After the unexpectedly $23.1 million opening day, "Rush Hour 2" continued to gain momentum into the weekend, with Saturday's single-day box office reaching a new high of $24.34 million, and Sunday's single-day box office also fell by only 19%, collecting another $19.95 million. Pen ~ fun ~ pavilion www.biquge.info

In three days, the cumulative box office of "Rush Hour 2" in its first weekend has reached $67.4 million.

This box office figure not only easily surpassed the same period of "Monsters Electric Company" and "Wonderful Night at the Museum 2" during Thanksgiving, but also left "Starship Troopers" far behind the simultaneous release.

In the first three days of the opening weekend, Sony Pictures' $110 million special effects blockbuster only earned $22.05 million at the box office, which was not even as good as the first-day box office of "Rush Hour 2".

This result was simply beyond everyone's expectations, no one expected that "Rush Hour 2" would suddenly be so popular, and no one expected that "Star Troopers", which had a much better reputation than the just-passed "Rush Hour 2", would be dismal at the box office.

Sony Pictures released "Starship Troopers" before Firefly Pictures' "Jurassic Park 3", and the original goal was to compete with "Jurassic Park 3", but it just gave people a feeling of stepping into the air.

Unlike "Rush Hour 2", which fell slightly by 19% on Sunday, "Starship" has dropped by 34% on Sunday after earning $8.3 million and $8.28 million on Saturday, and only $5.45 million on the day.

As a result, entering the working day, the single-day box office decline of "Starship Troopers" was even more miserable, with the box office falling by 61% on Monday compared with the previous day, and the single-day box office was only $2.1 million. In comparison, although the Monday box office of "Rush Hour 2" also fell by 51% compared to Sunday, the single-day box office data was still as high as $9.47 million, which was much higher than any single-day box office of "Starship Troopers" in the first weekend.

In order to find out what was going on, Eric also took the time to watch "Starship Troopers".

Then I found that the plot of this film, strictly speaking, is not a problem, and the special effects are very good. However, when combined as a whole, it gives people a very uncomfortable feeling, because in the whole movie, it is difficult for the audience to find anything pleasant in it, but it is full of a more blunt didactic atmosphere.

While media critics have interpreted this as a satire of fascism, most people are clearly not interested in this kind of irony. What's more, it's still Christmas season, and more audiences enter the cinema just for entertainment, and "Starship Troopers" is even more out of place. As a result, although the film received a fairly good review from film critics, it was extremely cold received by the market.

On the contrary, compared with the first part, "Rush Hour 2" really can't be said to have anything new in terms of plot, which is why most media give the film a low score. However, the audience is very fond of such a kung fu comedy that fights and laughs.

The $67.4 million box office in the opening weekend has exceeded everyone's expectations, and when the $9.47 million box office on the first day of the weekday is released, most people realize one thing, "Rush Hour 2" may become the first and only film to break 100 million in the first week of the year-end schedule.

The box office exceeded 100 million in the first week, and if it was the upcoming "Jurassic Park 3", it might be nothing. Because the first two parts of this series have achieved the feat of breaking 100 million in the first week, but such an honor has fallen to a film like "Rush Hour 2", which was originally expected to have a total box office of only more than 100 million in North America, which makes people feel incredible.

Los Angeles, Burbank Firefly Headquarters.

Bill Michanik saw that the driver had already parked the car, and was still a little reluctant to get out of the car.

The driver and assistant sitting in the front seat naturally did not dare to urge, and they all knew that Bill Michanik had been in a very bad mood in recent days.

As vice chairman of Sony Pictures and CEO of Columbia Pictures, Bill Michanik has not only been less comfortable than Peter Cooper and Jon Peters had been at the helm of Columbia, but the studio's business has deteriorated even more than it had been when Peter Cooper was in charge.

From the summer to the Christmas file, in a year, Sony Pictures has tried to create two special effects film series, "Godzilla" and "Starship Troopers", but they have all ended in failure, and they have failed very completely.

Bill Michanick rose to prominence as the head of Disney's home entertainment division during his time at Disney.

