Chinese Entertainment: Academic Director

Chapter 450 Status is earned through fighting

"My dear director, welcome back."

Warner Bros. president Jeff Robinoff personally picked up Cao Yang at Los Angeles International Airport and gave him a big hug upon meeting him.

“When Barry found out I was coming to pick you up, he said to me, ‘Jeff, Cao is the most distinguished director at Warner Bros. Why don’t you bring a bouquet of flowers when you go to pick him up? That would show Warner Bros. more sincerity.’”

At this point, Jeff Robinoff spread his hands and shrugged.

“I think Barry is right, but you know, I have a wife and I don’t want people to misunderstand.”

After saying that, he personally opened the car door for Cao Yang and let him get in.

Cao Yang got into the car, and then his whole body trembled. On the back seat, there was a large bouquet of flowers, which included baby's breath, tulips, and lilies.

Cao Yang couldn't help but look at the president of Warner.

Jeff Robinoff shrugged again and laughed: "My dear director, I actually took Barry's advice. How about that? A little surprise, I guess?"

Damn, two grown men, it just feels a bit awkward.

Luckily you didn't take it out and give it to me in public. Although there were no roses inside, you're an older white man, not a little girl or a child.

“That really surprised me, Jeff.”

Cao Yang said, "The flowers are nice, but please don't send them next time."

Of course, Cao Yang also knew that Warner was just putting on a show—the president personally came to pick him up at the airport with flowers. Could there be anything that showed that he was valued more?
Warner Music certainly has to do these superficial things.

Based on the current box office trend, this art film is sure to gross over $12 billion worldwide, and many institutions even predict that "Joker" could reach $15 billion.

15 billion US dollars!

This was an absolute windfall for Warner, they were almost knocked unconscious!
This year has been a "bumper harvest" for Warner.

In July, Cao Yang's collaboration with Christopher Nolan, "The Dark Knight," broke the $1 billion mark at the global box office, even reaching $12 billion, becoming the second highest-grossing film worldwide.

How long has it been?

The Joker, a spin-off of The Batman, may actually break 15 billion!
For Warner Bros., a "mere" $15 billion in global box office revenue is, well, quite a lot. They can make a fortune just from the box office alone.

However, the money earned at the box office, compared to the other benefits brought by the success of "Joker," was not much.

It's worth noting that Warner Bros.' stock has been rising for more than ten consecutive days. Although the daily increase may not seem large, the continuous growth adds up to a very large number.

Moreover, what time is this?
This was during the worst of the global economic crisis, when the Great Depression was spreading globally.

At such a time, Warner Bros.' ability to buck the trend is truly a remarkable achievement.

The stock market is one aspect, but there are also other derivatives of "Joker". For example, Warner Bros. is preparing to have DC release a Joker comic, and the Joker can also be adapted into games.

Not to mention DVDs, new media, licensed merchandise, and so on.

Which aspect wouldn't generate a significant income?

Warner Bros. made a fortune.

Let alone the fact that Warner Bros. president Jeff Robinoff came to the airport with flowers to greet Cao Yang, if Cao Yang had asked all of Warner Bros.' top executives to come to the airport to greet him, Warner Bros. would probably have considered it and come.

If they don't come, the board of directors will definitely fire several senior executives as a "show of force" to let Cao Yang see their sincerity.

The capitalist's "pragmatism" is just that simple and unpretentious.

“My dear director, you should have come to Los Angeles sooner. If you had come earlier and brought Jim Carrey and the others on a few more shows, Oprah would have wanted you on her show a long time ago.”

As he spoke, Jeff Robinoff glanced at Cao Yang, handed him a document, and then said with a smile, "If that were the case, the box office of 'Joker' might be even higher than it is now."

Cao Yang took the documents and flipped through them. They contained Warner Bros.' records and analyses of "Joker" after its release, including the theaters where it was shown, occupancy rate, highest box office per theater, average box office per theater, weekly box office statistics, etc.

In addition, there are reviews and opinions on "Joker" from some influential media outlets, including the views of some famous film critics, as well as related comments from some forecasting and research institutions.

In short, it is very comprehensive.

