I'm just trying to ride the wave of popularity!

Chapter 378 The Final Blow!
[Warman Pictures]

The morning sunlight streamed through the window into the office.

The phone rang suddenly in Carl's office.

Carl answered the phone.

On the other end of the phone came the cold, warning voice of the Hollywood Big Seven studios' joint meeting: "Mr. Carl, if you insist on cooperating with Zhou Yang and releasing these 'random films' globally, we will terminate all IP licensing and distribution cooperation with [Warcraft Pictures]."

Carl stared at the overseas distribution agreement for "Deformed Steel Bar" on the table, lost in thought.

The Los Angeles sunrise outside the window shone on his face and reflected on the wall covered with Transformers box office figures.

On the wall, the figure of 3.67 million yuan in box office revenue for China was particularly eye-catching, while next to it were the figures for Zhou Yang's "Transformers" movie with 2 million yuan in box office revenue and four other random movies...

In China, a capital group led by Zhou Yang is besieging overseas capital and Hollywood films led by Chen Lei.

This battle was exceptionally fierce...

China is a very lucrative piece of meat, and at this moment, everyone wants to devour it, including Karl.

but……

Unlike other film companies that wanted to destroy the Chinese film industry and completely turn the Chinese market into a colony of Hollywood, Carl always believed that the Chinese film industry could not be destroyed. Even if Zhou Yang fell, there would be many more Zhou Yangs rising up. Therefore, he chose to cooperate with a better approach...

"We're just trying to survive..."

When Karl heard this, he sighed and replied quietly.

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone, followed by an even harsher threat: "You'll ruin Hollywood's reputation!"

"We've really run out of options. If you can bring back the rights to Spider-Man and other franchises that have left Marvel Studios... we can terminate our cooperation. Of course, we're willing to pay a high price to buy back these rights. We can even co-develop and co-produce them..."

"You know this is impossible..."

"Well, there's nothing I can do about it..."

"..."

The phone was hung up.

Carl rubbed his dry eyes and sighed wearily.

The former head of Marvel Studios sold off almost all of the rights to Marvel Studios' top-tier superhero movies.

These days, besides preparing for the film's release, Carl has been endlessly discussing the issue of film copyright repatriation with the seven major Hollywood studios.

Unfortunately, every sincere attempt at negotiation only resulted in repeated disappointments.

The movies that have been sold are making money for them right now, and even "Spider-Man 3" is already in preparation, with the entire market's expectations at their peak.

At this juncture, no one is willing to give up these highly sought-after opportunities...

Without the copyright, Marvel Studios is truly at its wit's end!

He could only make money by collaborating with Zhou Yang to distribute and screen these films, and then...

He glanced down at the movie on the table.

The film, titled "Iron Man," is a project that Marvel Studios has been risking everything on over the past few months, or rather, the past year.

now!

There is less than a week left until the release of "Iron Man".

Zhou Yang's intentions are very clear!

He wanted to premiere the film on the last two days of the National Day holiday to completely suppress the remaining box office potential of "Transformers" and pin it on a box office of 4 million RMB...

Carl knew perfectly well that this "Iron Man" might be Zhou Yang's most fatal blow to "Transformers".

But at this moment, Marvel Studios had no other choice. They desperately needed a masterpiece that could revitalize their business, and they were determined to win over the Chinese market.

Now, they can only place all their bets on Zhou Yang.
He picked up the phone and dialed Zhou Yang's number.

"Zhou, a Hollywood film company just called me, but I withstood the pressure and your movie will be released on the 4th..."

"Mr. Carl, thank you!"

"I hope for more screenings of 'Iron Man'..."

"We will give it the most preferential screenings, even more so than our own films!"

"Then I'll have to do it for you!"

"fine!"

..............................

The dominance of top global IPs is always astonishing!

10 month 4 day.

Transformers premiered simultaneously in 28 countries worldwide, raking in $9000 million at the box office on its opening day, with over $5000 million coming from North America.

Zhou Yang's "Abstract Legion" followed suit and landed overseas. Films such as "Deformed Steel Bar" and "Universal Electric Man", distributed by [Warcraft Pictures], entered the global market at an astonishingly low price of $3.

Although these lowbrow sci-fi films failed to replicate the explosive success of the Chinese market due to market factors and limited influence, they still generated considerable buzz in specific markets…

"Reinforced Steel" grossed $320 million in Southeast Asia, while "Transformer Metal: My Girlfriend is a Robot" earned a respectable $400 million in Japan, South Korea, and other regions.

"Universe Electric Man" and other films performed poorly at the box office, accumulating a total of $180 million in North American Chinese communities.

Although these box office figures are far less than a fraction of Transformers', Zhou Yang's unique "abstract aesthetics" still partially diminished the influence of Transformers...