Originally, as an executive of the Disney system, he was able to achieve the position of one of the seven leaders, at least on the surface, the status was almost equal to Jeffrey Katzenberg, who served as the CEO of Firefly Group, and Michael Eisner, who served as the CEO of Universal Pictures Group, and he was still very proud.

But now, he often regrets even accepting the job in the first place.

If he had stayed at Disney in the first place, he now felt that he should at least be a vice president of the Firefly Group, and perhaps after Frank Wells retired, he could still compete for the position of president. Being the president of the Firefly Group is no worse than being the CEO of Columbia Pictures now.

After sitting in the car for a while, Bill Michanik still had to get out of the car, and the time he had agreed with Katzenberg was about to arrive.

The successive failures of "Godzilla" and "Starship Troopers" also made Howard Stringer, CEO of Sony America, anxious, to become anxious, and it is inevitable that Sony Pictures will continue to lose money this year, and in order to consolidate its position, Sony Pictures must come up with a film project that can turn the situation around as soon as possible.

As a result, "Men in Black", "Juman's Game" and "Mr. and Mrs. Smith", which Columbia cooperated with Firefly, became the best choice to turn the situation around Sony Pictures. Especially "Men in Black", this series not only has a very high popularity, but also has a very guaranteed box office.

Although Sony Pictures produces and distributes more than a dozen films a year, the 28 law of the Hollywood film market is also very obvious, and 80% of a studio's box office and profits are concentrated in the best 20% of the films. If "Men in Black 3" can be launched, although Sony can only occupy forty percent of the interests in this film, this can at least make Sony Pictures' performance in the next one or two years not too ugly.

Katzenberg didn't go out to greet his former colleague, and Bill Michanick didn't expect that, but he knew Katzenberg's character well. Arrived outside Katzenberg's office with his assistant, five minutes before the appointed time.

Waiting in the break room, watching the busy scene of four or five assistants and secretaries outside Katzenberg's office, Bill Michanik couldn't help but be a little envious, and then smiled self-deprecatingly, perhaps, even if he hired four or five assistants like Katzenberg, Sony Pictures would not have so many things for them to deal with.

The current Firefly Group is already a giant aircraft carrier larger than the entire Japanese Sony. Wall Street valued Firefly Group at $85 billion last year, and it is sure to rise sharply again this year. Taking advantage of the new wave of technology, the market value of the entire Sony Group has not yet exceeded 70 billion US dollars, and Sony Pictures is less than one-tenth of the market value of the entire Sony Group.

"Mr. Michanik, you can go in. ”

While thinking wildly, Bill Michanick heard the voice of one of Katzenberg's assistants, quickly stood up, nodded at the other party, and walked towards Katzenberg's office.

Seeing Bill Michanik come in, Katzenberg, who was sitting behind his desk, put down the phone in his hand, got up and walked over to shake his hand, and said, "Sorry, Bill, I'm a little busy at the end of the year." ”

"It's okay," Bill Michanik smiled and shook Katzenberg's hand, and the two sat down on the sofa in the living area.

The secretary quickly served two cups of coffee and then quietly walked out of the office, Bill Michanick knew Katzenberg's style, and did not beat around the bush, took a symbolic sip of the coffee, and went straight to the point: "So, Jeffrey, what do you think of the plan I told me on the phone last time?"

In order to promote the production of "Men in Black 3", Sony Pictures promised a $50 million publicity fee in advance, and at the same time reduced Sony Pictures' distribution commission from 15% to 13%, which is only a preliminary offer, and the bottom line that Howard Stringer and Bill Michanick are privately acceptable is even only 10%.

With this concession, Sony Pictures may not be able to make a profit at the box office, but the revenue from the videotape and TV broadcast rights in the later stage is very secure. In this regard, the summer file "Godzilla" and the still released "Starship Troopers", after full copyright operation, may not be able to ensure that Sony Pictures can recover its costs.

When Katzenberg heard Bill Michanick's words, he shook his head and said, "Bill, Firefly doesn't care about Sony's concessions in distribution shares, you should know what we care more about." ”

Bill Michanik naturally knows that Firefly is more concerned about the cost control of "Men in Black 3".

