Summer files, especially every weekend in May and June, almost all large-scale commercial films are released, and some competition is simply unavoidable, after Memorial Day, the fight in May has come to an end temporarily, but the market whose enthusiasm is constantly pushed up will not stop competing, and there is no shortage of large-scale zuò every weekend in June.

Before the first weekend of June, Duke put down his work as a screenwriter and walked on the red carpet of the premiere again, and "Mission Impossible", in which he and Tom Cruise had a major share of investment, was officially released.

"Congratulations, Duke."

As soon as he walked into the VIP lounge of the theater, Tom Cruise took the initiative to greet him, his face full of enthusiasm, "Another summer box office list has won three times in a row!" I'm sorry now, I regret not playing Neo. ”

In the face of Cruise's smiling face, Duke will not be stingy with a smile, "I think Ian Hinter will also become a classic on screen." ”

"Thank you."

Tom Cruise let go of Nicole Kidman's hand and walked over to hug him hard, "Thank you for your full support." ”

With Tom Cruise's character, it was impossible not to clash with Paramount Pictures during filming, and Duke put his agent on the side of Tom Cruise most of the time.

Again, Tom Cruise wants "Mission Impossible" to be successful more than anyone else, and this guy didn't have a bad eye for movies at the turn of the century, not to mention that there was a Pat Kingsley by his side who kept mentioning him.

"Hello, Mary."

"Hello, Duke."

After hugging Tom Cruise, Duke shook hands with Nicole Kidman, and the couple seemed to be done socializing, standing by and chatting with him.

"I think we can work together again."

Standing across from Duke, Tom Cruise's eyes were full of complexity, "I haven't had a single film that has grossed more than $200 million in North America until now, and you ......"

He sighed softly, "It's been less than a month since the release of "The Matrix", and the North American box office has rushed to $300 million. ”

"Hey, Tom, you're exaggerating."

Such an enthusiastic Tom Cruise made Duke a little uncomfortable, so he had to smile and say, "Yesterday's statistics were only more than $230 million, which is still quite far from $300 million." ”

"The Matrix" can't go against the normal rules of commercial movies like "Titanic", and with the increase in showtime, the popularity has begun to decline significantly, and it is still quite difficult for the North American box office to exceed 300 million US dollars.

This is a highly competitive summer file, as long as the popularity of the film declines, the scale of the theater chain will inevitably be greatly reduced, and on a few weekends in June, there are also "Mission Impossible", "Mulan", "Strange Doctor Dudley" and other once-strong films in memory are released, and the box office of "The Matrix" in June will inevitably be greatly impacted.

"I have faith in you!" Tom Cruise seemed to have more confidence than Duke, and turned to look at Nicole Kidman, "I've discussed it many times with Mary, and this year's box office champion of the year may be won by you again." ”

Nicole Kidman smiled cooperatively, "I do think so. ”

Looking at Tom Cruise and then at Nicole Kidman, Duke suddenly felt that the two of them were much more harmonious than they had been when they had last met.

However, it had nothing to do with him, and Duke then put the idea aside and continued the movie conversation with the Cruises, but before he could say a few words, Paramount Pictures CEO Sheri Lansing came over.

"Congratulations on another blockbuster film." She reached out her hand, and Duke shook it gently, "Thank you." ”

Although Paramount Pictures did not miss the rating of "The Matrix" and the hype of the shooting, and Duke also touched the interests of Paramount Pictures on "Braveheart" and "Titanic", he and Cheryllansing both smiled brightly at each other on this occasion, as if those past rivalries had never existed.

In fact, this is also the norm in Hollywood, this year's partners, maybe next year because of the collision of movie schedules, become competitors, if you look at each competitor angrily, then there is no need to mix in this circle.

"You can see that The Matrix is a series."

While laughing, Xie Lilansing suddenly tentatively said, "Duke, are you interested in handing over the sequel to Paramount Pictures?" Our conditions ......"

Yes, she really wants to get the rights to the sequel to the "Matrix" series, and there are definitely not a few people in Hollywood who think the same way.

Blockbuster movies appear every year, but movies that can be super blockbusters are quite rare.

In recent years, as the cost of publicity and distribution has been rising, even if the commercial film is successful at the box office, the profit that can be obtained from the box office has been shrinking, and the sales of peripheral copyrights and various peripheral products account for more and more revenue ratio.

