The second box office week of the summer season passed quickly before you knew it.

In the week from May 20th to May 26th, the new film "Speed of Life and Death", which opened last Friday, successfully topped the single-week box office list with a strong creative lineup and excellent media reputation, earning $32.17 million in the first seven days, although it was not as good as the first week of "Stargate" of $36.61 million, it also reached the average sales level of $11,000, and the market performance basically met MGM's expectations.

Moreover, the box office of "Speed of Life and Death" in the first week was not as good as that of "Stargate", which is obviously due to the intensification of competition in the theater market this week.

"Gambler Ma Huali", which was released at the same time as "Life and Death" and only had a production budget of $75 million, did not even get the second place on this week's list.

Michael Bay's "Stargate", the box office fell by 31% in the second week of release, and the box office of $25.26 million in the second week was earned, and the list ranked closely behind "Life and Death", in two weeks, the cumulative box office of this wormhole concept sci-fi adventure movie has reached $61.87 million, even if "Batman: The Dark Knight Rises" on June 3 is still eyeing up, and the film's local box office has exceeded 100 million.

Richard Donald, Gamel Gibson's "Gambler Ma Huali" failed to replicate the success of the "Lethal Weapon" series, with a production budget of $75 million and a $30 million publicity, which ultimately brought Warner Bros. Pictures $20.72 million in the first week of filming, barely exceeding $8,000 in the museum, and only got the third place in the single-week box office list.

In Simon's view, Hollywood westerns are like martial arts films after the new century on the other side of the ocean, just like the blockbuster era of big investment and big special effects, which is destined to be a genre that is difficult to arouse the interest of core young audiences.

After the top three, Meg Ryan's main romance "When a Man Falls in Love with a Woman", which ranked fourth, began to fall behind, with a box office drop of 32% the next week, and only $7.67 million at the box office, with a total of $18.96 million in two weeks, which is not as good as the first week results of any of the top three films on the list.

The fifth place on the list is not Spike Lee's new film "Racial Love", which opened in the first week of the summer season on May 13, but "Detective Plane Head", which was released in the seventh week, and the film has fallen by 25% at the box office in the past week, collecting another $4.51 million, and the cumulative box office has reached $87.73 million.

This week, there are a total of 16 mainstream theatrical films released in North America at the same time, and the cumulative box office of the top five films alone reached $90.33 million in a single week, and although the box office of the remaining 11 films in a single week is within $5 million, the cumulative box office is also $22.79 million, and the week from May 20 to May 26 has become the first box office week in 1994 with a total of more than 100 million in seven days, with a total box office of $113 million in a single week.

On May 27, a week before the release of "Batman: The Dark Knight Rises", films that were unwilling to be crushed by this super-blockbuster that was destined to be phenomenal next week avoided one after another, which made only a few non-mainstream films with a scale of only a few hundred or dozens of films released this week.

This week, Goron Pictures released a "Blues Cowgirl" directed by acclaimed solo director Gus Van Sant, starring Uma Thurman, about the wandering story of a road girl, with 327 screens.

This is the second film that Gordoor Pictures has collaborated with Gus Van Sant, who attracted the attention of the industry with "Psychedelic Cowherd".

Gus Van Sant's last "Unruly Sky", which was also well received, was invested by Gaomen Pictures, starring Keanu Reeves and Rivan Phoenix, as a low-budget literary film, several main creators took the initiative to reduce their salaries to star, with a budget of only $3 million, and the box office in North America alone was $7.28 million.

As a result, the budget for "Blues Cowgirl" has increased to $8 million.

The film was completed last year, and the feedback from several film festivals was very average, so the May 27 schedule was chosen.

The summer file is very friendly to commercial films, as for literary films, especially niche literary films with no big-name starring and a very general reputation, there will basically be no blessings. Gaomen Pictures chose this schedule, just looking forward to what happened, in the past, it is not without a precedent for successful small films with a general reputation, maybe the audience likes it?

Simon doesn't have any expectations for "Blues Cowgirl", it can be regarded as a small loss before "Batman: The Dark Knight Rises", when it is to burn incense and make offerings, after all, you can't always earn and earn, and occasionally lose it, which is good for your body and mind.

Released at the same time as "Blues Cowgirl" is also a "Princess and Goblin", an animated film invested and distributed by British independent filmmaker Hermdale.

Hermdale is very new to most people, but the film company invested in a famous sci-fi film in the 80s, James Cameron's "The Terminator".

Orion Pictures was responsible for the North American theatrical distribution of the first "Terminator", but Hermdale invested in the production, and the copyright was originally in the hands of the other party. When making "Terminator 2," Fox spent $3 million plus a 5% share of the box office net profit to get the rights from Hermdale.

According to the original agreement, after "Terminator 2", the rights to this sci-fi series will be shared by Fox and Daenerys. The global box office of "Terminator 2" exceeded 500 million US dollars, and the potential value of this IP copyright has also risen directly to the tens of millions level, of course, neither Fox nor Daenerys has any plans to sell the copyright in their hands.

This time, "The Princess and the Goblin" does not have any "Terminator" appearance, it is produced and sold by Hermdale, and the number of screens is only 769.

In addition to the two new films with hundreds of screens, there are three other niche films with a scale of only a few dozen pieces, which are not worth mentioning, all in all, this week can basically be regarded as the calm before the storm, and it also gives the market full market space in the last week of the new films released in the previous half month.

Simon returned to Los Angeles with Janet on Friday, May 27, and spent the weekend together as a family, not leaving the West Coast again for the new week.

Mainly to attend the premiere of Batman: The Dark Knight Rises, the date is set for Wednesday, June 1.