In recent years, with the rise of Chris Tucker in the "Rush Hour" series and the other two black actors in the "Jedi Men" series, Will Smith is no longer as hot as in the original plane.

However, for the "Men in Black" series, Will Smith did not have much intention of backing down on the salary, not only offering a guaranteed salary of $20 million, but also asking for at least 10% of the box office share. Tommy Lee Jones, the other star of "Men in Black", probably had similar requirements.

If there is no firefly containment, in order to promote this project, Sony will not have too much hesitation about the salary required by the two leading actors, after all, Sony Pictures has no better choice. Compared with the development of film projects such as "Godzilla" and "Starship Troopers", which have an uncertain future and may fail in the end, the possibility of losing money in the "Men in Black" series is very small.

After hesitating for a moment, although he felt that the possibility was very small, Bill Michanik still said with some expectation: "Jeffrey, if Firefly is worried that the high cost of "Men in Black 3" will affect the revenue, Sony can pay a licensing fee and then take full responsibility for the production of "Men in Black 3", do you think this is okay?"

"Bill, Firefly will not give up the production rights of the Men in Black series. In addition, if the quality of a film can be ensured, Firefly will not be stingy with the production budget," Katzenberg said: "In the final analysis, it is a matter of controlling the actors' salaries." Since Jim Carrey got his first $20 million from Sony for "The Cable Fixman," Hollywood actors' salaries have spiraled almost completely out of control in recent years. A large part of this is due to Sony. ”

"Jeffrey, I don't think so, the rise in Hollywood actors' salaries, in general, is still due to the expansion of the capacity of the global film market. You can't make a lot of money from a film company, but you don't allow actors to get high salaries, right?"

Katzenberg smiled and said, "Bill, I think there's something wrong with your position. In addition, the average income of a Hollywood actor has not risen much in recent years. There has been a significant increase, but only a small number of top stars. This is enough to show that your argument is not valid. In short, we can't control what other film companies do, but in the sphere of influence of the Firefly Group, the maximum salary of big-name actors is only $20 million, and if you want to get a share, the fixed salary must not exceed 10 million, and the share ratio cannot exceed 10% of the production company's global box office revenue, which is the rule. If you can convince Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones to accept such a pay offer, the project can be launched at any time. ”

Bill Michanick made a bitter face and said: "Jeffrey, this is impossible, Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones will not back down, even if you drag on for five years and completely get the copyright of the "Men in Black" series, they will not make concessions, these two people are not short of film contracts." ”

"It's not just them," Katzenberg said with a playful smile, "In the future, including all other A-list stars, if these people continue to demand unreasonably high salaries, they will definitely be more and more short of film contracts." ”

Bill Michanik didn't understand the deeper meaning of Katzenberg's words for a while, but subconsciously retorted: "I think it's still nothing, it's a big deal to stop acting, do you think these people are short of money?"

"The most important thing in Hollywood is actors, and even if these people leave, there will definitely be other stars rising. What's more, it's not about money, and if you're concerned, I don't think you're short of money right now. But if you were asked to give up everything in Hollywood and live retirement now, do you think you could stand it?"

Bill Michanick paused and didn't answer, but he knew that he couldn't let go of what he was doing.

Hollywood superstars are probably the same, accustomed to the attention of the people, used to the stars holding the moon, and used to responding to every call. If one day, all of a sudden, all of this is gone, no one comes to compliment you, no one comes to woo you, and the woman who used to be able to get bed with a hook will no longer pay attention to you, then even if you have a lot of money, these people will probably go crazy.

Shaking his head, Bill Michanick said, "But, Jeffrey, your idea is still impossible to realize, there is more to Hollywood than just the Firefly Group. ”

"One by one, it's always possible," Katzenberg still smiled, looked at Bill Michanick with blazing eyes, and said, "And, you see, the Rockefeller Center that the Japanese bought at the beginning has now been sold back, and Universal Pictures, which was annexed at the beginning, has also returned, and there are many more such things, in the end, it is a joke that the Japanese wanted to buy the whole United States in the first place." Then, next, Columbia Pictures, which Sony ate, should almost spit out. (To be continued.) )