Although it is still May, Los Angeles is already entering summer.
Although not as hot as New York, the urban heat island effect of Los Angeles still makes the city swelter with heat waves that are hard to avoid early in the morning.
But no matter how hot the city is, it can't be as hot as the conference room on the top floor of the Fox Building in Century City, Beverly Hills.
Jim Gianopulos, the current chairman and CEO of Fox, was furious at the moment, and he threw office supplies all over the floor, but this did not vent his anger.
Although the air conditioner was on in the conference room, no one present felt cool. Everyone had a frown on their face and looked as if they were attending a funeral.
At this time, the latest entertainment information was being broadcast on the office TV news channel, but this news was really not good news for everyone.
"We just received news that the movie UBW, produced and distributed by Washimine Entertainment and directed by Japanese director Nanaya Kiryu, ignited this year's summer box office as soon as it was released."
On the screen, a beautiful host was reading her speech to the audience with a smile on her face.
"Since its premiere last Thursday, the film has been on a tear, not only winning the weekly box office championship, but also surpassing Ice Age 2, which has the best opening performance so far this year, to become the first-week box office champion this year. With the current box office trend, it is only a matter of time before it surpasses Ice Age 2 to become this year's box office champion..."
It's no surprise that UBW won the weekly box office championship. As the sequel to last year's hit movie, it would be too bad if it couldn't even win the first week box office championship.
What really made everyone look unhappy was the sentence "It's better than Ice Age 2".
The distributor of this 3D animated film produced by Blue Sky Studios is 20th Century Fox.
Although everyone present knew very well that although "Ice Age 2" had temporarily ranked first on the box office list, with a North American box office of less than 200 million US dollars, it was only a matter of time before it was kicked off.
But nothing can be more infuriating than having your opponent be the person you hate the most.
If given a choice, everyone at Fox would rather be surpassed by rivals like Warner or Disney, but the reality is that they don't have that choice.
Jim Gianopulos is not among the oldest executives at Hollywood studios.
But in just one weekend, he looked ten years older.
His originally well-maintained face was now covered with wrinkles. Combined with his extremely dark complexion, people would have believed that he was an 80-year-old man.
"How can a hodgepodge of a movie surpass our Ice Age 2?!"
Jim Ganopoulos's roar could be heard throughout the floor.
The other Fox executives present couldn't help but shrink their necks. They knew the reason, but none of them dared to say it.
It is normal for a special effects popcorn movie like UBW to surpass an animated film like Ice Age 2. After all, the audiences of the two are not on the same level.
After working in Hollywood for so many years, Jim Ganopoulos certainly knows that he is a bit unreasonable, but he doesn't care at all.
What Jim was doing now was letting out his emotions, releasing the pent-up anger in his heart.
Few people know that this CEO, who seems to have the final say at 20th Century Fox, has not had a good time recently.
Since last year's "Kingdom of Heaven," most of Fox's movies have ended with violent deaths.
If it weren't for the huge box office success of "Star Wars Episode 3" which won the annual box office championship, and the huge profit of "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" which became famous due to the scandal between the male and female protagonists, Fox would probably have become the six major Hollywood studios with the most losses last year.
But each family knows its own business. Although Fox made a lot of profit at the box office from "Star Wars Episode 3", it also gave a lot of money to Lucasfilm.
More importantly, Fox only has the distribution rights for "Star Wars" movies, and the most profitable profits from "Star Wars" peripheral products are in the hands of Lucasfilm itself.
Although the movie "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" became a box office hit thanks to the cheating scandal between the male and female protagonists during filming, the quality of the movie was poor and its offline revenue was mediocre.
It can be said that all the money Fox earned last year was used to pay for the losses of Kingdom of Heaven.
This year's "Ice Age 2" is off to a good start, and "The Devil Wears Prada" also did well at the box office, but Fox still has a heavy burden this year.
Only Jim himself knows how much pressure he is under now.
You have to know that he can sit in this position with the support of Murdoch's News Corporation, but because of last year's poor performance, the media emperor has begun to express dissatisfaction with himself.
If Fox fails to produce a good report this year, he will be sent by that adult to the printing room to manage the printer.
