In recent years, Apple Inc. has remained strong, and old operating systems like Unix still occupy a significant portion of the market share.
Therefore, apart from the focus on new technology fields and the rise in stock prices, Westeros Company's increased stake in Microsoft by 10% did not cause too strong a reaction; most people could not see Microsoft's potential to become a game-changing tech giant.
With this matter settled, Simon's attention returned to Hollywood.
Another week of December quietly passed.
From December 8th to December 14th, in its fourth week of release, 'Look Who's Talking' earned another $16.93 million with a 22% drop, bringing its cumulative box office to $101.25 million, officially breaking the $100 million mark and becoming the first film of the year-end season to do so.
With the upcoming popular Christmas season, although heavyweight films like 'Batman Begins' and 'The Rocketeer' are about to be released, 'Look Who's Talking', a family comedy that perfectly fits the holiday atmosphere, still has strong box office potential.
The industry originally expected the film's North American box office to be between $150 million and $170 million. When this week's box office data was released, both the film's production and distribution companies and external box office tracking agencies confirmed that 'Look Who's Talking's North American box office projection would reach $170 million or even higher.
In Simon's memory, the North American box office for the original 'Look Who's Talking' was only around $140 million.
However, the original 'Look Who's Talking' was released in the unpopular mid-October slot, a far less favourable period than Thanksgiving. The cast's star power also couldn't compare to a film starring Mel Gibson, and it lacked the strong joint promotion from Daenerys and Warner Bros. Therefore, the new version exceeding the original by $30 million in box office revenue is entirely reasonable.
With 'Look Who's Talking' breaking $100 million at the box office, Daenerys Entertainment's contract with Warner Bros. for a film to gross over $100 million, in exchange for the rights to 'Wonder Woman' and 'The Bourne Identity', was now fulfilled.
Normally, developing a sequel for a film that can break $170 million at the North American box office is inevitable. According to the original contract, Warner Bros. had no right to participate in the production of a 'Look Who's Talking' sequel, so the sequel's production would be entirely under Daenerys Entertainment's control.
Amy was very keen on producing a sequel to 'Look Who's Talking', but Simon was not as enthusiastic.
This comedy, which relied on the gimmick of a talking baby, would be difficult to innovate in a sequel. In his memory, the two sequels to 'Look Who's Talking' saw their box office performance cut in half, and Simon didn't think this time would be much different.
Moreover, having starred in two blockbuster films that grossed over $100 million in a single year, Mel Gibson's asking price had further soared. For the 'Lethal Weapon 3' project being discussed with Warner, Mel Gibson directly demanded an $8 million upfront salary plus 20% of the net profit share.
'Look Who's Talking' is expected to gross even higher than 'Lethal Weapon 3' from the summer. If a sequel were to be developed, Mel Gibson's asking price would certainly be no lower than for 'Lethal Weapon 3'.
Although the first film laid the groundwork, producing a sequel to 'Look Who's Talking' would certainly still make some money. However, if production were to begin, the sequel would definitely occupy a prime slot next year, and with other better options available, this potential time cost was not something Simon was willing to accept.
Therefore, until there are better ideas that surpass the original, Simon does not plan to easily approve the production of a 'Look Who's Talking' sequel.
Outside of 'Look Who's Talking', 'Scream 2' saw a 21% drop in box office this week, taking in another $5.11 million, bringing its cumulative box office to $98.17 million, expected to break $100 million next week.
However, with its weekly box office dropping below $5 million next week, and under the onslaught of heavyweight films like 'Batman Begins', it will be very difficult for this teen horror film to exceed $110 million in total North American box office.
'The House Of Gucci' entered its third week of release, with its box office drop still maintaining a very respectable 19%, taking in another $6.39 million. In three weeks, its cumulative box office reached $23.86 million.
Gucci has already invested all its anticipated profits into the film's promotion and distribution. However, according to Daenerys Entertainment's investment, with box office revenue exceeding $20 million, the company has already started to generate decent profits.
