Huayu Entertainment: Tianxian really wants to improve

Chapter 311 The Artist's Box Office Success: Once Again Tops the Weekly Box Office Chart

"Looks like I'm quite famous in China!"

Ivy smiled and said, "I see that you and Harvey seem to have some conflict. Actually, you two are a very good combination. Do you need me to help you and Harvey mediate?"

To prove his point, Ivy added, "I was an early supporter of Harvey Weinstein Company. He's a rather stubborn person, but he was still willing to listen to my opinions!"

Gu Bei was somewhat surprised.

Surprisingly, Ivy is a major shareholder of The Weinstein Company.

He smiled and said, "No need. I don't like Harvey."

"Actually, I'm the same way. Harvey is a bit arrogant!"

Ivy immediately changed her tune, "Bruce, I actually think that with your current creative abilities, you are fully capable of starting your own production company and producing more A-list films."

If you need, I can also help you contact Warner Bros.; they would be very willing to help you distribute your film.

Warner?

Gu Bei had a lot to say but didn't know how to express it.

The fact that DC restarts every day has become a meme.
Warner Music's next twenty years will be filled with turmoil, and it may even become a three-times-serving entity.
First, it separated from North American Online, then it was acquired by AT&T, then AT&T sent it to merge with Discovery Channel, and finally it managed to redeem itself during the streaming boom.

Gu Bei, an ordinary movie fan, already knew about the short-sightedness of Warner Bros. executives.

Gu Bei and Ai Wei exchanged a few words briefly before leaving.

It seems that apart from the money, the price offered by this mysterious tycoon had no appeal to Gu Bei.

In this party of vanity and fame,

Ivy wasn't the only one extending an olive branch to Gu Bei.

Almost all of the six top executives extended olive branches to Gu Bei. The artist proved that Gu Bei could completely control B-grade productions, which was very important to the six.

After all, it's impossible for every film from the Big Six to be an A-list production with a budget exceeding $100 million.
The six major film studios typically release around twenty films each year.

Most of them are B-grade or B+ grade productions.
This is the main budget for the six major distribution channels.

If the budget is even lower, then we'll just hand it over to our own second-tier label for release.

Therefore, as long as Gu Bei agrees, the six major entities are willing to open their project databases to Gu Bei to choose from. He can choose any B+ level project, and A level projects are also acceptable.

However... none of the six conditions could tempt Gu Bei.

After all, their production conditions cannot compare with Rose Pictures, and their distribution conditions are not as good as those of Peak Entertainment, which has already accepted Gu Bei as a shareholder.

Just as Gu Bei was getting bored and preparing to leave the Vanity Fair party.

A middle-aged man with short, gray-black hair approached Gu Bei with a wine glass in hand: "Congratulations, Bruce, it seems we've never met before!"

"Thank you, Mr. Gray."

Gu Bei and Brad Gray clinked glasses.

This is the current chairman of Paramount Pictures.
It was also the person who mocked Gu Bei as an idiot at the board meeting when Gu Bei announced that he wanted to film Twilight.

of course,

This news was broken by Entertainment Weekly, and Brad himself has firmly denied it.

However, after Twilight became a box office hit, the reporter who broke the news is now unable to find work in Hollywood.

This is the influence of the six major powers.
Rose Films and The Weinstein Company are at best studios.

The Big Six are already large media conglomerates, and their every word and action can easily influence every corner of Hollywood.

So, Gu Bei is now pretending he's never heard of the news: "Congratulations to you too, Paramount became the film company with the highest global market share last year!"

Despite Warner Bros.' success in the North American market last year, surpassing Paramount's performance with The Dark Knight,
However, in the global market, Paramount still won the title of the world's leading film company thanks to Iron Man, Indiana Jones 4, and Kung Fu Panda 2.

Brad revealed a hint of pride.

He joined Paramount in 2005 alongside Viacom.
In just three years, he made Paramount number one in the world, which was his proudest achievement, making Gu Bei in front of him seem even more handsome.

After a pause, Brad smiled and said, "I heard from Tom Cruise that you're interested in joining the production of the Mission: Impossible sequel?"

"I think there's still more room for exploration in the Mission: Impossible series."

Gu Bei maintained a neutral stance, neither taking the initiative nor refusing, and gently pushed back, "However, I have never been involved in action films. I may only participate in the production, not directing."

Brad was displeased when he heard that Gu Bei didn't plan to direct.

