New York, Fifth Avenue, Marvel Headquarters.
Isaac Perlmutter hurried towards the office building after getting out of his car; it was more of a jog than a walk.
Seeing him, the Marvel employees were terrified, shrinking back and quickly making way. Perlmutter had a bad temper to begin with, and no one dared to provoke him.
Inside the elevator, one person stood in the middle, while everyone else huddled as much as possible into the corners.
Ding!
As the elevator doors opened and the boss left, everyone else breathed a sigh of relief.
Lately, Isaac Perlmutter's temper had become even more volatile.
Many employees heard it was due to a conflict with another senior executive at the company, Avi Arad. Their relationship had been very good, and no one knew why it suddenly became tense.
Knock, knock, knock!
Pushing the door open, Isaac Perlmutter looked at his colleague standing by the window. Their relationship had been strained ever since his last conversation with Eric Cooper.
The reason was simple: Isaac Perlmutter wanted to exchange equity, but Avi Arad disagreed.
They had discussed it so many times that Isaac Perlmutter couldn't even remember the number, almost to the point of living at Avi Arad's house.
To persuade Avi Arad to exchange shares, he had already reached out to Avi Arad's family, with everyone joining in the persuasion.
After more than a month of relentless bombardment, the old fellow's stance finally softened.
"Avi, I know you see Marvel as your child, but the problem before us now is that this child is on the verge of starvation."
"Without an injection of capital, Marvel can only continue to barely survive, and we might miss out on the currently booming market."
"You don't want to mortgage intellectual property again, do you? Banks won't be sentimental with us. If a movie fails, Marvel will be doomed."
"Hand it over to MGM; at least the prospects are good. Eric Cooper's capabilities are well-known in the industry."
Isaac Perlmutter had said these words many times.
Avi Arad stood with his arms crossed, looking down from above, seeing nothing but advertisements for transformers.
Even when he went downstairs to buy a coffee, the Starbucks logo had been replaced by the Autobots.
Although no one knew the quality of the finished film, the released trailer indeed looked very exciting.
Coupled with Eric Cooper recently winning the youngest Best Screenwriter Oscar in history, everything had been proven.
He was not a rich second-generation playing around, nor was he a movie dunce, but a true genius.
With money, power, and ability, understanding how to operate and play with psychology, Marvel's superheroes might not shine as brightly in his own hands.
But in his hands, the probability of them shining brightly was at least much higher.
Moreover, besides MGM, Marvel's options were very limited now.
Sony, Fox, Universal, Warner Bros., New Line Cinema, Lionsgate, and others were all ruled out in advance because these companies held the intellectual property rights that Marvel had sold off previously.
Warner Bros. even owned all of DC.
They already had more than enough superheroes of their own to film; would they give you more money to play with?
What's more, there was Universal, which had botched the big IP of hulk, and wouldn't touch superhero themes again for several years.
With investments often exceeding hundreds of millions of dollars, small companies couldn't afford it, so Marvel's actual choices were only a handful.
Taking Avi Arad's hand and returning to the desk, Isaac Perlmutter said excitedly, "And I just got another piece of good news."
"Eric Cooper promised that the investment for the first movie would not be less than 400 million dollars, and he would hire the best director and special effects team."
"Additionally, after my mediation, he knows you have deep feelings for Marvel, so he agreed that you can retain 2% of the shares."
"And you will continue to serve as one of Marvel's executives, and you will be allowed to participate in the company's future development strategy. You haven't abandoned your child."
Upon hearing this, Avi Arad's thick beard trembled: "Are you serious?"
"Of course, it's true. These terms can be added to the contract. You're just sending your child to a better school."
Feeling a stir in his heart, Avi Arad rubbed his temples vigorously.
As a long-time partner, Isaac Perlmutter knew this was a sign of Avi Arad's inner turmoil.
He quickly added fuel to the fire: "Avi, this is truly our last chance, and time is running out."
"Look at the overwhelming publicity outside; there are only a few days left until transformers is released."
"And once the movie is released, do you know what that means?"
"What?" Avi Arad's eyes widened.
"It means MGM will officially initiate the relisting process, and the stock price of this lion will soar."
"More than a month ago, the equity share Eric Cooper promised us might be cut in half."
"Avi, you must understand one fact: Marvel will become less and less valuable, while MGM will become more and more valuable."
"If we don't seize these last few days to sign the contract, the 200 million dollars we could have gotten might only be 100 million left."
"You have feelings for Marvel, but don't let that get in the way of money, okay?"
These words were like the last straw that broke the camel's back. In any case, there were indeed no better options, and the conditions offered by MGM were the most generous among the major companies.
If he continued to insist, he wouldn't have a head on his shoulders, but a donkey's head.
"Isaac, let's do it this way, but you absolutely must not tamper with the contract. I must review it personally."
Isaac Perlmutter excitedly gave Avi Arad a bear hug, then hurried out of the office.
