Huayu Entertainment 1995 started with hijacking.

Chapter 321 Authorization
The popularity of "Pirate King 2" has sparked a lot of discussion.

Entertainment program hosts are already shouting:

"The year's box office champion has been decided, and it has to be 'Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales'. No one can stop it!!"

Actually, some people had already raised this issue when "Pirates of the Caribbean 2" grossed 1.69 million in its opening weekend. However, since it had only been three days, many people still had doubts.

But when the second week passed, Pirate King 2 had grossed $5.58 million worldwide in 10 days, and everything changed. Everyone believed it, after all, the momentum had been established, and no one questioned it under these circumstances.

As for whether another blockbuster movie will be released in the second half of the year? Come on, the fact that Hollywood was able to release sequels to Spider-Man 2 and Pirate King 2 with such high box office numbers this year has already greatly exceeded Hollywood's expectations.

The only challenging film in the second half of the year is "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," but the director was changed, so many people are not very optimistic about it. It would be good if it could maintain the box office of the first two films, and it is almost impossible to break 1 billion.

Meanwhile, in addition to initially praising Johnny Depp as the outstanding Captain Jack Sparrow, more and more media outlets are now focusing their attention and discussions on Wu Yuchen.

"This summer belongs to Wu! The combined box office of all other big-budget productions doesn't even match the combined box office of Wu's 'The Pirate King 2' and 'Spider-Man 2'!"

When a person achieves great success, people tend to admire them more and unconsciously attribute more of their achievements to them. This is the case with Wu Yuchen now.

In fact, although Wu Yuchen served as the producer of "Spider-Man 2" for the previous two months, he didn't appear much during the entire promotional process. He spent most of his time behind the scenes, and even admitted that he didn't do much behind-the-scenes work. Aside from providing the script and securing some time and guarantees for reshoots, he didn't do much else for "Spider-Man 2."

In the two months prior, the media and the public had indeed focused a lot of attention on director Sam Raimi, discussing his contributions to Spider-Man 2.

But now, with the momentum of "The Pirate King 2" surpassing that of "Spider-Man 2," various media outlets have begun praising Wu Yuchen's greatness, and more so-called insiders have come forward to talk about Wu Yuchen's importance to "Spider-Man 2." More people are also willing to believe that "Spider-Man 2" is Wu Yuchen's work...

After this happened, no matter how Wu Yuchen explained it, people only wanted to believe that he was being modest!
Therefore, people now attribute both "The Pirate King 2" and "Spider-Man 2" to Wu Yu-chen. The summer of 2004 in Hollywood became known as "Wu Yu-chen's Summer," a summer season dominated by Wu Yu-chen!

"Oh! Darling, you're absolutely amazing! Everyone's saying you ruled the summer!"

At this moment, Anne Hathaway hugged Wu Yuchen tightly, wishing she could stick to him and then reach the top of Hollywood with his help.

In fact, she's now on the right track. Her film, *The Princess Diaries*, has been in theaters for a month and has grossed $9658 million in North America, just shy of breaking the $1 million mark.

Summer vacation in North America is only halfway over, and school won't start until September, so it's a sure thing that "The Princess Diaries" will gross over $9 million at the North American box office.

As a 21-year-old girl, Anne Hathaway, apart from the Spider-Man series, is now able to carry a film to box office success on her own, making a $28 million film gross over $100 million in North America. This has fully demonstrated her box office appeal.

It's safe to say she's the hottest young actress in Hollywood right now!
There is only one girl who can currently be compared to her, and that is Keira Knightley, the female lead of the "Pirate King" series created by Wu Yuchen!
To be honest, Anne Hathaway used to envy Keira Knightley. Compared to her decorative role in the Spider-Man series, where she only served as Spider-Man's emotional mediator, Keira Knightley had much more screen time and was quite significant, fully influencing the direction of the story.

But it’s different now!

She has already broken free from the constraints of the Spider-Man series with "The Princess Diaries," opening up more possibilities. Keira, on the other hand, still needs to work hard to take that step.

