While Simon was accompanying Irene on Martha's Vineyard on the East Coast, on the West Coast in Los Angeles, a grand party was underway at the hillside mansion in Palisades, where Malibu meets Santa Monica. The party, hosted by Daenerys Entertainment, celebrated the box office success of Annabelle, which had crossed the $100 million mark, as well as the solidification of the Conjuring Universe. The main crew of Boogie Nights, another recent box office hit, and many other prominent Hollywood figures associated with Daenerys Entertainment were also invited. It was a major end-of-year gathering for networking and celebrating.
First, a brief overview of the current state of the film market.
Today was November 15, 1996, the official start of the Thanksgiving movie season.
In the previous box office week, November 8 to November 14, Annabelle, in its third week, brought in an additional $27.29 million with only a 21% drop, bringing its cumulative box office to $109.2 million. This new chapter in the Conjuring Universe not only entered the $100 million club with ease but also showed strong potential to become the first film in the franchise to cross $150 million domestically.
Meanwhile, Boogie Nights, produced by Daenerys Entertainment's Highgate Pictures, grossed $6.69 million in its fourth week, a 24% drop, bringing its total to $35.49 million. The film had recouped its $20 million production and marketing costs and entered profitability.
In stark contrast to the success of Daenerys Entertainment's two films was the immense pressure and anxiety felt by other Hollywood studios during this year-end movie season.
This pressure stemmed mainly from three films: Wonder Woman 2, set to release on November 22, and Jumanji and Charlie's Angels, both slated for the Christmas season.
These three films were massive blockbusters.
Wonder Woman 2, the first DC Extended Universe (DCEU) film since Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, which grossed a staggering $1.938 billion globally last year, was projected by the industry to earn at least $400 million domestically.
Jumanji and Charlie's Angels were equally formidable. The former, a special effects-heavy film featuring Sylvester Stallone, and the latter, a spy thriller tied to the 007 franchise with aspirations to launch its own espionage cinematic universe, were both expected to gross at least $200 million domestically—assuming their reception wasn't disastrous.
Together, these three heavyweights effectively monopolized the Thanksgiving and Christmas box office, collectively locking in around $800 million in revenue, leaving other studios scrambling for crumbs.
In fact, Hollywood had been preparing for this scenario since last year when the release dates of these films were announced. Many studios had proactively reduced or postponed their projects to avoid direct competition.
Sony Pictures, unable to withstand the pressure, pushed back the release of its $80 million crime drama Ransom, directed by Ron Howard and starring Mel Gibson, from Thanksgiving 1996 to the summer of 1997. Officially, Sony cited the need for more post-production time, but given that Ransom was a straightforward action-thriller with little reliance on special effects, this reasoning was widely seen as an excuse.
The move sparked considerable discussion and inevitably cast a shadow over the film's prospects.
Sony had no choice but to act.
Additionally, Sony rescheduled its Christmas release The Mirror Has Two Faces, a Barbara Streisand project, moving it up to November 8, the week before Thanksgiving, in an attempt to secure a more favorable window.
The first week's box office for The Mirror Has Two Faces (November 8–14) had already passed. Directed and starring Streisand, the psychological drama grossed $16.08 million across 2,489 screens, with an average per-theater gross barely surpassing $6,000. With a $42 million production budget, the film was projected to earn just $40 million domestically, making it a box office disappointment.
Nevertheless, industry analysts commended Sony's decision as a relatively smart move.
Had The Mirror Has Two Faces kept its Christmas release date, it would have been obliterated by the slew of blockbusters premiering during the holiday season. In that case, even $40 million in domestic box office would have been a pipe dream, and the film's failure in theaters would have significantly hindered its downstream revenue potential.
Now, as Thanksgiving weekend approached, the box office battleground was heating up. The week prior to Wonder Woman 2's release featured two major contenders: Warner Bros.' Space Jam and Paramount's Star Trek: First Contact.
The Star Trek franchise hardly needed an introduction. A rare evergreen in Hollywood sci-fi, the new installment had a production budget of $45 million.
Space Jam, on the other hand, was a live-action/animation hybrid in the vein of Disney's Who Framed Roger Rabbit. Warner Bros. enlisted its iconic cartoon character Bugs Bunny and legendary basketball star Michael Jordan, spending $80 million on the project with ambitious expectations.
Unfortunately, no amount of ambition could alter the fact that Wonder Woman 2 loomed on the horizon. Even during the week of November 15–21, competition for audience attention was stiff. On November 18, the fifth annual Victoria's Secret Fashion Show would air on TV, followed by the season finale of the fall edition of American Idol on November 19 and November 21. These two cultural phenomena, though airing on weekdays, were expected to siphon a significant portion of the audience during the first box office week of Thanksgiving.
Had Ransom not vacated its spot, Space Jam might have been tempted to flee as well.
Then again, with next summer and holiday seasons already packed with blockbusters like Twister, Independence Day, and Titanic, there weren't many viable alternatives. Pushing releases into 1998 wasn't feasible either.
Ultimately, the root of the problem was Daenerys Entertainment's overwhelming dominance. Hollywood was a finite ecosystem; with Daenerys claiming such a large share, other studios' survival space continued to shrink. To avoid their projects becoming perpetual flops, studios were increasingly forced to scale back production, leading to a vicious cycle of declining strength and influence.