At the housewarming party, Gu Bei's identity as the screenwriter of the Oscar-winning Best Original Screenplay was more captivating than his identity as a director.

But after this year's Oscars

Gu Bei's black-and-white silent film, *The Artist*, has grossed over $100 million worldwide.

At this point, Gu Bei's identity as a director became far more popular than his identity as a screenwriter!

To win over Gu Bei, Brad offered his price: "If you're willing to direct a Mission: Impossible sequel, I can let you choose from Paramount's project library!"

"We can talk about this later!"

Gu Bei politely declined.

He doesn't think there are any good projects in Paramount's portfolio.

Although Paramount is currently at its peak and will continue to do so for the next two years, it was once only $20 million away from breaking the $3300 billion mark at the North American box office.

However, after Marvel was acquired by Disney and its distribution contract with Marvel expired,
Paramount Pictures really failed, relying entirely on the Transformers and Mission: Impossible series to survive, and ultimately becoming a toy in the hands of rich kids.

At the time of the acquisition, Disney, another of the top five companies, had a market value of $2000 billion, while Paramount was acquired for only $80 billion.

This is not just a production studio; it also includes a streaming platform, CBS television network, and several cable television stations.

This shows how badly Paramount has degenerated in the 10s, and what good stuff it has in its project portfolio now.

Gu Bei is only interested in the Mission: Impossible series.

This series is currently at its lowest point.
Neither Tom Cruise, the key figure, nor the Mission: Impossible series itself is viewed favorably by many.

He only intends to buy at the bottom and has no intention of tying himself to this series.

After leaving the Vanity Fair party, Gu Bei went out for a late-night snack with Leonardo DiCaprio, Toby, and others before going back to catch up on sleep.

But their nightlife had just ended.
The daily lives of the general public are just beginning.
Artists and slum millionaires vie for the Oscars, while *The Curious Case of Benjamin Button* and *The Dark Knight* are snubbed!

[Jack and Rose share the stage, fulfilling Leonardo DiCaprio's long-standing Oscar dream; Leonardo DiCaprio finally ends his years of being a perennial runner-up!]

Was it truly unfair for an artist to lose the Best Director award?

For film fans who enjoy stories about artists and slum millionaires,
The results of this year's Oscars are perfectly acceptable.
Gu Bei won Best Film.
Leonardo DiCaprio won Best Actor, and Danny Boyle won Best Director.
But for other films, this year's Oscars were a bit tough.

Especially fans of The Dark Knight and WALL-E,

The Dark Knight received eight nominations and won two, with only one sure win for Best Supporting Actor, plus Best Sound Editing.
WALL-E, the animated film with the most Oscar nominations in history, only won one Oscar for Best Animated Feature, which was a sure win.

The key is,

Surprisingly, neither of these two films were nominated for Best Picture.
The Academy's lukewarm reception to these two films was quite evident, both in terms of nominations and awards.

The fact that these two films were not nominated has been brought up again by netizens, and many people have even started to frequently attack the Academy.

And the artist at this time
Then it's time to enjoy its Oscar moment!

Before the Oscar nominations were announced,

The artists had already begun large-scale screenings, reaching 2289 theaters, with cumulative box office revenue in North America just over $6000 million.

At that time, there were only 582 theater chains in the slums, with a cumulative box office of $4500 million in North America.

But due to the healing style of Slumdog Millionaire
This is absolutely perfect for the North American people who were hurt after the 2008 financial crisis.
Therefore, within a month after the nominations were announced,
Slumdog Millionaire was the film with the most significant Oscar effect, with its North American box office rising from $4500 million to $9000 million.
For artists with larger-scale screenings, North American box office revenue only increased from $6000 million to $8500 million, and they were even surpassed by their competitors.

But the day after winning the Oscar,

The artist's box office ranking jumped from fifth to second on the first day, second only to a comedy film that had just been released three days prior.
The slum millionaires followed closely behind, taking third place.

Meanwhile, major cinema chains have been calling Sony Classic Films' distribution department frequently, requesting additional screenings, indicating that the scale of screenings will undoubtedly be increased this weekend.

In China, since Slumdog Millionaire hasn't been released yet, artists have perfectly absorbed all the Oscar buzz.

The Artist was released last week and grossed 5000 million in its opening week.

The day after the Oscars, Tuesday saw a surprising reversal, with box office takings reaching 1000 million in a single day.