In 1993's "Jurassic Park", Spielberg alone took $200 million in revenue from it, and even so, Universal Pictures still made a lot of money, because its surroundings were too popular!

Her eyes are on "The Matrix", not because of the box office, but because of the continuously hot peripheral products.

At present, there are no specific statistics on overseas sales, but people at the top of Hollywood have already obtained the North American sales of "The Matrix" peripheral products, and the four weeks after the release of the film, even if you don't count Nokia mobile phones, only sunglasses, windbreakers, stationery boxes and other peripheral products, sales have reached 180 million US dollars!

Duke Studios can take a 30% cut of it, $60 million plus $20 million in advertising sponsorship received in the early stage, even if the North American box office has not yet been shared, "The Matrix" will recoup the production cost!

Say no envy, is that possible?

What's more, Warner Bros. and Duke Studios are still negotiating with various marketers, and in the future, the North American TV broadcast rights and disc and videotape rights of "The Matrix" will inevitably sell at a sky-high price!

This is only in North America, and there are overseas markets whose revenues have long surpassed those in North America......

As long as she thinks about the expected income figures, Xie Li Lansing feels a little dizzy, and in her eyes, Duke on the other side is not a director at all, but a super goldsmith!

Despite Shelilansing's enticing offers, Duke politely declined with the excuse that it would take time to think about it, and the promise seemed really good, but how many of Hollywood's promises could be fulfilled?

"Let me introduce you to the crew."

With the resolution of the conflict, as well as two successive collaborations, the relationship between Duke and Tom Cruise is moving towards normalization, in the face of Liangtang's invitation, he has no intention of refusing, after entering the theater, he walked to the front row and shook hands with the main members of the crew one by one, no matter what, he is one of the bosses of the film.

"Hello, Jean."

Looking at the Frenchman with a big nose, Duke greeted him with a normal face, "Your performance in "Leon" is impressive. ”

Even if the Duke Studio was one of the most active companies in the forces of Renault a few weeks ago, both Duke and Renault shook hands calmly.

This kind of competition behind the scenes, without any abnormalities on the surface, is too common in Hollywood.

Under Tom Cruise's introduction, Duke shook hands with a number of actors, and finally walked up to an actor of his age, whose rock-like face was angular, his tall figure was almost as tall as him, and the vaguely visible explosive muscles under the fitting suit were even stronger.

"This is Gerard Butler."

Hearing Cruise's introduction, Duke looked at him with interest after shaking hands, turned around and walked to his seat, and after sitting down, he specially told the female assistant who had been following him, "Tina, go back and find the contact information of Gerald Butler's agent." ”

"Hmm!" Tina Fei nodded and asked softly, "New project?" ”

"I need an actor who is strong enough, has some acting skills, and has a fierce appearance to play those two robbers, and his appearance is good."

Speaking of this, Duke looked up and motioned to the big screen, "If the acting skills in the film are still passable, you can send him an audition invitation when you go back." ”

Leonida, the leader of the Red Pants Army, is very suitable for playing this kind of fierce role, and Duke's only concern is his acting skills, but after the film started, after watching a few scenes where Gerard Butler appeared, he gradually relaxed that the other party's acting skills were far from excellent, but they could fully meet his not high baseline requirements.

Besides, according to his plan, for a considerable amount of time in the film, the two gangsters are wearing hoods, and they don't need to have great acting skills, and based on the requirements of meeting mainstream values, he will not highlight the two gangsters too much.

After briefly thinking about the actors of the new project, Duke's energy shifted to the big screen, "Mission Impossible" appeared two years late, and the scenes and plots in it have changed a little, what remains unchanged is the overall style of the film and Ethanhante's various face-selling skills, Tom Cruise's appeal in this era is amazing, and the popularity of the film can also be seen from the continuous exclamations of boys and girls in the back row.

As an investor, Duke, like Tom Cruise, wants to see the film succeed, and judging from the experience and experience he has accumulated in the industry over the years, the film's reputation may not be very high, the box office will not be a problem, and it may not be a super blockbuster, but it should not be difficult to reach the level of $100 million to $150 million.

The "Mission Impossible" genre, with Tom Cruise starring, is enough to put pressure on films that will be released at the same time or next week, and it will also need to move forward in the competition. R1152