It's May, and with the arrival of summer, there is not only the scorching sun, but also the annual summer vacation, which is the most competitive schedule in North America.

On May 10, Devon Morgan officially kicked off her first summer vacation at the helm of the new line with "The Seven Deadly Sins".

Last year, New Line invested a total of $430 million to produce seven films, plus a total of $800 million in post-production fees, and to recoup such a huge investment at the box office, it would need at least $2 billion, and $300 million per film.

But among the hundreds of movies released in North America a year, there are not many with a box office of more than 100 million US dollars, and there are only a dozen, let alone movies with a box office of more than 300 million US dollars.

"The Seven Deadly Sins" is directed by David Fincher and stars Brad Pitt, Morgan Freeman, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Kevin Spacey. Such a production team will be a wealthy lineup in later generations, whether it is the master director David Fincher, or the Brad Pitt who fascinated thousands of girls, or the old drama bone Morgan Freeman, it is a money-absorbing weapon, and when these people are combined, the effect of one plus one is definitely greater than two.

However, this is for the future, 1995's David Fincher has not yet become a god, this non-professional advertising film director is now qualified in addition to participating in the production of "Star Wars Six: Jedi Counterattack", and has also filmed a movie "Alien 3", or a street film, 50 million US dollars of investment, 20 million US dollars of distribution costs, and finally North America recovered 550 million US dollars at the box office, a total of 160 million US dollars worldwide, and Fox has not recovered its costs until now.

So when John made the decision to let David Fincher direct "The Seven Deadly Sins", Devon Morgan was a little opposed, she thought that the director of the commercial film could only go to Nike to shoot shoes, not suitable for making movies at all, and finally if it wasn't for John's hard persuasion, David Fincher might have to pass by this movie, but if he messed up "The Seven Deadly Sins", the consequences would be very serious, and he might have to say goodbye to Hollywood.

Screwing up two medium-budget films in a row is fatal in Hollywood, unless a super-A director like Spielberg may survive, and a novice like David Fincher will definitely be eliminated by mainstream Hollywood studios, waiting for him to end up either going to the independent film market or continuing to make commercials.

This is normal, Hollywood is a place of profit, and those who can't create profit will be ruthlessly abandoned, no matter how brilliant you have been, or have never been brilliant, for capitalists, all they want is profit.

As for Brad Pitt, he is just a third-tier actor now, and he has not yet become a superstar, and his fan attraction is average.

Therefore, when the new line released "The Seven Deadly Sins" in the previous life, it did not crowd out the summer vacation file, but put it in September, which was not hot.

However, this life is different, John knows the quality of "The Seven Deadly Sins" and its potential, so he did not hesitate to put it in the summer vacation, ready to let it bring a good start to the new line.

In fact, as John imagined, "The Seven Deadly Sins" earned $1.05 million at midnight and $3.99 million on the first day of the 3,000 screens.

With the slow fermentation of the film's word-of-mouth, and the reason that there was no blockbuster competition in the early stage, "The Seven Deadly Sins" exploded with strong potential, earning $35.12 million in the first week, successfully topping the weekly box office charts, earning $27.58 million in the second week, $2,122 in the third week, and $1,531 in the fourth week, and the North American box office successfully exceeded $100 million.

However, after four weeks of screenings, the time has also come to June, and the fight is getting more and more intense, as strong competitors enter the battlefield one after another, the box office of "Seven Deadly Sins" is slowly decreasing, and it is difficult to move towards the $150 million mark.

And just when "The Seven Deadly Sins" is slowly disappearing its potential and is about to be removed from theaters, the new line also ushered in its second film in the summer vacation - "Men in Black".

"Men in Black" is the film with the largest investment in New Line this year, with a production cost of $90 million, a distribution cost of $60 million, and a total investment of $150 million.

And such a large investment, but also increase the difficulty of recovering the cost, if you rely on the box office alone, at least 400 million US dollars to pay back, and Hollywood can be 400 million dollars at the box office so far no more than 20 films, so for large investment films, even if it is the big six, we must be cautious, the consequences of investment failure are very serious, and one will lose money if you don't pay attention.

However, how could John's choice of film be wrong?

As soon as "Men in Black" was released, it instantly dominated the theater chain, winning a box office of $85.73 million in just five days, successfully breaking 100 million in one week, topping the weekly box office charts, and another $74.28 million in the second week, continuing to win the weekly box office charts.

The peripherals are also very popular, with all kinds of alien dolls, T-shirts, soundtracks, and various licenses, which have received $58.84 million in just two weeks, which can be called a money-absorbing weapon.

As for the foreign box office, it is also very gratifying, it has earned $1.1 in two weeks, the global box office has exceeded the $200 million mark, and the total box office is predicted to be around $450 million.

"John, the script of "Men in Black" is good, now I don't worry about it, the capital preservation is absolute. Devon Morgan is not very demanding, as long as the film can be guaranteed at the box office, she is very happy, as for making money, as long as the copyright is in hand, it will continue to bring benefits to the company.

"At the box office, we should be able to return to our original cost, and the surrounding area is net profit. John replied.

The foreign share is not very high, half of it cannot be reached, only 40% on average, like "Men in Black" has a foreign box office of 110 million US dollars, and the theater chain can only get 44 million US dollars, after deducting taxes and some expenses, and finally does not exceed 20 million US dollars. Therefore, it is a very good result for a film to be able to recoup its cost through the box office, and as for the profit, it must be through peripherals and licensing.

"Your "Independence Day" is also about to be released, as long as the results are as good as "Men in Black", then we should not lose money this year. Devon Morgan looked at John with a smile on his face.

"Independence Day should outperform Men in Black at the box office, and I expect it to be around $500 million. John gave a more appropriate number.

"If the box office of "Independence Day" exceeds 500 million, then we can make a small profit at the box office, and the pressure will be much less. ”

"Our movies shouldn't lose money this year, don't worry!"

By the way, when are you going to the UK to start filming, and there is still a new line of movies this year that have not yet landed!"

"I'll go to the UK after the release of "Independence Day", and I'm ready for this year's movies on the new line, in addition to Sophia's "Chicago", Zack Snyder's "Peerless Tribulation", and my side of "Saving Private Ryan", I also have 3 movies for you, if it's not enough, you can choose some from the company's script library. ”

John prepares 3 movies for the new line, one "The Great Talker", one "The Sixth Sense", and one "Gladiator". plus the distribution for other production companies, and the selection of a few films in the film library, it is completely enough for the filming of the new line this year.