It even surpassed the $125 million box office revenue in North America that day!

The original box office expectation was 100 million.

Now it's starting to move towards a box office target of 1.6 million, or even 2 million.

Gu Bei plus Xiao Li Zi,
Both of them are people with great influence and box office appeal in China.

Now, with the Oscars added to the mix, artists are absolutely dominating the off-season after the Lunar New Year movie season has ended.

This is just the beginning!
Friday, January 2th.

The artist won Best Picture,
The number of cinema chains expanded from 2466 to 3312 in one go.
This week, it raked in $2000 million at the box office, completely outperforming the new releases of the week, Street Fighter: Chun-Li and the Jonas Brothers 3D Concert.
It has once again topped the North American box office charts!

The North American box office also surpassed one hundred million US dollars!
The slum millionaires followed closely behind.

The number of cinema chains has also expanded, reaching 2943.
It also surpassed the two new films released this week, taking in $1551 million at the box office.

The North American box office also surpassed $100 million.
But the artist's box office,
He easily surpassed the millionaires in the slums.

The artist's box office success has once again shocked Hollywood.

Which movie can stay in theaters for thirteen weeks and still win the weekly box office crown again?

however,
The artist's journey doesn't stop there.
In its fourteenth week of release, the film still grossed $1200 million this week, ranking second on the box office charts, only behind the newly released Watchmen.

But its cumulative box office has exceeded $1.3 million, successfully surpassing The Curious Case of Benjamin Button!

To know,
When the Oscar nominations were announced a month ago,
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button has already grossed $1.02 million at the North American box office.
After all, it was an A-list production with a budget of $1.5 million, and it opened in 2988 theaters, which is exactly the normal screening schedule for an A-list production. The Oscars were just one part of its screening process.

At that time, the artist's North American box office was only $6000 million.
Now we're directly reversing the Heavenly Gang.

The artist began to experience a second spring.

It grossed over $100 million in North America and over $200 million worldwide, and is now heading towards $300 million.

The artist's production cost was only $2800 million, but the global box office is estimated to be at least ten times the production cost, making it another huge success!
the next day,
Leonardo called and said, "Congratulations, Bruce, you've made a fortune again!"

"Shouldn't we all make a fortune together?"

Gu Bei said with a smile.

Leonardo DiCaprio is aiming for an Oscar.
But he drastically cut his own salary.

He only received a $10 million salary plus 1000% of the box office revenue.

This meant that the film's box office revenue wasn't as high as other films produced by Rose Pictures, but Gu Bei felt that the salary was well worth it!

Not to mention that this box office is nearly 200 million US dollars more than the original film's less than 150 million US dollars.

For example, Leonardo DiCaprio doesn't receive a large share of the revenue from DVD sales and copyright fees.
With Leonardo DiCaprio's face, a 50% increase in popularity wouldn't be an exaggeration, right?

"Bruce, I regret it. I should have taken a larger share of the box office revenue!" Leonardo said with some regret.

His agent offered Gu Bei two options.

One is 1000 + 10, and the other is 500 + 30.

Gu Bei chose the first option without hesitation!
Both of these plans are based on a global box office estimate of around 5000 million.

No one could have imagined that a black-and-white silent film could gross $300 million worldwide!
This must have made Leonardo DiCaprio extremely regretful!
"Just be content!"

Gu Bei smiled faintly, "Look at the little golden statue in front of you."

Is this something that can be compared to tens of millions of dollars?

Leonardo jumped up from the sofa, looked around, and asked with a hint of fear in his voice, "How did you know the Oscar was right in front of me?"

"Hahaha! I guessed!"

Gu Bei revealed a slight smile.
I never expected that what I said casually would actually come true!

"Bruce, you really are a master of psychology!"

Leonardo sat back down on the sofa, saying somewhat helplessly, "But after winning the Oscar, I've decided to take a good rest for a while. I guess I'll have to postpone the Inception thing I promised you."

Last year, in 2008,
Leonardo worked non-stop for a whole year.

After filming The Artist, they went on to film Shutter Island, and finally Revolutionary Road.

Now that I've won the Oscar and fulfilled my wish, it's time to take a good rest!

"No need to rush. There are still many scenes in Inception that I don't know how to film yet!"

Gu Bei said lightly.

With his top-tier directing skills, it's impossible for him not to know how to film.

But... he really doesn't have any money in his pocket right now!
(End of this chapter)