What Jim Ganopoulos needs now is to make Fox Movies continue to be successful. Only in this way can he prove his worth and continue to sit in his current position.
Fox has three major film projects this year. In addition to the already released "Ice Age 2", there are two other big productions, "X-Men 3" and "Night at the Museum".
This is also the reason why Fox is unhappy with UBW, because its release date is too close to "X-Men 3".
In addition, as the two films are big-budget special effects movies, their audiences overlap significantly, making it easy for them to compete for box office revenue.
This is also why Fox does not allow UBW to advertise on its own platform. Compared with the advertising fees it earns, UBW may take away more box office revenue.
Not to mention the feud between Fox and Washimine that started last year.
It can be said that the movie UBW is a collection of new and old grudges for Fox.
But the current situation can be said to be developing in the direction that Fox executives least want to see.
"Washimine... Kiryu Nanaya... I will never coexist with you!!"
Staring at the TV screen, Jim Ganopoulos let out a low growl.
Compared to the Fox office which was filled with grief, Washimine's office seemed much more relaxed.
At least everyone was watching the news with a smile.
"As a newcomer in Hollywood, Washimine Entertainment's two films, "Fate Stay Night", have laid a solid foundation for the company's future development. We have reason to believe that the Fate series will become a new popular IP in Hollywood. Saber will also become a classic screen image like Captain Jack and Darth Vader."
The hostess' words made Nanaya feel very refreshed. He opened a can of ice cola and took a big gulp.
"Ah~~ I love to hear that."
Nanaya lay on the chair, crossed his legs and said proudly: "A classic screen image... Well, we can successfully launch Saber Lily, Saber Alter, Saber X, Saber Lancer in the future..."
"Are you planning on letting Lily form her own soccer team?"
Shion asked angrily and amusedly.
Nanaya raised an eyebrow: "I plan to let her fight a Holy Grail War on her own."
At this time, the announcer read out the box office data, which made Shion shut her mouth awkwardly and just waved her pink fist at Nanaya.
Although she knew the box office results of the UBW premiere at the first time, it was still a different feeling to hear these data read out by the news anchor.
You can diss Nanaya anytime, but the only time to show off in the news is now.
"After its premiere on Thursday, the film began to be released in 4,319 theaters in North America. UBW lived up to expectations, not only earning $47.1 million in the first day box office, but also gaining excellent audience and media reputation.
"With this advantage, UBW achieved an upward trend in box office revenue on Saturday, earning $52.35 million, plus $44.26 million on Sunday...
The announcer paused for a moment and then announced the total box office results: "UBW's first weekend box office reached 143.71 million US dollars. It not only won the weekly box office championship, but also became the first movie this year to have a box office of over 100 million in the first weekend."
"Roar!"
Nanaya held up the Coke and screamed. If he hadn't considered the impact, he would have just thrown the drink in his hand away as if it were water.
Most people might think he was excited about UBW's nearly $150 million opening weekend box office performance.
But in fact, there is more than that. Nanaya also knows that the original box office champion in 2006, "Pirates of the Caribbean 2", had a box office performance of 135 million US dollars in its first weekend.
In other words, as long as UBW's box office curve continues to move normally, it will secure the title of the annual box office champion.
"Hehe! Good job."
Shion's chest was heaving with excitement, but she still pretended to be calm and gave a compliment.
"Don't you even look at who I am~"
Nanaya crossed his legs and laughed.
"I know that your Master Kiryu is powerful, okay~"
Shion went around behind Nanaya and put her hands on his shoulders, massaging them gently.
"Are you comfortable?"
Shion said softly in a coquettish voice.
"Um..."
Nanaya hesitated twice.
Although Shion's technique was far inferior to that of a purple-haired female passerby, it was something to be proud of to have the big boss Washimine give her a massage.
"I said~"
"Um?"
"Do you want to get one step closer~"
Shion blew softly into Nanaya's ear.
Nanaya shuddered suddenly and jumped up from his chair as if he had been electrocuted.
"Fuck, you're doing this again!" Nanaya covered his ears and shouted, "I've told you so many times that I'm ticklish, and you still do it!"
"Pooh."
Shion crossed her arms and spat at Nanaya, "You're a coward who has the will but not the guts to do something."