Hollywood starts with an agent

Chapter 653 Aims for a New Box Office Record
Disney's consumer products business is the core of the Disney Group's economy, and it operates in conjunction with 728 Disney stores worldwide.
Not to mention the licensing of classic IPs such as Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, and Winnie the Pooh, plus the licensing of various characters from Disney's animated series, Disney earns a lot of profits every year.

In the Asian market alone, Disney's IP licensing sales have exceeded $50 billion!
For Dawning, in recent years, with the rise of Universal Studios and the emergence of Pixar, it has made rapid progress in the consumer goods market;

Last year, the hit movie "Toy Story 2" led to a surge in sales of toys, clothing, mugs, and other products featuring Woody, Buzz Lightyear, making it the runner-up in the consumer goods market for the year, second only to "Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace".

However, compared to Disney's direct business model of chain stores, it is difficult for others to replicate, and they can only open their own specialty stores in some major theme parks and amusement parks.

Disney's chain stores in North America are directly operated, while those in overseas markets are franchised and licensed, and this number is constantly increasing. According to Disney's plan, the number of stores will reach 1000 by the new millennium!
But now Dawning has partnered with Amazon to launch an online sales model, and with the surge in tech stocks, even Amazon's market capitalization has exceeded $200 billion.

The Nasdaq Composite Index continued its decline, falling from a high of 5048 points in March to its current level of 3321 points, a drop of 34.2%.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average also fell 805 points, a drop of 8.16%, marking the biggest swing in the U.S. stock market since the 1987 stock market crash!
与此同时，四月下旬NBA1999-2000年常规赛的结束，休斯顿火箭以67胜15负的成绩排名联盟第一，而东部第一的印第安纳步行者只有56胜26负；
Last year's top team in the Western Conference, the San Antonio Spurs, is now fourth in the West. Scottie Pippen, who joined the Los Angeles Lakers last season, was traded to the Portland Trail Blazers this season due to poor performance. He has performed well, leading the Portland Trail Blazers to third place, while the Los Angeles Lakers are ranked fifth.

The Rockets' first-round playoff opponent is the Seattle SuperSonics, led by Gary Payton. The gap in strength between the two teams is too large, and no one thinks that the SuperSonics have any chance of upset the eighth seed!
Disney's sci-fi blockbuster *Mission to Mars*, with a production cost of $1 million, only grossed $6000 million at the same time as *Scary Movie*, which grossed $1.5 million.

"The director of 'Mission to Mars' is Brian De Palma, the director of 'Mission: Impossible,' and it received a flood of negative reviews!"

In his office at Universal Studios, Aaron sat on the sofa with a smug look on his face. He had just returned from the set of "Charlie's Angels" at Universal Studios with Dawn Steele.

"Ha, Disney is really excited about Michael Bay's new film 'Pearl Harbor,' which is currently in production. They're making a war epic romance!"

In terms of film production, Disney is definitely behind, after all, Touchstone Pictures was formed after Michael Eisner joined the company;
In terms of heritage, it can't compare to the other six major film companies. There aren't many remakes in its film library, but its animated films can be adapted into live-action movies.

Aaron smiled. "Michael Eisner will bring Touchstone Pictures and Hollywood studios under the Buena Vista umbrella."

"With the dismissal of the Weinstein brothers, the two heads of Miramax, Miramax has basically no future and will likely be shelved."

"Hand-drawn animation is facing another challenge from Pixar and DreamWorks' 3D computer animation. Disney is in a real hurry now!"

Dawn Steele cautioned, "Disney has a family-friendly animated film called 'Dinosaur' coming out this summer, which has been in production for many years."

Aaron waved his hand casually, "They're all minor stuff. There's also Paramount's sequel, *Mission: Impossible 2*, Sony's blockbuster *The Patriot*, and Warner Bros.' disaster epic *The Perfect Storm*."

"During the summer movie season, these are the only few films from other companies that are worth watching."

The lead actor in the epic war film "The Patriot" is Mel Gibson, and the director of the thriller disaster film "The Perfect Storm" is Wolfgang Petersen, the German director who directed "Sniper" and "Air Force One".
Then look at Universal's films: Spider-Man, The Mummy Returns, Gladiator, Scream 3, and The Fat Professor 2 – three sequels!

The Talented Mr. Ripley, released last year, grossed $8000 million in North America and $1.38 million worldwide.
The final box office of "Shakespeare in Love" was $1.1 million in North America and $2.9 million worldwide.

Dawning's spring releases of *Scary Movie* and *Erin Brockovich* were also blockbuster films, so Dawning is sure to break box office records again this year! "By the way, DreamWorks released an animated feature film, *The Rock*, at the end of last month. Its subject matter isn't as unconventional as *Antz* or as serious as *The Prince of Egypt*."

How was the movie?

DreamWorks just won its first Oscar for Best Picture, so it's worth paying attention to.

Dawn Steele shook his head. "The performance was, to put it mildly, terrible. After four weeks in theaters, it's only grossed $4000 million."

"There's not much to look forward to in overseas markets. With a production cost of $9500 million, DreamWorks is bound to suffer a significant loss!"

DreamWorks Animation's overseas distribution is handled by a contract with Universal, with Universal responsible for marketing and distribution in most international markets.

"However, DreamWorks will release Aardman Animations' first animated feature film, 'Chicken Run,' this summer!"

Aaron nodded. "Aardman Animations, the company that specializes in clay animation, right?"

“Previously, their animated short films also won awards at the Oscars.”

If I remember correctly, Chicken Run should be Aardman's most famous and influential work;
Pixar's fourth animated feature film, Monsters, Inc., will not be released until next year, as Pixar has been expanding its scale in recent years.

"What about Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone? Is the preparation work not yet complete?"

Aaron's current focus is on Marvel Studios projects, as well as the Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings series.

"Filming will begin next month, and I'll be heading to London, England soon to attend the launch press conference for 'Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone'."

"As you know, the Harry Potter series is becoming increasingly influential, and the casting and training process for the production team took a very long time."

"Once the first 'Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone' is released, the production speed of the sequels will be much faster."

"Many actors and scenes don't need to be changed, which will save a lot of work!"

Dawn Steele shrugged as he spoke.

(End of this chapter)