HWI 276

Hollywood What If Chapter 276

Year 2002. 

Just after the New Year, inside an office room. 

"There are things that are easy to explain, but sometimes you have to hear it twice so that the information really sinks in. So say it to me once again."

"... Sir," the secretary gulped hard. This folder was just sent to her and she didn't research it at all. This was the job of the sales and accounting department: to calculate the box office of movies. 

Yet because acting CEO Tom Rothman arrived late, the guy from the accounting department had a stomach ache so the secretary became the one responsible for saying the news to Tom Rothman. 

"Sir, the worldwide box office of John Wick Chapter 2 is currently at $621 million. Our accounting department believed that John Wick Chapter 2 could surpass $650 million..."

"What about The Fast and The Furious? Go on, say it."

Perhaps Tom Rothman slept in the wrong position, the man was frowning. It seemed that he was mad. 

"The Fast and The Furious officially ended its screening all over the world three days ago. Some countries were still calculating the box office. The movie already grossed $502 million excluding some countries that are still calculating the numbers..."

"Do you think the box office of these movies is because of the successful run of Continental Cinematic Universe? After Wanted, many people started getting interested in the Cinematic Universe. This is the effect of Wanted, a movie worth $1 billion."

Tom Rothman didn't have a good sleep last night because Rupert Murdoch told him to acquire Grey Pictures and add it to their "family". 

The reason why he could not sleep was because of the fact that negotiating with Kazir Grey would be the hardest thing to do. 

And now, two of his movies just casually dropped explosive numbers at the box office!

'What the fuck!? That's basically $1 billion! Grey Pictures, a second-tier production studio, just generated $1 billion this year! No, they did it last year as well using a single movie! This is getting stupid. How is this even possible!?'

To be fair, the Big Six generated more than $7 billion at the box office yearly. 

20th Century Fox alone made over $1 billion last year, with Big Momma's House, X-Men, Cast Away and so many dozens more. 

Yet despite that fact, it was still painful to see that one or two movies could easily achieve their yearly hard work. 

The only comforting truth was that Grey Pictures had no distribution channel. 

'That means that Kazir is open for negotiation, but my initial statement of $1.5 billion is definitely out of the conversation. At the least, 20th Century Fox has to acquire Grey Pictures for $2 billion. Damn, I guess Kazir is really a billionaire now, huh.'

Companies that could generate a billion yearly were hard to come by. Yet Grey Pictures did it twice, back to back. 

"You can leave now." Tom Rothman pinched his glabella as the secretary left the office like a mouse. 

"I guess the era is going to change, well, we are at the start of a new century. Even DreamWorks is doing well. Thankfully, we successfully created cracks between Jeffrey Katzenberg and Steven Spielberg's relationship. Those two are friends but they can't overcome the terror of the Big Six. They are going to split, we will assure that."

His last statement would become a reality a few years later, technically. Inside the company, two dragons decided to lead their own armies. Jeffrey Katzenberg had the authority over DreamWorks Animation while Steven reigned over DreamWorks Pictures. 

"Spider-Man's box office already surpassed $830 million. Some countries are just starting the screening for this movie and most believe that the movie will surpass $900 million. But after that will be a miracle. No one seems to believe that Spider-Man will achieve a $1 billion box office..."

But knowing Kazir, the idea was not impossible. 

If Spider-Man indeed surpassed $1 billion, then Kazir Grey would be the only director who filmed two $1 billion movies, and what more he accomplished that in two years. This was a history. A world record that was impossible to defeat. 

Two movies. 

$1 billion each. 

In just two years. 

"No, no, no, let's not jinx it. Let's not fucking jinx it."

He gritted his teeth. 

The acquisition was his job, a responsibility that Rupert Murdoch passed to him. 

"... The first thing to do is form a connection with Kazir and the Grey Pictures."

He called his secretary again after just a minute of monologue. 

"Tell Grey Pictures that 20th Century Fox will distribute their three movies worldwide for 25% box office share as a distribution fee. Tell it to them clearly."

"Yes, sir."

Harry Potter and The Sorcerer's Stone grossed $293 million after New Year. The movie was still screening for 48 days. 

As for The Lord Of The Rings: Fellowship Of The Ring, the movie grossed $178 million after 15 days of screening. 

'Fuck, Warner Brothers will have a festival this year! Harry Potter and Lord Of The Rings looks promising. If they do it right, they have two strong franchises that will last a decade. 20th Century Fox really needs something like that.'

Everyone in Hollywood believed that Harry Potter, The Lord Of The Rings, and Spider-Man would take over the ranking for 2001. 

However, it was still a mystery which one would be on top. 

However, one thing was sure. Grey Pictures' two CCU movies were definitely part of the top 10. 

John Wick Chapter 2 with $621 million. 

The Fast and The Furious with $502 million. 

From a business standpoint, Kazir's existence was dangerous to the Big Six. However, there were always two sides to a coin. If Kazir was dangerous, then he was also a heaven-sent once he allied with one of them. 

20th Century Fox experienced it with Napoleon Dynamite. 

Warner Bros with The Hangover. 

And Sony-Columbia with Spider-Man. 

Clear examples that Kazir was a good weapon once used correctly.

++++

[Merry Christmas again, haha.]