She also envied Kayla for her incredible luck! Kayla was chosen just when Wu Yuchen wanted to quickly launch the "Pirate King" project.

There are rumors that Keira Knightley got the role after being sexually harassed by Wu Yuchen, but Anne Hathaway, who knows Wu Yuchen's tastes, knows that he has no interest in girls with A-cups.

She, along with Jennifer Connelly and Jessica Alba, all have sexy figures, and even Nicole Kidman, who she hung out with for a while, has a B cup.

Furthermore, she asked Wu Yuchen, and he confirmed that he hadn't even touched the "Princess Taiping" character. This made Anne Hathaway even more convinced that Keira was incredibly lucky; she got the role without putting in any effort—she was practically the chosen one!
But even the best of luck eventually comes to an end.

Anne Hathaway knew that without Wu Yuchen's help, Keira would become ordinary and fade into obscurity, while she, Princess Anne, would become Hollywood's most popular actress with Wu Yuchen's help!
Thinking of this, Anne Hathaway was filled with enthusiasm for Wu Yuchen at all times and was willing to do anything to please him!

On the other side of Wu Yuchen, the chocolate-clad beauty Jessica Alba was also clinging to him, saying, "Great Director Wu, could you attend my premiere in two weeks?"

She and Anne Hathaway each secured a project from Wu Yuchen. Now that Anne Hathaway's "The Princess Diaries" has been a success, she has even higher expectations for "Step Up." Jessica Alba is now eager to shine in Hollywood.

Wu Yuchen's large hand caressed the chocolate-colored beauty's thigh: "Jessie, I'm planning to go back to China next month~"

Upon hearing this, Jessica Alba's large eyes immediately welled up with tears, and she looked at Wu Yuchen pleadingly, as if about to cry: "Daydy, please! I can't live without you~"

Wu Yuchen chuckled and patted her pert bottom: "Haha, Jessie, my little cutie, I'll stay until after your premiere!"

Upon hearing this, Jessica Alba immediately showed a look of surprise and gave Wu Yuchen a sweet kiss.

Wu Yuchen smiled. He would naturally treat these two beauties equally. Having already attended the premiere of "The Princess Diaries," he would definitely attend "Step Up" this time as well.

After the success of "Step Up," we can make "Step Up 2," followed by "Fantastic Four" for Jessica Alba—a big-budget production costing hundreds of millions, enough to support her. The same goes for Anne Hathaway; take it one step at a time, no rush.

“Honey, everyone around me is speculating about how much ‘Pirates of the Caribbean 2’ will gross,” Anne Hathaway asked Wu Yuchen, wanting an authoritative answer from him. Wu Yuchen smiled and shook his head: “Baby, I can’t give you a very accurate figure, but I can say that a billion dollars worldwide should be no problem.”

After all, the current "Pirate King 2" is influenced by him and is performing even better than the original version from his previous life, so he really can't say for sure how much it will ultimately cost. However, he estimates that it will most likely not exceed 15 billion, and will probably be between 12 and 13 billion.

Jessica Alba then brought up another question: "Daydy, my friends are discussing how many years it will take for the $1.69 million opening weekend record of 'Pirates of the Caribbean 2' to be broken?"

This question really made Wu Yuchen think.

If things had continued as they were in the previous film, breaking this box office record would have required waiting for the final installment of the Harry Potter series, namely Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, released in 2011. That film also grossed $1.69 million in its opening weekend, though it was a few million more than Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales.

You might ask, how could Avatar's opening weekend box office be so low when it grossed a whopping $27.4 billion?
However, the reality is that Avatar only grossed $7702 million in its opening weekend. But truck drivers have the ability to make a film's long-term revenue extremely impressive, and their global appeal is unmatched.

When it comes to opening weekend box office, the real powerhouses are actually the fan-driven films, like *Twilight*. However, *Twilight* is still somewhat niche; the most formidable contender is the super-fan film *The Avengers*!
Since the birth of the Avengers series, it has practically treated opening weekend box office records like a game.

