[Chapter 376: Annual Box Office Rankings]
According to stats from the Hollywood Reporter, in 1995, North America saw the release of 291 films with a total box office take of $5.36 billion, an increase of 1.3% from the previous year.
Last year, there were 11 films that crossed the $100 million mark in the North American box office, one less than 1994; 32 films surpassed $50 million, two more than the previous year.
The top box office champion from last year was The Sixth Sense. As of the end of February, it had grossed $450 million in North America and $968 million worldwide.
Second place went to Apollo 13, which racked up $173 million in North America and $355 million globally.
Third on the list was Pocahontas, earning $143 million in North America and $346 million worldwide.
Fourth was The Butterfly Effect with $141 million in North America and $323 million globally.
Fifth place went to Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls with $120 million in North America and $224 million worldwide.
Following closely, sixth was GoldenEye with $108 million in North America and $352 million worldwide.
Seventh was The Shawshank Redemption, bringing in $106 million in the U.S. and a total of $196 million internationally.
Eighth place was held by Paranormal Activity 2 with $106 million in North America and $215 million globally.
Ninth was Jumanji, reaching $100.5 million in the U.S. and $260 million worldwide.
Rounding out the top ten was Casper with $100.3 million in North America and $281 million globally.
Among the top ten, five films were produced by Guess Pictures, firmly holding half of the rankings.
Including the significant sales of The Man from Earth in the video market, Guess Pictures had six films grossing over $100 million in North America last year.
...
In terms of total box office income, Guess Pictures released 12 films last year, which earned $1.281 billion in North America -- a 38.85% increase year-over-year -- and $2.435 billion globally, a 17.6% rise compared to last year.
Second place was taken by Universal Pictures, which earned $685 million in North America from 21 films, including Apollo 13, Casper, and Waterworld, with a total global box office of $1.53 billion.
Disney was third, releasing 19 films including Pocahontas and Crimson Tide, which earned $612 million domestically and $1.437 billion globally.
Columbia Pictures came in fourth, with 18 films such as Jumanji, Bad Boys, and Legends of the Fall grossing $586 million in North America and $1.272 billion worldwide.
However, Columbia Pictures had also invested in Guess Pictures' films like Paranormal Activity 2, In & Out, and To Die For, making Columbia's North American box office performance exceed Disney's last year.
Fifth place went to Paramount Pictures, totalling $542 million in the U.S. and $944 million globally.
Warner Bros. took sixth, followed by MGM in seventh, Fox dropped to eighth, New Line stuck in ninth, and Miramax rounded out the tenth spot.
...
The release of these rankings sent shockwaves through Hollywood. In 1994, Guess Pictures garnered $924 million at the box office to become the top revenue-generating studio in the industry. This year, with $1.281 billion, they secured their title again.
This achievement also broke records in the Hollywood film industry, making it the first studio in North America to exceed $1 billion in total annual box office revenue.
Additionally, last year five out of the ten highest-grossing films in North America came from Guess Pictures, and this year they still claimed five positions, demonstrating not only rapid growth but also stability, defying any fluctuations.
This was a greater achievement than the major studios.
Following the announcement of the rankings, mainstream media in America quickly picked up the news and began to comment on it.
...
The media marveled at Guess Pictures' ability to earn profits at the box office, suggesting that the total earnings for one year were equivalent to the combined earnings of the second and third places. Once the seven major studios stood as the most dominant film companies in Hollywood, the industry's ceiling. But in just over four years, the top two studios' total earnings didn't even match the success of Guess Pictures alone.
...
James Kischick, a columnist for the Los Angeles Times, enthusiastically praised Guess Pictures for their achievements in the film market last year, stating that Guess Pictures achieved new heights every year and was steadily climbing to the throne of Hollywood.
The era of the seven major studios was fading into the past.
Hollywood's landscape had officially shifted to 'one dominating and seven smaller players' or 'one major and seven minors.'
...
David Eastman from Entertainment Weekly claimed that since 1993, the seven major studios had often banded together to try to halt Guess Pictures' rise, but every attempt had ultimately failed.
Their numerous failures only proved the undeniable strength of Guess Pictures.
From this year onward, all Hollywood professionals would have to accept the fact that Guess Pictures was not going away and would only continue to grow stronger, becoming the most powerful force in the film industry. Everyone would need to adapt to the presence of Guess Pictures.
---
"Barry, what do you think about the recent public opinion?"
In a Hollywood club, Ron Meyer set down his paper and inquired of Barry Diller, the president of Fox Pictures.