"I've revised the contract many times; it's in the safe. I'll show it to you now, and you can hire a lawyer."
"It would be best if we fly to Los Angeles this afternoon or tomorrow morning."
In autumn in the United States, the weather had turned cold, and passersby were putting on wool coats and leather jackets.
However, compared to the cold weather, cinemas were entering a booming period, with major film companies releasing their most anticipated works.
don't breathe only held the box office championship for one week, taking in 36 million dollars, before Disney's new film snatched the top spot.
Following last year's Treasure Planet, Mickey Mouse once again brought out a major animated film, brother bear.
It opened simultaneously in 2,511 cinemas, and it seemed Disney had recognized its position; 3D was really not its strong suit.
So this time, they returned to 2D, telling a touching story of an ancient legend.
The G rating made the film a hit across all age groups, and critics and audiences alike gave it rave reviews, allowing brother bear to directly top the box office in its opening week, raking in 41 million dollars.
But brother bear didn't keep the championship seat warm for long. In its second week, it faced challenges from MGM's legally blonde 2 and New Line Cinema's The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.
The former opened in 2,240 cinemas, bringing legally blonde 2's opening week box office to nearly 39 million dollars.
The latter was weaker, but the killer's lingering prestige and a dedicated fan base helped it secure 29 million dollars at the box office.
Compared to its less than 10 million dollar budget, it once again proved that horror films are absolutely the best choice for a small investment with big returns.
The box office of both films also surpassed brother bear's second-week 25 million dollars, and further exceeded don't breathe's third-week 13 million dollars.
At the same time, these four films accounted for 75% of the total market share, with the remaining 51 films collectively sharing 25%, fully demonstrating the brutal nature of the film market.
However, legally blonde 2's position was also not secure; the pink-clad lawyer could only claim one championship at most.
In the fourth week of October, Dimension Films entered cinemas with its golden franchise of recent years, scary movie 3.
Not only did the series' female lead Anna Faris continue to join, but Charlie Sheen was also invited to play the male lead.
Charlie Sheen, as a well-known Hollywood bad boy, you could say his character was trash, but you couldn't say he was bad at acting.
His acting skills had always been on point, making him an actor capable of adapting to both dramas and comedies.
The movie, as usual, parodied a large number of IPs, including "The Grudge," "Signs," "the matrix," "The Sixth Sense," "8 Mile," "Independence Day," "hulk," and more.
Eric and Theron even contributed two movie tickets, laughing heartily at the jokes.
However, the director of "scary movie 3" was replaced by David Zucker, as the Weinstein Brothers were poached by AK Films to direct "sharknado 2."
Thanks to the influence of its predecessors and its excellent comedic ability, "scary movie 3" successfully grossed 49.7 million USD, securing a box office championship.
In just one October, the box office battle had many companies and critics exclaiming about the excitement and unbearable pressure.
The brutal competition caused the predicted box office results from various institutions to fail, with actual figures being tens of millions of USD lower than predicted.
But where does it end?
As November began, an even more intense competition was about to unfold.
The first to enter the market was again Disney; Rob Minkoff, director of "the lion king," brought his latest masterpiece, "the haunted mansion," to three major cinema chains.
This film, with a budget of 90 million USD, similar to "pirates of the caribbean," was meant to promote the haunted mansion attraction at Disneyland.
Rob Minkoff not only directed "the lion king" but also "Stuart Little."
Years later, he also directed "the forbidden kingdom," the only collaboration film between Jet Li and Jackie Chan.
With the huge success of "pirates of the caribbean," Disney naturally had high hopes for "the haunted mansion."
Unfortunately, reality delivered a harsh blow to the big mouse, with its opening weekend box office only reaching 24 million USD.
While this would be cause for celebration for a small-budget film, for "the haunted mansion," it was completely unworthy of the film's investment and cast.
And what defeated it was Warner Bros.' ace, "the matrix 3."
"the matrix 3" chose its release date as November 5th, not a Friday, but a Wednesday.
As mentioned before, usually, those who pull such stunts are either giving up or are bold because of their exceptional skill.
In just three days, "the matrix 3" raked in 48 million USD at the box office, crushing "the haunted mansion's" week-long box office performance.
The latter's screening time was double that of the former, while the former's box office was double that of the latter.
Then New Line Cinema also re-entered the fray, bringing the fantasy comedy "elf," directed by Jon Favreau and starring Will Ferrell, on November 7th.
After a fierce week-long battle, "elf" took home 32 million USD at the box office.
"the matrix 3" continued its dominance, becoming the only film in over a month to consecutively win two weekly box office championships.
By November 14th, "don't breathe" had already finished its run in North America, with only a few countries remaining for its overseas release.
After this fierce competition, its global box office ultimately reached only 3.6 billion USD.
Although it still made a significant profit, it was the worst-performing project among those led by Eric.