Encouraged by the success of 'The House Of Gucci', other well-known luxury brands and Hollywood studios have begun to contact each other, attempting to replicate 'The House Of Gucci's success in brand marketing and box office. Daenerys Entertainment also officially signed with Madonna, publicly announcing the project for Madonna's global concert tour documentary next year.
Finally, 'Driving Miss Daisy' debuted in its first week, earning over $23,000 per screen from 32 screens, thanks to excellent media reviews, with a first-week box office of $750,000.
This film, adapted from a famous stage play and addressing racial issues, had a production budget of only $7 million. Its small-scale opening in its first week, earning $750,000, clearly indicates promising box office prospects.
Immediately following, on December 16th, the day after the previous week's box office data was released, the nominations for the new Golden Globe Awards for American Film and Television were officially announced.
Daenerys Entertainment's two films produced by Highgate Film, 'My Left Foot' and 'Driving Miss Daisy', collectively received 5 major nominations.
Among them, 'My Left Foot' received two nominations: Best Actor in a Drama and Best Supporting Actress. 'Driving Miss Daisy' received nominations for Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy, Best Actor - Musical or Comedy, and Best Actress - Musical or Comedy.
Speaking of which, the summer blockbuster 'The Sixth Sense' was also very qualified to be included in the Golden Globe nomination list. If the film were submitted, nominations for Best Motion Picture - Drama, Best Screenplay, Best Actor, and Best Supporting Actor would all be highly possible.
However, due to the controversy surrounding the film's screenplay, and in consideration of making way for 'My Left Foot' and 'Driving Miss Daisy', Daenerys Entertainment voluntarily abandoned the idea of submitting the film for nominations.
It must be mentioned that 'The Sixth Sense' was pulled from theatres on December 7th. This phenomenal horror film was in North American cinemas for a cumulative 23 weeks, with a total North American box office of $295.38 million, unfortunately failing to break the $300 million mark.
Because the weekly box office in the last few weeks was only two or three hundred thousand dollars, it was no longer possible for 'The Sixth Sense's box office to rebound and break $300 million, unless tickets were directly bought by Daenerys. Daenerys Entertainment therefore did not feel the need to push for this 'honour'.
With over $290 million in box office, it already ranks as the champion of this year's box office list, and most media outlets tend to believe that no other film will surpass 'The Sixth Sense's box office by the end of the year.
Moreover, whether or not it could break $300 million, Daenerys Entertainment has already made a huge profit, and various parties would not in the slightest disparage the film just because 'The Sixth Sense' failed to break the $300 million mark.
New York.
Inside Simon's apartment on Fifth Avenue, Upper East Side, Manhattan.
The date is Monday, December 18th, 1989.
Simon and Janette arrived here last Friday, primarily to record an episode of 'The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson' to promote 'Batman Begins'.
Due to some social engagements, the two did not return to the West Coast over the weekend.
Last night, they attended a reception for New York's newly elected mayor, David Dinkins. David Dinkins successfully defeated Rudy Giuliani in the New York mayoral election in November.
The final stage of the election coincided with the small stock market crash in October. David Dinkins' campaign team then launched a fierce attack on Rudy Giuliani, using the scandal of inappropriate remarks made by Giuliani during the investigation of the Michael Milken case, which James Raybould had initially revealed. This attack decisively established David Dinkins' advantageous position in the latter part of the election, ultimately leading to an easy victory.
Westeros Company spared no effort during David Dinkins' election campaign, yet Simon himself had no clear political demands this time.
Or, if there truly was one, it was to announce to the North American political arena that Simon Westeros was beginning to intervene in this game, and at the same time, to declare Simon's own political stance.
He still woke up early in the morning.
New York had just snowed recently; Central Park outside the bedroom was still covered in white, and the weather felt quite cold.
After breakfast, Simon bid farewell to Janette and headed to the airport alone to return to the West Coast.
During this time, Janette had consistently maintained her management of Cersei Capital.
However, unlike the constant monitoring required for stock index futures and other operations in the Japanese market, most of the positions in the North American bond market were long-term short contracts, which did not require daily close monitoring. Cersei Capital's sub-fund team was also granted a certain degree of autonomy, allowing the woman to travel with Simon.