Barry Diller didn't look happy at all. Prior to 1993, 20th Century Fox had performed moderately well among the major studios, frequently ranking between second and sixth place, never coming in last. This year, MGM had achieved decent success with GoldenEye and Get Shorty, putting Fox Pictures at the bottom.
With Fox Pictures now in last place, Barry, as their head, felt the most pressure. Since the beginning of the year, many shareholders on the parent company's board had begun to doubt his capabilities and suggested replacing him as CEO.
Only with the support of people like Murdoch could he continue to hold onto his position, but that support wouldn't last long. If Fox Pictures' box office performance continued to slump this year, even Murdoch might not be able to save him.
Just thinking about this made Barry Diller irritable. "Damn Link, what is a director doing starting a film company? If it weren't for Guess Pictures, we wouldn't have to bear this much pressure."
Due to the strong influence of the Jewish community in Hollywood, the seven major studios had maintained internal competition but avoided fierce conflicts in the box office market, upholding a balance designed to preserve and expand their racial advantage in Hollywood, marginalizing or absorbing other forces, ultimately aiming to unify the American entertainment and cultural spheres.
But when Link and Guess Pictures entered the scene, this tacit balance was disrupted, and the traditional order of Hollywood was broken, significantly weakening their power and status. This situation made Barry Diller and others resent Link.
"Barry, complaining won't help. David Eastman is right; the existence of Guess Pictures has become an irreversible fact. What we need to focus on now is not hurling insults at Link but finding a way to take down Guess Pictures and prevent their further growth. Current trends indicate that if Guess Pictures continues to dominate the annual box office, at least two companies among the seven majors could go bankrupt due to funding issues." Ron Meyer frowned as he spoke.
"What suggestions do you have? Things are urgent now. Any advice that can prevent Guess Pictures from continuing to devour the box office is worth a shot," Barry Diller responded.
"Let's wait until Ovitz and Harvey get here before discussing further."
"Alright!"
Barry shrugged. He hadn't wanted to get involved in actions against Guess Pictures previously because he didn't believe they could rise to the same height as the major studios, nor did he think they could affect the profits and positions of the major studios.
But with Guess Pictures securing their position as the annual box office champion, he had to admit that they needed to take it seriously. In less than four years, Guess Pictures had traveled a path that took the major studios sixty or seventy years to navigate. If given another two or three years, half of the major studios could truly collapse.
...
They chatted for a few minutes, and then Michael Ovitz, Sherry Lansing, Terry Semel, and Harvey Weinstein arrived at the club one after the other. The once-empty oval conference table began to fill up.
This meeting was chaired by Harvey Weinstein.
Standing at the front, Harvey Weinstein opened the discussion with the first point: Guess Pictures had become a deadly adversary of the major studios now, to the extent that they needed to eliminate them. He asked if everyone agreed with this view.
Barry Diller and Ron Meyer expressed their support. Barry Diller rose to passionately detail Guess Pictures' detrimental impact on the film industry, stating that after their films did so well, the North American film market had become chaotic, inundated with a flood of bad movies, leading to countless bankruptcies among film companies; they were a plague on the industry that must be removed soon, or the major studios would be on the brink of bankruptcy.
Disney's co-CEO Michael Ovitz and Paramount's president Sherry Lansing sat quietly, pondering without immediately sharing their opinions.
Terry Semel from Warner Bros. tapped his fingers on the table and said, "While I'm not opposed to taking down Guess Pictures and am willing to align with everyone, I ask that we don't target Link for the time being. The Batman Forever project hasn't been released yet, and it has a budget of over $100 million. If Link's situation impacts the film's profitability, Warner Bros. wouldn't agree to it."
"I support this point."
MGM president Stephen Cooper raised a finger and said, "Link's team is set to take on directing the James Bond sequel, our company's key project, with an expected investment over $100 million. I too hope our actions against Guess Pictures won't affect Link."
"I have a suggestion as well." Columbia Pictures president Jon Peters frowned and said, "We still have five contracts with Guess Pictures that aren't completed. Could we wait until those contracts expire before figuring out how to take down Guess Pictures? If surprises arise due to issues with Guess Pictures causing problems for our projects, who compensates our company for the losses?"
Harvey couldn't help but grind his teeth in frustration at these three.
The purpose of everyone gathering here was clear: to discuss how to ruin Guess Pictures and restore the dominance of the major studios in Hollywood. Yet, the moment he labeled Guess Pictures an 'enemy,' Terry, Stephen, and Jon Peters raised objections, while Michael Ovitz and Sherry Lansing fell silent.
From this, it was clear that the upper management of the seven major studios had yet to reach a consensus on how to deal with Guess Pictures.