Last week, Janet personally rushed to Washington to communicate with Congress about the acquisition of the asset management division of State Street Bank, but unfortunately there is still no progress, but there are also people who privately offer a 'price' to get Congress to approve the deal, and the Westeros system must first give up interfering in the midterm elections.

Obviously, many people are feeling the pressure of the Westeros system's political offensive during this time, and there are even rumors that Congress will investigate the Westeros system's illegal interference in political campaigning.

Simon isn't really worried about the investigation.

Simon is young enough to have plenty of time to lay out the politics of the Westeros system, and there is no imminent crisis at the moment, and there is no reason for him to deliberately use illegal tactics to interfere in the campaign.

Moreover, the political lobbying of the Westeros system has a dedicated compliance team to monitor it at all times, and many small actions may be suspected of rubbing the edges, but this is just like the various tax avoidance methods in this country, which may not be legal, but it is not illegal, and it is basically a gray area within the default rules of the game.

The biggest reason why many people in Congress feel threatened is that the capital strength of the Westeros system is too strong.

In an era when many of the top billionaires are still worth billions of dollars, Simon's total personal assets have reached a terrifying $200 billion, and the entire Westeros system is even larger. As a result, while the tens of millions of dollars a year from other top political funders are already a lot of money, the Westeros system can easily mobilize hundreds of millions of dollars.

Realizing the fundamental obstacle to this matter, the couple finally decided to abandon the use of prosecution to resolve the matter after discussion.

M&A involving tens of billions of dollars in assets, if you really initiate a lawsuit, the result will definitely be more protracted, and you don't want to get results from Washington in a year or two, so it is better to wait patiently for half a year. After the midterm elections in November, and considering the silence of the entire American political community in the 1994 midterm elections against the National Rifle Association, as long as the Westeros system's 'sniper plan' can be completed, many in Congress should reconsider the consequences of offending the Westeros system.

Of course, after waiting for up to half a year, it is difficult to ensure that there will be no accidents.

The result of the discussion between the Simons and the Cersei Capital team was to start the cooperation with State Street Bank as early as possible, so as to avoid the acquisition within half a year to the greatest extent, which can be regarded as a warm-up for the merger of the two parties in advance.

Although not satisfactory, this is undoubtedly the best solution for the whole thing.

As for the Hearst Group, after more than a week of silence, the Hearst family once again took the initiative to contact Simon, trying to negotiate to lower Simon's previous conditions.

Simon simply ignored it.

In the face of fierce public pressure, the French government finally issued an expulsion order against William Hearst III, who was hiding in Paris, asking him to leave France by May 31, and the former head of the Hearst family, who had recently lost control of the family business and almost all of his personal assets, had to hide in Morocco when other major European countries were unwilling to accept it.

The public is still forgetful in the end.

After a month-long hype, the turmoil caused by the murder of Doris Ficher has gradually cooled down.

If it were so, it would be like Simon's memory of News Corp., which went through the wiretapping scandal, losing a newspaper without hurting its vitality. However, a series of official investigations, claims lawsuits, partner abandonment, etc., against the Hearst Group have not stopped, which is the fundamental damage to the Hearst Group.

On the other hand, two reporters from the Danbury, Connecticut, News Times, who were very interested in the Woodfield estate bombing, quietly left Pittsburgh after some strong pressure on the paper's management, and some other media outlets that had been following the bombing gradually gave up on following up.

The cooling of the media is not only the result of the quiet operation of the Westeros system, but also the scene that the official wants to see.

Many of the original clues were unsustainable, and it was really difficult to find any results in the forced investigation of this bombing case, and Washington generally knew that even if a vague federal top brass wanted to attack the Westeros system, he did not dare to lift the lid without any solid evidence.

After all, such accusations are too serious.

If it is boldly poked out, the Westeros system may be disgraced, and some people who cannot produce evidence may have their political careers completely ruined.

It is impossible to uncover the truth even indirectly through some tabloids in the form of conspiracy theories.

After all, tabloids are seeking money.

The fundamental purpose of exposing all kinds of conspiracy theories is to create a gimmick and boost newspaper sales.

Often, though, conspiracy theories are directed at the federal government, the president or Congress, or all sorts of other departments, and the public likes it, and Washington usually doesn't take them seriously.

However, if it is aimed at a large chaebol with assets of hundreds of billions of dollars, it is not a search for wealth, but a complete play with fire.

poking out such a thing, the Westeros system chased after it, and it was definitely not enough to close a newspaper, and a bunch of people would be unlucky. As for the mastermind behind the operation exposure, don't want to get out easily. Many of the hidden truths are only for the general public, who lack access to information, and it is not so difficult for the powerful Westeros system to find out about something, and it does not need evidence at all.

Think of the series of brutal retaliations sparked by an assassination that didn't even make a splash.

Exposing this matter may only be able to touch a handful of dust on Westeros's face, and the guy who plays tricks behind his back may lose his own life. Anyone who knows the inside story of the Woodfield Manor bombing probably won't think that Simon Westeros can't do this kind of thing, everyone is a big family, and there is no need to go up and send people to their heads when they can't bring down Westeros.

After the weekend, it's June.

On June 1, International Children's Day, the much-anticipated premiere of "Batman: The Dark Knight Rises" will be held at 6 p.m. West Coast time at the Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles.

However, on this morning, former record industry tycoon David Geffing, legendary Hollywood director Steven Spielberg and former Disney production director Jeffrey Katzenberg made a big news in advance on the East Coast morning.

The three entertainment bigwigs, who are also important supporters of the Democratic Party, were originally guests at the White House this weekend, and at 10 o'clock in the morning on the East Coast, they suddenly held a press conference in Washington, D.C., publicly announcing that they would work together to establish a new big Hollywood film company, DreamWorks.