The United States attaches great importance to the protection of intellectual property rights, which is necessary for the promotion of cultural development.

Of course, in Don's view, this also caused a great financial loss to the American imperialist people.

The family watched a boxing match between Tyson and Holyfield in front of the TV for $99.99 on-demand! This was unthinkable for Donn, who was used to watching free fights in his previous life.

Another example is the World Cup, the European Cup, the NBA, the Tennis Open, and the Formula 1 ...... It is not unreasonable for sports events to be so popular abroad, and people have to charge to watch games!

Even if NBC and CBS sometimes broadcast individual games for free, it is just to attract more users to pay attention to sports events, so as to better put their hands in the pockets of viewers and let them pay to watch them.

In this environment, there is no doubt that Hollywood is the biggest beneficiary.

The DVD of "Spider-Man" costs $19.99 for the regular version, which is equivalent to 160 yuan.

But in the United States, the situation is completely different!

In the first week of sales, the DVD sales of "Spider-Man" exceeded 5 million units, and in the following weeks, sales fell significantly. The sales market for videotapes and DVDs has the same pattern as the box office market, with a first-week effect.

However, a month after the sale, the North American DVD sales of "Spider-Man" still exceeded 8 million sets, including 5.86 million copies of the regular version, 2.18 million sets of hardcover versions, plus 730,000 sets of videotapes, with sales of $220 million!

Even excluding the distributors and distributors in the middle, Down Pictures earned $155 million for this.

However, overseas sales are slower to ferment and are not as popular as those in North America. According to current data, only 3.7 million units have been sold, and the price is not as good as in the United States.

There are also a variety of middlemen such as translation, transformation, and new packaging, and the current overseas income of Tangen Pictures will not exceed 30 million US dollars.

That's a good result, too!

Based on Universal's past experience, with the current sales of "Spider-Man", it is very likely that by May, more than 10 million units will be sold in North America and more than 6 million units will be sold overseas.

Down Pictures is likely to reap $250 million in the videotape and DVD market before "Spider-Man" hits TV!

It's a golden age of DVD discs!

And, of course, proud of the powerful effects of Spider-Man.

In the previous life, the Sony Group, in the first decade of the twentieth century, was very miserable, continuously selling assets to survive, and the "Spider-Man" series played the role of a savior several times.

It's really profitable!

So much so that at one time, Sony Group had the intention of completely reforming itself from a technology company to an entertainment company.

In contrast, the horror film "Chainsaw", which is more popular in the DVD and video market than science fiction films, has sold far less.

The Saw DVD has been on sale in North America for two weeks, selling more than 1 million copies at $12.99 each.

The publisher of "Saw Horror" is not Universal, it is entirely up to Don himself. When Down Pictures was pouring all its resources into developing the Starz television network, the film was of course broadcast on Starz television.

Don has already planned, first put "Spider-Man", the next one is "Saw Horror", and then the major American drama "Six Feet Under" will take over, and then ...... It's the nuclear bomb-level super miniseries "Band of Brothers"!

Although Tang En arbitrarily raised the subscription fee of Starz TV Network and would lose some users, he was confident that through this powerful operation, he would bring back the original lost users, and at the same time ...... Let STA's subscribers exceed 10 million!

This figure is by no means an exaggeration, HBO in the previous life was because of the rise of "Band of Brothers" in one fell swoop, and the number of subscribers directly exceeded 15 million, opening a world-leading boutique model.

……

Nina Jacobson has returned to the company, she has recovered well after giving birth, she is much more energetic, maybe she has not worked for half a year, and her eyes are full of creative passion.

The first thing to do was to go straight to Donn's office.

"Wow, let me see, who's here, it's a great mother!" Don stood up, opened his arms, and hugged her softly.

Nina Jacobson couldn't help but laugh, "Why are you still the same? ”

After a simple hug, Don helped her to sit on the sofa with a concerned expression, "Didn't you say that you only came back in March? This is just February." ”

Nina Jacobson smiled: "The recovery is very good, besides, now that "Spider-Man" is selling so well in the videotape market, I want to lead Marvel Studios to start work as soon as possible and create more brilliance!"

Don gave a thumbs up, "Well, with a dedicated employee like you, I can sit back and relax." ”

"By the way, I heard...... The company's current cash flow is in trouble, and it won't delay the preparation of Marvel Studios' project, right?" Nina Jacobson said solemnly.

Down Pictures has only $410 million left in cash flow on its books, and $100 million has to be set aside to produce high-quality series and supply Starz TV. Of course, there is also a larger film project, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, waiting for funding.