Harvey found the situation ridiculous. Guess Pictures stood poised over the seven majors, ready to seize control of Hollywood and leave them starving, yet the leaders of the seven majors still couldn't see the situation clearly or muster the will to act against Guess Pictures.
With such thoughts, how could they hope to take down a powerful opponent like Guess Pictures?
Harvey began to understand how Michael Ovitz felt in the past; Ovitz's attempts to suppress Guess Pictures had ended in defeat every time. He used to think it was due to incompetence. Now, it seemed the root cause lay in the disunity within the major studios, which had led them to be unable to recognize the current state of affairs.
Harvey Weinstein let out a breath, calming his emotions before looking at the three presidents who raised the questions: "I understand your perspectives; you all want to undermine Guess Pictures but seek to avoid harming your own company's interests. This is perfectly normal.
However, I want you to understand one thing: the profitability of the North American box office and the global box office remains relatively fixed each year, with only slight growth. Meanwhile, Guess Pictures is dramatically increasing its annual film profits, leading to a significant reduction in the earnings of the major studios.
According to estimates from magazines such as Total Film, if things continue as they are, at least one of the Big Seven will shut down within the next five years.
Now, I have a question: what is worse, a company going bankrupt or a company losing $200 million?"
Harvey Weinstein spoke with a serious expression and an urgent tone, which gave off a sense of tension.
However, the three presidents present were all seasoned individuals who had seen big events before and were not easily swayed by his style of speaking. Terry Semel responded saying, "Harvey, I know that allowing Guess Pictures to continue growing poses a huge threat to the major studios, and I realize the consequences of bankruptcy are far more severe. But I also realize that if Batman Forever loses over $100 million, the board will want me gone. I need to keep this project profitable to protect my job and generous retirement package; I hope you can understand."
MGM's president Stephen Cooper also chimed in, "I believe it's possible to deal with Guess Pictures without getting Link involved. Link is a capable director; not only does he make films quickly, but his films also make a lot of money -- a true cash machine.
Taking him down is not a necessary option for us. In fact, we could devise ways to take down Guess Pictures while allowing Link to become an independent filmmaker without any support; this way, we can also benefit financially from him."
Jon Peters, Sherry Lansing, and Michael Ovitz all nodded in agreement with this view.
Though Guess Pictures may be a cancer in the industry, with it in play, other companies cannot thrive, but Link was a gem. Any company that partnered with him long-term would see its performance soar.
What they now wanted to do was to separate the cancer from the gem: eliminate the cancer but keep the gem.
"That's impossible." Harvey said with a serious face. "Link is the owner and founder of Guess Pictures, their spiritual leader. As long as he exists, Guess Pictures cannot collapse. In contrast, without him, Guess Pictures would quickly decline. Therefore, to bring down Guess Pictures, we must first bring down Link."
"How do we take down Link? What do you suggest?" Ovitz asked.
Harvey looked around the room and said, "That's also the purpose of our meeting: to first distinguish friend from foe and define who our real enemy is, and then collectively discuss methods to deal with our enemy. If we cannot reach consensus on 'who is the enemy,' we don't need to discuss other issues, as our lack of unity will render even the best strategies ineffective."
"I support Harvey's point." Barry Diller spoke up, looking at Terry Semel. "Terry, Batman Forever is set to be released in May, right? As we discuss how to take on Link and Guess Pictures, we won't actually launch any actions until after July or August. By then, the North American box office for Batman Forever will be close to coming in, and even if Link's situation affects the film's box office, it won't have an enormous impact.
For the sake of eliminating the enormous threat posed by Guess Pictures, every company will face losses; Warner Bros should be able to accept this small hit."
Terry Semel drummed his fingers on the table, "Barry, you make a solid point, but if Batman Forever does well, Warner Bros. will continue to pursue Link for the sequels. Our losses will be far greater if we can't have Link on board."
Seeing Harvey about to interject, he waved his hand and continued, "I don't oppose going after Link; instead, I'm considering cost-effectiveness. From our company's perspective, targeting Link brings more disadvantages than benefits. However, for the benefit of all of us, some sacrifices can be made."
"Haha, well said!" Barry Diller couldn't help but laugh, glancing at MGM's Stephen Cooper. "Have you signed a contract with Link to direct the 007 sequel? How much is the penalty for breaching it?"
Stephen Cooper replied, "We signed the contract last week. We're paying a base fee of $10 million. If the company breaches the contract, we stand to lose that $10 million."
"Ten million isn't much! If we can take down Guess Pictures, once they fall, the major studios can divvy up their assets and box office shares, and the returns will exceed that $10 million by dozens of times," Harvey replied dismissively.