At the party in the Palisades mansion, the heads of talent agencies WMA and CAA found themselves discussing this very issue.
Michael Ovitz, once a prominent figure in the 1980s, couldn't hide his amazement. "If things keep going this way, in five years, the notion of the 'Big Seven' will be a thing of the past. By then, it'll just be Daenerys Entertainment reigning supreme, with maybe two or three second-tier studios combined unable to match its power. The rest will just be names—brands with no real clout."
Jonathan Friedman, no longer the adversary he once was, nodded slightly. "Who do you think will survive?"
"Warner, obviously. Backed by GE and with the DCEU in its arsenal, it's the safest bet. MGM, even if it builds out the Spy Universe, might only count as half. As for the remaining spots, it depends on who among Fox, Disney, Paramount, and Sony has the stamina—and, of course, Simon's attitude."
"Given News Corp's position, I'd bet on Fox being one of them."
"Not necessarily," Ovitz countered. "News Corp is News Corp, and Fox is Fox. Simon might maintain good relations with News Corp, but Rupert Murdoch himself doesn't seem all that invested in Fox. He prefers television to the uncertainties of the film business. Speaking of which, I recently talked to Eisner about this. He thinks Disney's in the most precarious position, having fallen into French hands."
Friedman agreed. "Simon doesn't seem to like the French much. But Disney's theme parks might interest him."
"That's a given. So Disney as a brand will survive, like Universal Studios. And given Daenerys Entertainment's current strength, it could easily absorb Disney," Ovitz said, sighing. "Ten years to achieve all this—it's unbelievable."
Friedman chuckled nostalgically. "Every time I think back to the ambitious young man I first met, I feel like all of this was inevitable."
"It's a shame I didn't sign him back then. If I had, WMA would've crushed you completely."
"To be honest, WMA was in such bad shape at the time I almost considered jumping ship to join you. Then Simon came along."
The two men exchanged knowing smiles and clinked their champagne glasses under the soft lighting of the cliffside lawn.
Friedman then asked, "By the way, how's LinkedIn coming along? You and Eisner are the ones running it, right?"
Ovitz replied, "The IPO process has started. If all goes well, it'll go public in January next year. I just hope we can make it in time."
Friedman understood Ovitz's concern and nodded in agreement. "The Nasdaq is out of control right now. I sold all my tech stocks before the election and made a decent profit. But I'm planning to buy back shares of the Big Three as a long-term investment—I have absolute faith in Simon."
"I sold mine even earlier, in early October. My wife's been complaining ever since, saying I sold too soon and should buy more."
"Never take investment advice from your wife."
"Of course," Ovitz laughed. "To avoid temptation, I put everything into a two-year closed-end fund."
"Haha, I think I might need that too
. Can you send me some information?"
"I'll have my assistant send it to you tomorrow."
Their conversation was interrupted as Amy Pascal, six months pregnant, arrived arm-in-arm with her husband, Bernard Weinraub. Both men immediately stepped forward to greet her.
"Good evening, Amy. Bernard."
"Good evening, Jonathan."
After exchanging pleasantries, Ovitz gently embraced Amy, careful of her condition, and asked, "Do you know if it's a boy or a girl yet?"
"It's a boy. We're planning to name him Daniel."
"Oh, congratulations."
"Thank you."
After some small talk, Friedman brought up a hot topic in Hollywood. "Amy, I heard Titanic is having some trouble down in Australia?"
Amy sighed. "Yes, Tom has flown to Brisbane to personally oversee things. Hopefully, if nothing goes wrong, we'll wrap shooting next month."
Ovitz asked curiously, "What does Simon think? I remember he went to Australia last month on vacation."
Amy didn't know how to describe her boss's attitude. Reflecting on the whole project, she felt Simon had deliberately allowed James Cameron's excesses, as if testing limits. By now, the production wouldn't finish without a $200 million budget. Of course, this wasn't something she could openly discuss. Instead, she simply said, "Simon is keeping an eye on it like the rest of us. It's been quite a headache."
Friedman offered reassurance. "A project like this now and then is nothing to worry about. That's just how Hollywood works. You should focus on resting and taking care of the baby."
"Thanks, Jonathan. You're so thoughtful."
As the men continued their conversation, Amy excused herself, making her way over to congratulate the team from Annabelle.
Despite her pregnancy, Amy was as busy as ever. She still had to navigate the room, greeting and mingling with other guests.
Among the crowd, Linda Vargas, Simon Westeros' casting director, was making her own rounds. Spotting her target, she approached a group of chatting guests. The group immediately quieted and greeted her enthusiastically.
Linda nodded politely at the others before gesturing for a young girl and her agent to step aside.
The agent, Scott Lambert, was a mid-tier WMA representative whose most notable clients included veteran actor Donald Sutherland and his son, Kiefer Sutherland. Among his younger talents was the 12-year-old girl standing next to him, who had recently appeared in Annabelle. Her name was Scarlett Johansson.
______
(≧◡≦) ♡ Support me and read 20 chapters ahead – patreon.com/INNIT
For every 50 Power Stones, one extra chapter will be released on Saturday.