Don smiled: "Don't worry, I calculated that before May, "Spider-Man" and "Saw" could earn a full $300 million in the videotape and DVD market......! That's $25 million in taxes. The box office of "Drug Network" is also very good, the North American box office has exceeded 60 million US dollars, and in terms of funding, it is by no means a problem!"

Nina Jacobson breathed a sigh of relief and smiled slightly, "That's good, actually...... I'm not worried about the establishment of "Spider-Man 2" and "Daredevil", with your personal attention, there will definitely be no resistance in terms of funding, I am focusing on another project. ”

"Which one?"

"The Omen. Nina Jacobson gave a mysterious glance and a smug smile on her face.

"Tianzhao?" Tang En was stunned, "when are we going to open this project...... Wait, what are you talking about?

Now it was Nina Jacobson's turn to be surprised and looked at him in surprise, "You know?"

Done's eyes widened with excitement, "Nina, you tell me, did you get the director of Nate Shyamalan? "The Omen" is his new work, right?"

Nina Jacobson's eyes showed a bit of consternation, staring at Don, and then shook her head with a wry smile, "Don, I really doubt that you have a pair of eyes that can see through people's hearts. ”

Don laughed, "Looks like I'm right? Well, yes! Of course I'm fully supportive of such a good director as Knight Shyamalan!"

With Knight Shyamalan's level, of course Don can't look down on it, but he used to be a director of Disney, and because of the fall of Joe Ruth, he also became a waterless pinch. If Don Pictures can sign it, it will greatly weaken Disney's influence in the film field.

"Then I'm relieved. Nina Jacobson smiled, "That's ...... Let's talk about the sequel to "Spider-Man", which is the flagship series of Marvel Studios!"

Tang En said: "I can't make a sequel, but I found you a good enough director!"

"Who?"

"Ridley Scott!"

"Director Scott?" Nina Jacobson sat up straight in surprise, "Donn, you're not kidding, are you? He never took on a sequel, he refused to shoot "Alien 2" that year, and finally the project was handed over to James Cameron. ”

"This ......," Donn touched his nose, "he should give me face, right?"

Nina Jacobson frowned, "Donn, big boss! This matter is very important, you need to give me a letter of approval! I am back now, I will start the project of "Spider-Man 2" immediately, and the director is very important. If Ridley doesn't work, we need to start the director selection mechanism as soon as possible. ”

Don coughed dryly, "Okay, uh...... In this case, I'll call and ask for a letter to come out!"

Even his employees are so resolute, and it will hurt morale too much if Don is lazy.

Ridley Scott personally answered the phone, and when he heard that it was Donne, he asked directly, "Donne, I heard...... You've already started the Harry Potter project?"

Don was stunned for a moment, and replied honestly: "Yes, the casting work is now being carried out in the UK, and David is personally in charge." ”

"Oh, Donne, why didn't you tell me something so important?" said Ridley Scott, with a faint grumbling in his tone.

"What's wrong?"

"Don't you know what the Harry Potter series of books means in the UK!" Ridley Scott paused, "Do you know that now the top performing artists in the UK are all squeezing their heads and want to join the crew of "Harry Potter", and even seniors like Richard Harris have asked to participate for free. ”

Donn's mouth widened, "Wouldn't it?" Harry Potter...... That's a children's drama......"

"Don't forget, those palace-level artists also have grandchildren and granddaughters!" Ridley Scott said through gritted teeth.

Tang En suddenly realized and couldn't help laughing.

Haha, interesting!

He finally understood why the "Harry Potter" series, which includes almost all the first-class performing artists in the UK, and most of them are free to participate, can compress the average cost of the first five films of such a blockbuster series to less than $130 million.

Compared with the "Pirates of the Caribbean" series, which is also 5 films, you can see how cheap the production budget of the "Harry Potter" series is.

Don couldn't help but laugh and said, "Ridley, is it possible that your little granddaughter has also asked you to participate in Harry Potter?"

Ridley Scott didn't deny it, and instead asked, "Who is the director?"

"Huh?"

Donn was stunned, Ridley Scott was interested in making "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone"?

This is a no-no!

"The director has been decided, it is Chris Columbus, who specializes in children's comedy. Don quickly persuaded again, "Ridley, that kind of chaotic children's film, let's let a younger director shoot it, in my opinion...... Or "Spider-Man 2" is best for you. ”

Ridley Scott frowned, "What about the producer?"

Done's eyes lit up, "Of course, you can work part-time as a producer, this is the glory of the entire 'Harry Potter' crew!"

Ridley Scott let out an "um", "Black Hawk Down...... I've refused. ”

"That's right!"

Don snapped his fingers and nodded heavily at Nina Jacobson, "Ridley, believe me, Spider-Man 2 will be your best choice!"