On social media in parts of the world, comparative discussions about these films have gradually emerged, and some netizens who love to use memes have begun to create their own derivative works, which have also garnered considerable attention...

Although these sparks of cultural transmission are not yet strong, they have already quietly spread...

Paimon Pictures Office.

Mark stared at the newly delivered global box office report and closed his eyes.

The $9000 million global box office for "Transformers" on its opening day barely met expectations, but when he turned to the breakdown of the Chinese market, his brows furrowed sharply...

After Transformers surpassed 3.67 million yuan, its daily box office remained around 10 million yuan. However, the release of Transformers: Hemorrhoid Warrior on October 2nd pushed Transformers' daily box office down to 9 million yuan...

The movie *Transformers: Hemorrhoid Warrior* tells the story of a terminally ill human who joins a super-soldier experiment. He eventually mutates, achieving a delicate balance between cancerous cells and regenerating cells throughout his body, and his hemorrhoids mutate into a "weapon"...

After its release in China, the film received only lukewarm reviews, far less than other films that generated much discussion, and its opening weekend box office was also mediocre, at only around 400 million RMB.

However, it was precisely this 4 million that prevented Transformers from breaking the 400 million mark!

At this moment, Transformers, which is currently valued at around 3.9 million RMB, seems to be stuck at the 4 million RMB threshold in China, like a trapped beast stuck in the mud, unable to break free.

The Los Angeles sunset outside the window stained the report blood-red.
He stared at the overseas box office figures for Zhou Yang's "abstract films": 320 million, 400 million...

The numbers may be small, but they are extremely glaring.

Hollywood capital originally hoped that the top IP "Transformers" could crush the domestic film market represented by Zhou Yang.

However, it now appears to have failed...

The office door opened.

The secretary walked in with the latest data.

"Iron Man" is confirmed for release on April 5th. Zhou Yang's theater alliance has already reduced Transformers' screenings to less than 10%... basically all in the early morning slots, seemingly just to comply with the official regulations on screenings..."

"With China's cinema market accounting for about 60%, at this moment, we can only increase our box office revenue by about 16%..."

After his secretary finished reporting on the situation in the Chinese market, Mark nodded and asked, "Can 'Transformers' break 4.5 million in China?"

4.5 million is the film record set by "The Demon Knight" in China!

At this moment, Mark only hopes that this film can break that record, at least to give Hollywood films their own dignity...

The secretary flipped through the analysis report: "If 'Iron Man' flops at the box office, there's still a high possibility, but..."

"But what?"

"If 'Iron Man' is a success, then the Transformers' journey in China will most likely come to an unsatisfactory end..."

"..."

Mark lowered his head.

Looking at the documents handed to him by his secretary.

That's information from "Iron Man".

Mark stared at the Iron Man comic book information, his brow furrowed.

This second-tier superhero has always been lukewarm in the Marvel Universe, and is even jokingly referred to by fans as "Tin Can".

But Zhou Yang's marketing genius and his influence in the Chinese market made him uneasy.

Those once-despised, lowbrow movies can create a whirlwind; what if this project, a gamble by Marvel Studios, suddenly becomes a smash hit…?

He slammed the document shut.

Then, I dialed the number for [Warman Pictures].

There are only two days left until the film's release.

If we can get [Various Marvel Studios] to withdraw from the release at this point, then there will still be a chance.

Finally, after a brief hesitation...

Mark called a senior executive at Marvel Studios, trying to persuade them to pull Iron Man from the release schedule on the grounds of "the overall interests of Hollywood".

He proposed that the seven major film studios could coordinate to temporarily suspend the copyright suppression of [Warriors Comics], and even promised to jointly develop projects in the future.

However, Mark from Marvel Comics coldly retorted, "I want concrete information! Not empty promises!"

After hanging up, Mark urgently convened a meeting with senior executives from Universal, Warner, and other companies to discuss and propose that some characters be allowed to return to Marvel Comics through a "temporary authorization" to help Marvel Comics overcome its difficulties.

However, Warner Bros. representatives remained adamant: "It is absolutely impossible for Spider-Man and Batman to appear in the same movie!"

Universal Pictures, however, sneered and mocked, "It would be more cost-effective to acquire Marvel when it goes bankrupt again..."

Ultimately, the meeting ended in a heated argument and acrimony.

Although it is crucial to safeguard the common interests of Hollywood...

But to sacrifice the core interests of each company, to hand over these copyrights that are generating huge profits, in exchange for a vague and uncertain future for the industry...

So……

No one will be willing to compromise unless an equivalent exchange that can make up for the loss is offered!

and……

Even a movie like "Catwoman" suffered a box office failure!

They simply couldn't believe it...

The movie adaptation of Iron Man, a second-tier comic book, can be a hit...

(End of this chapter)