by over $50 million, "Toy Story" was far more fortunate compared to "Hook" and "JFK."
In its second week, "Hook" saw a 26% drop in overall box office, earning another $12.98 million.
In two weeks, this $70 million blockbuster had only grossed $30.53 million, making a financial loss almost certain.
Considering the summer's $65 million "Hudson Hawk," Columbia Pictures' two major projects this year ended in financial disaster.
With Japan's economy continuing to decline and two consecutive films losing huge amounts, rumors circulated that Sony might exit Hollywood.
Sony quickly denied these rumors, but the company, having paid several significant 'tuition fees' since acquiring Columbia Pictures, was beginning to feel the strain, casting doubts on the positions of Columbia's two executives, Peter Guber and Jon Peters.
Interestingly, some media analysis revealed that Columbia's most profitable films in recent years were "A League of Their Own" and "Misery," both co-produced with Danelys Entertainment last year.
Despite sharing profits with Danelys Entertainment, these two films' combined production costs were lower than either of this year's so-called 'blockbusters.'
Yet, either of these films had better box office returns than this year's "Hudson Hawk" and
"Hook."
This media scrutiny once again turned the spotlight on Danelys Entertainment, which had become a Hollywood giant in just a few years.
It also revealed that companies working closely with Danelys Entertainment reaped significant benefits.
Simon's first film, "Run Lola Run," helped Orion Pictures avoid bankruptcy.
Several films co-produced with Fox brought in substantial profits, with "The Butterfly Effect" and "Final Destination" series continuing to perform well.
The subsequent ten-film deal brought considerable returns to all partners.
Next came the DC Extended Universe plan.
Without the DC Universe's success bringing substantial profits and significantly boosting Time Warner's stock price, the media giant, which had just merged last year, would have struggled to navigate the post-bond market crash economic downturn.
The intense internal power struggle within Time Warner was well-known.
Had it not been for the extensive collaboration with Danelys on the DC Universe and other projects, Steve Ross's position within Time Warner would not have remained so secure despite constant criticism since the merger and subsequent corporate challenges.
This shift in media sentiment led even Peter Guber and Jon Peters, under pressure from Sony, to privately contact Amy Pascal, probing the possibility of resuming their collaboration.
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