Cao Yang can use these materials to gain a general understanding of many relevant information about "Joker" since its release.

It's clear that Warner Music really put in the effort.

"Jeff, was it Warner who strongly suggested that I promote in China and the surrounding areas, or did you call me?"

Cao Yang specifically reminded him.

"I understand, I understand, it's just a bit of a shame, the North American box office could have been higher..."

Jeff Robinov shook his head and said with a soft laugh.

"Those bastards on the board... cough, those people, after they were certain that 'Joker' would gross over $10 billion but not over that wrecked ship, stopped caring about the box office."

They are more concerned about stock prices and the market.

You might not realize it, but if "Joker" breaks $1 million at the Chinese box office, even if Warner Bros. doesn't get much of a share, it would be a huge boon for Warner Bros., for investors, and for the market...

Everyone is well aware that China will be the world's largest emerging market, and everyone wants to enter this market as soon as possible to gain a foothold and achieve a first-mover advantage.

Therefore, for those bastards on the board, the title of being the first Chinese film to gross over $1 million is more important than the $2 million more that "Joker" made worldwide.

Cao Yang smiled; he could hear the resentment in Jeff Robinoff's tone.

This is determined by different perspectives.

The Warner board of directors is certainly considering the overall situation and the overall interests of Warner.

As president of Warner Bros., Jeff Robinoff may seem to hold a high position, but in reality, he is still an executive. Even Barry Mayer, the CEO of Warner Bros., who is on the board of directors, is considered an executive.

What are executives considering? They consider the profits of the company they manage, not the overall interests of Warner Bros. or Time Warner.

Only by doing a good job in the Warner Bros. Pictures business he is in charge of can Jeff Robinoff's abilities and performance be demonstrated.

Therefore, Jeff Robinoff definitely prioritizes box office performance, as that is his primary job.

Cao Yang looked up the North American box office figures for "Joker".

Because it was released on Thursday, there is a weekend box office ranking in North America, which counts the box office revenue from Friday to Sunday.

Joker grossed over $200 million in its opening weekend, and with the more than $40 million earned on its opening day, it grossed nearly $250 million in its first four days.

The second weekend saw a slight drop in box office revenue for "Joker," but not a significant one, bringing in another $130 million. Combined with weekday earnings and the first week's total, "Joker" surpassed $400 million in 2011. In July, "The Dark Knight" took 16 days to reach $400 million, a record that Warner Bros. was overjoyed at the time, believing it would remain for several years.

Little did anyone know that just over three months later, the record was broken by the Batman spin-off film Joker, five days earlier.

By the third week, even though "Joker" could evoke empathy and had many gimmicks, it was still essentially an art film without grand scenes or spectacular audiovisual effects. As a result, "Joker" saw a significant drop in box office revenue in the third week.

Over the entire third week, including the weekend's $5500 million, "Joker" only grossed $9250 million, leaving Warner Bros. executives somewhat "disappointed".

Okay, Warner Bros. is definitely getting a bit too Versailles-like.

With $5500 million over the weekend and $9250 million over the weekdays, the film's opening weekend gross was a phenomenal success for any Hollywood movie.

Unfortunately, Warner Bros. unwittingly set their expectations too high, to the point that they were somewhat "disappointed" with the box office results in the third week.

A comparison will tell you the difference.

There's a new movie released this week called "The Day the Earth Stood Still," a remake of the classic 1951 science fiction film of the same name.

The movie stars Keanu Reeves and Jennifer Connelly.

Keanu Reeves is a name most people know; The Matrix made him a Hollywood superstar, while Jennifer Connelly just won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress last year.

How much did The Day the Earth Stood Still gross in its opening weekend?
3100 million US dollars.

It grossed $2400 million less than "Joker," which was released in its third week.

So far, Joker has been in theaters in North America for 18 days and has grossed $5.3 million.

On the North American box office charts—and only in North America, not globally—the current number one film is still "Titanic," released in 97, with a box office of $6.74 million.

Second place goes to "The Dark Knight," starring Cao Yang and Christopher Nolan, which grossed $5.98 million in North America.

After 18 days in theaters, "Joker" had grossed $5.3 million, ranking third.