"legally blonde 2" had also been in theaters for a month, with its current global box office at 1.7 billion USD, projected to cap out at 500 million USD.
Today is Friday, the traditional movie premiere day, and Miramax's "master and commander: the far side of the world" opened in 2,900 cinemas.
The film had a massive budget of 500 million USD, directed by Peter Weir, who had helmed classics like "Dead Poets Society" and "The Truman Show."
The lead actor was Russell Crowe, who won an Oscar for Best Actor two years prior for "Gladiator."
A big production paired with a big cast, everything pointed to massive box office potential, and Miramax had gone all out with its promotions.
The Weinstein Brothers hosted a premiere, inviting many industry celebrities to attend.
Regarding this film, although Eric didn't believe it could challenge "transformers," he remained vigilant out of respect.
He also disguised himself that evening and snuck into the cinema with the Olsen Sisters to watch it.
However, after buying tickets and entering the screening room, Eric felt he had worried too much.
The attendance was extremely low; out of 300 seats, only a dozen or so people were scattered throughout.
And after the movie finished, his remaining concerns were completely forgotten.
Even the Olsen Sisters said the plot was utterly boring; if they weren't with Eric, the two sisters would have left early.
In fact, less than 40 minutes into the movie, some of the original dozen or so audience members had already left.
They walked out shaking their heads and muttering, words like 'boring,' 'trash,' and 'waste of money' coming from their mouths.
Completely relieved of his worries, Eric was in high spirits and 'battled' with the two sisters until dawn before stopping.
The situation was exactly as he predicted; "master and commander: the far side of the world" only garnered over 12 million USD on its opening day.
The second day was even worse, less than 9 million USD.
The third day was cut in half, leaving only 4 million USD.
Ultimately, the most lucrative opening three days only brought in 25 million USD.
Compared to its 500 million USD investment, this figure was enough to send shivers down the spines of everyone at Miramax.
Eric could already imagine the grim face of Harvey Weinstein.
November 16th, Los Angeles, ArcLight Cinema.
MGM once again chose this location to host the premiere of "transformers."
A long red carpet stretched out from inside the cinema, extending over a hundred meters, all the way to the edge of the asphalt road.
On both sides of the cinema's main entrance, transformers such as Optimus Prime, Megatron, Bumblebee, Barricade, blackout, and Ironhide stood tall, adding immense grandeur.
Even if many people had seen one of them before, the sight of so many transformers assembled was still incredibly captivating.
From day to dusk, tens of thousands of people checked in, took photos, and shared them.
Unfortunately, tickets for the premiere had long been snatched up, so most people could only wait around to join in the excitement.
As 8 PM arrived, a cool breeze blew, and the temperature dropped considerably, yet thousands of people still gathered on both sides of the red carpet.
As a stretched Lincoln slowly pulled to a stop, Eric, leading the cast and crew, was the first to arrive.
Gadot, Chris Evans, Ryan Reynolds, the British Trio, Chloë Sevigny, and others accompanied him.
Each person held a small Transformer, specifically Frenzy, the miniature version of a Decepticon.
Initially, they maintained a group, but after a few steps, everyone split up to take photos and sign autographs with fans.
Before they were even halfway down the red carpet, the combined arrival of Johnny Depp and Hugo Mortensen sparked another fan frenzy.
"Captain Jack, Captain Jack! I love you!"
"Aragorn, Aragorn, sign my autograph, ah, don't push!"
Depp was blowing kisses to female fans when Brad Pitt arrived with his wife, Jennifer Aniston; Eric had given Rachel a lead role, so the couple naturally understood the gesture of reciprocity.
"Rachel! Pitt!"
"Rachel, I love you, marry me."
Aniston covered her mouth and laughed, "Sorry, my husband is right next to me."
"Buddy, that's not a very good suggestion," Pitt playfully replied in a timely manner.
Then came Pierce Brosnan, Cate Blanchett, Mel Gibson, Tom Hanks, Edward Norton, Jessica Alba, Keira Knightley, Hugh Jackman.
Over the past year or so, Eric had gradually built his network of contacts.
For last year's "red dragon" premiere, he still needed his father's help.
This year, just one phone call was enough; half of Hollywood would show him respect.
Even Theron, Nicole, and the Olsen Sisters attended together.
They weren't asked by Eric but insisted on coming themselves.
Eric couldn't very well tell them not to come, with love rivals present, he could only hope nothing too 'exciting' would happen.
The last to arrive were Sergei Hassenfield and Kate Winslet; they didn't enter together but one after the other.
However, seeing them both appear, Eric probably understood.
After the lively red carpet segment concluded, everyone entered for the stage portion.
This included various questions, stories, behind-the-scenes footage, and introductions of each Transformer.
As the clock struck midnight, the lights in the screening room suddenly went out.
On the big screen, after the lion roared, the Autobots officially made their appearance.