The crisis in the US junk bond market triggered by the small crash in October has been ongoing for the past few months. Due to a predetermined plan, Cersei Capital intends to liquidate all positions and exit the North American junk bond market before the New Year. Therefore, Janette plans to stay in New York for the next few days to personally oversee the final stages of the operation.
As he was planning to fly to Australia for Christmas after attending the premiere of 'Batman Begins' on December 20th, Simon was also exceptionally busy these past few days.
Returning to Los Angeles, due to the time difference, it was still just past nine in the morning on the West Coast, just when the workday was starting.
Jennifer returned with Simon, and while still on the plane, the female assistant informed Simon that Australia's Qintex Group officially signed an acquisition agreement with MGM today.
Prior to this, the detailed plan for Qintex Group's acquisition of MGM had already been published in the media.
Although Kirk Kerkorian, the casino magnate, has been widely recognized as MGM's owner in recent years, this film company, one of the Big Seven, has actually always been publicly traded. Kirk Kerkorian only held 70% of MGM's shares.
Kirk Kerkorian's several 'capital operations' surrounding MGM in the past were also conducted on these 70% shares.
Qintex Group will acquire 70% of MGM-UA's shares from Kirk Kerkorian for $1 billion cash, becoming the absolute controlling shareholder of this veteran film company. This deal also means that Qintex Group will take on MGM's total debt of over $700 million.
Qintex Group's own financial situation is precarious, a fact that has recently been fully unearthed by the resourceful North American media. The outside world generally does not view this transaction favourably, and some inevitably associate it with Simon. They believe that given Simon's girlfriend is Australian and his close ties with Australian capital, Daenerys Entertainment is likely to step in and help MGM achieve a resurgence.
It should be noted that the acquisition of MGM this time involved not only Qintex Group but also many other Australian capitals hoping to enter the Hollywood media industry. Otherwise, with Qintex Group's own strength, it would have been impossible to complete this acquisition.
Although Simon accepted the invitation from Christopher Skase, chairman of Qintex Group, to attend the signing luncheon for the acquisition of MGM at noon, he actually had no intention of helping MGM.
At least, he had no intention of intervening before gaining control of the company.
Upon returning to Los Angeles, Simon left Los Angeles International Airport and headed directly to Daenerys Entertainment headquarters in Santa Monica.
A meeting was already waiting for him there.
Last Wednesday, Daenerys Entertainment officially completed its acquisition of EA shares, ultimately acquiring 35% of the PC game development and publishing company from its original major shareholders for $50 million, becoming EA's largest shareholder.
Compared to the initial total acquisition budget of up to $350 million, acquiring 35% of EA's shares for $50 million valued the company at only $140 million, which is significantly lower than EA's market capitalization of around $170 million before the deal was struck.
Evidently, what EA's shareholders valued was Daenerys Entertainment's content development capabilities.
After Daenerys Entertainment's investment, as long as EA could develop a blockbuster game similar to 'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles', the deal of selling 35% of the company's shares for $50 million would definitely not be a loss. Moreover, due to the resurgence of console games in recent years, EA had already planned to enter the console game market, but was somewhat deterred by Nintendo's stringent royalty system.
Now, according to the preferential agreement reached between Blizzard Entertainment and Nintendo, and their specific discussions on this matter, after this investment, games produced by EA can also enjoy Blizzard Entertainment's royalty benefits. This is also why EA shareholders quickly reached a stock sale agreement with Daenerys Entertainment.
It's worth noting that after the news was announced last Wednesday, EA's stock price continued to rise sharply over the subsequent three trading days, with a cumulative increase of over 70% in three days. By the close of trading last Friday, its market value had already surged to $290 million. Evidently, in just these three short days, Daenerys Entertainment's $50 million investment in EA achieved an unrealized profit of over 100%.
This morning's meeting was also an unspoken effort by both parties to strike while the iron is hot, continuing to stimulate EA's stock price with positive news. At the same time, during negotiations with EA, Simon had already instructed Nancy to contact some suitable copyrights for game adaptations. This meeting was to discuss this very matter.