The reason Warner Bros. felt slightly disappointed after the third week's box office results for "Joker" was that they wanted to break "Titanic's" more than ten-year reign at the top of the charts.

I can't beat your global box office, but I can at least beat your North American box office!
Unfortunately, reaching 6 million is definitely not a problem, but exceeding 6.74 million will be a bit difficult.

"Be content, Jeff. You have to understand that 'Joker' is essentially an art film, an art film with an investment of less than $7000 million. The box office results it has achieved are already quite good."

Cao Yang didn't seem to have anything to be upset about.

He also wanted to surpass the truck driver in box office revenue, but that guy was a bit too unconventional.

Some people are just like that; even if you have cheat codes, you can't beat them. There's nothing you can do about it.

Besides, what's the point of surpassing it on the North American box office charts? You have to remember that The Shipwrecked was released in 97, and the dollar in 97 definitely had more purchasing power than the dollar in 08.

In addition, Avatar is coming next year, and truck drivers are going to be superhuman again.

Avatar grossed approximately $8 million in North America and $28 billion worldwide; seeing these figures is enough to make one despair.

Only in the final chapter, after countless "superhero" movies have been released and accumulated popularity, can it barely compete with the truck driver.

So directors like Truck Driver are like "chosen ones," and it's very difficult to beat them.

Of course, truck drivers are legends in the directing world, and Cao Yang is almost becoming a legend in the directing world as well.

Others view Cao Yang in a similar way to they view truck drivers.

Judging from Cao Yang's current awards, ordinary directors would definitely sigh: Is that something a "human" can do?
That's something no human being could do!
Jeff Robinov laughed heartily after hearing Cao Yang's words; he certainly understood the logic Cao Yang was talking about.

But how can a person be content?

It is human nature to crave more after getting what one desires.

"My dear director, when do we start planning the next Batman movie and Joker 2? Don't worry, Warner Bros. will definitely offer the most attractive price, and the film budget is up to you..."

Jeff Robinoff said with a smile.

"Stop! Stop!"

Cao Yang waved his hand, "Jeff, you have no idea how busy I've been this year. After this busy period, I'd like to have a super long vacation."

“My dear director, you’re wrong about that.”

Jeff Robinoff said seriously, "Cao, you're still young. At your age, it's the time to make your mark. Why take such a long vacation? Wait until you've achieved success..."

At this point, Jeff Robinov paused, feeling that Cao Yang was now certainly successful, so using that word here was a bit inappropriate.

"Wait until you surpass James and become the world's number one director before talking about super long vacations. Don't believe me? Look at James. Precisely because he's called the world's number one director, he can take vacations whenever he wants..."

As he spoke, Jeff Robinoff's voice lowered, and he seemed to regret comparing himself to James Cameron.

Cao Yang isn't a young director who's easily fooled.

It's common knowledge in Hollywood that James's low output is purely due to his research into new technologies, which causes film production cycles to be repeatedly delayed, rather than because he's taking a vacation...

"Hey, Cao, you have to listen to what I'm saying. At your age, you're at the peak of your thinking and creativity, so you absolutely can't slack off."

“Okay, okay, Jeff, I understand.”

Cao Yang gave a perfunctory reply, and then started looking at the reviews of "Joker" from influential media outlets and film critics in North America.

Somewhat unexpectedly, the opinions of the media and film critics in the previous life were quite polarized. Many media outlets and film critics accused "Joker" of blurring the moral bottom line and glorifying violence.

Furthermore, it was criticized for portraying patients as "forced demons," ignoring the fact that most patients are non-violent...

But things are different now.

It's unclear whether it's because Warner Bros. promoted "Joker" as a "prophetic" film, or because the current economic crisis and global depression are very similar to the background of "Joker," or a combination of both.

In short, most media outlets gave "Joker" very positive reviews, praising not only the actors' performances but also calling the film a social anatomy, an experimental field of cinematic language, and a precise incision into the pain points of reality...

That's why God prevented the movie from being made.

Cao Yang stroked his chin, feeling somewhat moved.

A film that resonates with the general atmosphere is more likely to gain favor and widespread recognition and praise.

(End of this chapter)