When Gilbert was on his world tour, he once visited Dubai and had a conversation with Prince Abdul of the Dubai royal family.
Prince Abdul expressed his desire to enter Hollywood, and Gilbert told him back then to wait for an opportunity and consider acquiring MGM. Now, that opportunity had arrived.
As MGM found itself in dire straits, Prince Abdul's Kingdom Investment Group made a high-profile announcement that it would launch a bid to acquire MGM.
The news sent shockwaves through Hollywood.
Everyone knew that the wealthy tycoons of the Middle East had deep pockets. If the Kingdom Investment Group took over MGM, it would mean MGM had a chance at resurrection.
This news had a positive effect MGM's falling stock price came to a halt and even began to rise. But at the same time, it also made acquiring MGM more difficult.
Prince Abdul's high-profile move was actually a way to test the waters.
As is well known, Hollywood is inseparable from powerful media conglomerates, and in today's Western world, most of the media power is in the hands of the Squid.
The Squid are highly sensitive to the frontlines of public opinion, and nearly every media company has Squid influence within it.
Unfortunately for Abdul, the Kingdom Investment Group is an Arab consortium, and due to historical reasons, Arabs and the Squid often have underlying tensions.
Although things are relatively smooth in Dubai, an Arab consortium trying to enter Hollywood still needed to test the reaction of the Squid factions within Hollywood.
At the core, though, it all boiled down to interests.
The executives at MGM knew full well that they desperately needed the Kingdom Investment Group to save them.
Despite opposition from several Squid-descended senior executives inside MGM, the company still sent representatives to Dubai to engage with the Kingdom Investment Group.
Far away in Saint Vincent Island in the Caribbean, where he was shooting a film, Gilbert received the news early in the morning two pieces of news, in fact. The first was from Prince Abdul.
He hoped Gilbert could assist him in the matter of acquiring MGM.
The other was from a certain Squid club in Hollywood, hoping Gilbert would unite with Warner and Disney to block the Kingdom Investment Group from entering Hollywood.
Faced with two completely contradictory requests, Gilbert adopted different strategies.
First, in response to Prince Abdul, Gilbert advised him to reach out to Michael Ovitz.
In fact, Gilbert had already told Prince Abdul before that only Michael Ovitz could pull off such a massive deal.
For reference, just look at Sony's acquisition of Columbia Pictures and Panasonic's acquisition of Universal Pictures Michael Ovitz played a huge role in both.
This move from Gilbert was all about avoiding responsibility. In case Prince Abdul succeeded in acquiring MGM and the Squid forces in Hollywood came looking for someone to blame.
Although the idea came from Gilbert, the actual execution had nothing to do with him he could always say he was joking.
As for the Squid factions in Hollywood hoping he would block the Kingdom Investment Group, Gilbert simply said three words: "Antitrust regulation."
There was no doubt that Gilbert was now a leading figure among Hollywood's Squid powers.
With Spielberg and George Lucas aging, Gilbert had unquestionably become the top figure, with most of the Squid factions rallying around him.
However, even without Gilbert, the Squid powers in Hollywood were deeply rooted and capable of blocking the Kingdom Investment Group.
But the current issue was that the Kingdom Investment Group had no shortage of money, while MGM was in desperate need of a financial lifeline.
If MGM's stance wasn't changed if no one gave them the money they needed to survive and a path for future growth MGM would definitely lean toward the Kingdom Investment Group.
This was the crux of the issue. If it wasn't resolved, MGM would inevitably fall into the hands of the Kingdom Group, unless Washington passed some kind of new legislation.
But honestly, while the Squid lobbying groups were powerful, Washington had been working to strengthen ties with Dubai in recent years, and it was unlikely they'd be swayed by the lobbying.
After all, it was just a near-bankrupt film company. As a giant, MGM had long since lost its luster, and even if the Kingdom Investment Group took over, the road ahead would be full of obstacles.
Most people didn't believe the Kingdom Investment Group could actually revive MGM.
Thus, while a small group of people was anxious, most parties tacitly chose not to oppose the move. Under these conditions, the Kingdom Investment Group officially launched its acquisition offer with an initial bid of $6.3 billion.
To be honest, although MGM's brand value had greatly declined, this several billion wasn't enough to fully acquire MGM.
This acquisition battle was likely to drag on for years before any agreement would be reached.
For MGM, at least it managed to preserve its name for now and avoid filing for bankruptcy.
At the year-end press conference, the president of MGM confidently announced several film investment and production plans for the coming year, in an effort to raise the company's value.
However, this impatient approach drew sharp criticism from many industry professionals.
Many insiders felt MGM would be wiser to sit tight and wait for the acquisition to resolve itself. The more they attempt now, the more they risk failure and another hit to their brand reputation.
This high-profile bid carries many complexities and factors that will shape its final outcome.
Now, shifting focus to the North American and global box office:
"The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" ultimately failed to surpass "Titanic." After holding strong until the Oscar nominations were announced on January 26, 2003, it left North American theaters.
North American box office ended at $618 million, ranking second in North American film history.
Globally, the film continued to show in a few smaller markets, some newly added. That's normal films often roll out to new international markets even a year after their North American release.
However, these markets are relatively small and typically acquired via buyouts: local distributors pay a flat fee and then screen the film in their territory.
Worldwide, "Return of the King" grossed $1.802 billion, but again did not eclipse "Titanic's" global total, making it the second‑highest grossing film ever.
That said, the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy set a new standard for blockbuster filmmaking. "Return of the King" received 13 Oscar nominations even more than "Titanic" did.
Box office alone couldn't beat "Titanic," but in Oscar recognition, it outperformed. It also did well in awards wins, marking a win for its artistry.
Experts pointed out several reasons why it couldn't surpass Titanic, such as differences in audience demographics and fandom intensity. While disappointing to some, they note that market forces are beyond any individual's control.
Still, the performance was satisfying to investors. Being the highest‑grossing trilogy of all time, the Tolkien franchise generated enormous ancillary profits from merchandising, DVD sales, licensing, and more.
In terms of total profitability, the "Lord of the Rings" franchise comprehensively outperformed "Titanic."
Meanwhile, Gilbert's other film, "Flipped," officially crossed $100 million at the global box office not a blockbuster, but respectable. Starring Scarlett, it's her first solid commercial success.
Previously, her films were mostly niche art‑house fare, where she played girl‑next‑door roles. Only when she appeared in supporting roles in Gilbert's movies did box office results improve significantly.
Yet, the film dominating year‑end headlines wasn't "Flipped." Although the media suggested it marked the beginning of Gilbert's decline,all eyes were on "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets."
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