The first Avengers movie in 2012 grossed over $2 million in its first three days in North America, breaking the record for the highest-grossing opening weekend in Hollywood.

2015's *Avengers: Age of Ultron* was somewhat disappointing, grossing only $1.91 million and failing to break the record set by the first film. However, 2018's *Avengers: Infinity War* set a new record with $2.57 million. The fourth installment, released the following year, was even more phenomenal, grossing $3.57 million in its opening weekend—a figure that leaves many feeling disheartened!
However, Wu Yuchen is now somewhat uncertain, as the biggest variable lies with himself. He doesn't know if "Pirate King 3" will break records when it's released.

If Pirate King 3 performs well, it could break the record next year. If not, it might have to wait another seven or eight years.

Actually, if you think about it this way, no matter what, this record will probably be dominated by Director Wu for the next 7 years, which is not a short time!

As for "Pirates of the Caribbean 4," he has no intention of making it. The "Pirates of the Caribbean" trilogy is already a complete story, and he won't get involved in the sequels. It would be a thankless task and might even ruin his reputation.

As for whether to continue investing, that depends on the market at the time. Johnny Depp's salary will also be a major issue. He doesn't think he can still fool them anymore; to get them to make "Pirates of the Caribbean 4," he'll definitely have to pay a very hefty price.

For now, Wu Yuchen doesn't want to feel the pinch. Perhaps ten years from now, when the global film market is more prosperous and ticket prices are higher, he will consider investing in "Pirates of the Caribbean 4".

With the success of "Pirate King 2," Wu Yuchen can now relax completely and no longer needs to travel for promotions. However, there are still some things to handle, such as the licensing issue for "Pirate King."

"Oh, Wu, we're planning a celebration party for 'Pirate King 2,' but you don't seem enthusiastic at all~"

"Steven, all I want right now is to rest."

Wu Yuchen smiled and welcomed Spielberg in. With the success of "Pirates of the Caribbean 2" and the completion of post-production for "Pirates of the Caribbean 3", he now just wanted to rest at home.

After exchanging a few casual words, the two got down to business.

"Steven, what's the situation now?" Wu Yuchen asked.

"Universal Studios contacted me and continued to pursue the rights to 'Pirates of the Caribbean,' but they have significantly increased their offer."

Wu Yuchen smiled upon hearing this. Three years ago, Universal Studios had hoped to obtain the license for "Pirates of the Caribbean," but the price they offered was too low, so Wu Yuchen had DreamWorks reject it outright.

In the past two years, Universal Studios has raised its offer price appropriately, but Wu Yuchen has not agreed to it. He knows how big the market for "The Pirate King" is.

Now, with the huge success of "Pirates of the Caribbean 2", Universal Studios has become restless and has significantly increased its offer to purchase the license.

Wu Yuchen looked at Spielberg: "Steven, what do you think?"

Spielberg shrugged: "If it were before, I would definitely agree to this price, but now, Universal's sincerity is indeed lacking, especially compared to its competitors."

Wu Yuchen smiled and said, "Let me guess, is it Robert Iger?"

Spielberg smiled and nodded: "Robert Iger came to me personally and offered a very attractive price. In the future, Disney's pirate project will also be named 'Pirate King,' and we will get a share of the related profits."

Looking at Spielberg's attitude, it was quite clear to Wu Yuchen who he wanted to collaborate with.

This made Wu Yuchen sigh, because he used "The Pirate King" to defeat Disney's big-budget production "Pearl Harbor", and now "The Pirate King" is going to cooperate with Disney!
How times have changed!
However, Wu Yuchen smiled at Spielberg and said, "I have no objection. Iger is indeed a very capable guy. To be honest, I have a feeling that Disney will become even stronger under his leadership."

Wu Yuchen would naturally choose the one that pays more. Why would he sell to Universal Studios at a lower price because of past issues? Besides, Disney's audience is indeed larger than Universal Studios'.

Spielberg nodded in agreement: "The smiling Mickey Mouse is definitely more powerful than the roaring Eisner!"

(End of this chapter)