Stephen Cooper fell silent, indicating that he would consult with MGM's owner Kirk Kerkorian, and if Kerkorian agreed, he wouldn't oppose the plan.
Finally, everyone turned their gaze to Columbia Pictures' president Jon Peters, who was the last to weigh in.
Jon Peters shrugged, saying, "Columbia Pictures has a $500 million contract with Guess Pictures, which is halfway through completion. If we were to abandon it midway, the loss would be too great; our upper management wouldn't agree. However, we can remain neutral and won't interfere while you all take on Guess Pictures. If they happen to go bankrupt, the losses would be on us to bear."
Harvey felt dissatisfied, but he understood that Jon Peters' boss was Japanese, and there were many decisions he couldn't make individually. He refrained from applying any further pressure, simply stating that if Columbia Pictures didn't participate in the following actions, then he wouldn't need to know how they planned to deal with Guess Pictures or Link.
"Okay, I have work to do. I'm leaving now." Jon Peters didn't hesitate a second, standing up and bidding farewell to the group.
Harvey's face darkened, feeling frustrated that Jon Peters had left so decisively, clearly not optimistic about their actions.
...
"Alright, let's move on to how to take down Link."
"Wait!" Terry Semel asked, "Why not target Guess Pictures instead of going directly for Link? You do realize Link's worth billions, he's a top-tier director with deep connections. I believe taking down Guess Pictures would be easier than directly tackling Link himself."
Harvey replied, "It's precisely because Link is wealthy and skilled that we need to target him directly. Without Link, Guess Pictures loses its backbone and support system and is close to bankruptcy.
As long as Link exists, even if Guess Pictures were to collapse, he could quickly establish another film company and continue to compete with us; this approach wouldn't effectively eliminate the threat from the source."
Terry Semel tapped his fingers on the table, not continuing with questions.
"Harvey, what plans do you have to take down Link?" Sherry Lansing inquired.
Harvey put forth three demands to the team.
First, starting today, all film companies were to prohibit any collaboration with Link; previous collaborations didn't count, and moving forward, no one could work with Link after current partnerships ended.
Second, starting today, all directors, writers, actors, and producers working for the company couldn't become involved in Guess Pictures' projects. They were to announce a blackout on Guess Pictures, urging all filmmakers to isolate them.
Third, any future actions against Link must see all film companies unite, putting forth their best efforts to deal with Link. Only then would there be a chance to defeat Link and bring down Guess Pictures.
"Harvey, are you kidding?"
Before Harvey could finish, objections were raised. The first condition was reluctantly acceptable, but the second was utterly unfeasible.
Firstly, prohibiting company talent from working with Guess Pictures raised monopoly concerns that no one would agree to. Secondly, top directors and actors had considerable autonomy and would never accept such stipulations. Meanwhile, second and third-tier directors and actors, lacking significant influence, could easily be replaced by others, making their acceptance irrelevant.
Finally, Link was, after all, a top director well-connected in the entertainment industry, with numerous friends among directors and actors, and dozens of first and second-tier actors as girlfriends. And don't forget his solid ties with key players in agencies like CAA and WMA.
This tactic wouldn't phase him at all; perhaps if Link leveraged it against the major studios, it might prove more effective.
The third condition faced arguments as well, since those present were merely company managers, not owners. Their job primarily involved running their projects well and generating profit for the company to safeguard their positions and annual salaries, rather than driving Guess Pictures or Link to extinction.
To unify and mobilize efforts against Link was a tall order.
...
"Harvey, do you have any other suggestions? If it's just this, we can't possibly topple Link and Guess Pictures." Ovitz said as he smoked a cigarette.
Harvey's brows furrowed tightly, as he struggled to hide his frustration.
"If we want to defeat Link and Guess Pictures, we must pay some price. We can't back down just because it's challenging; otherwise, the seven major studios will never bring down Guess Pictures."
"Harvey, it's not that we don't want to act, but your proposed methods aren't suitable."
"Exactly. Guess Pictures doesn't lack funding, good projects, or artistic resources. They are willing to invest significantly in promotion. Your three suggestions have been tried and proved ineffective."
"Harvey, think again and come up with more effective solutions. If your plans can truly succeed, no matter how many resources it costs, we'll all support you." The presidents at the table voiced their thoughts.
Harvey opened his mouth, feeling a bit helpless. Even though the seven major studio heads wanted to crush Guess Pictures, each had their agendas -- some unwilling to spend money, others simply overlooking the crisis due to false hope, and others were solely focused on their own futures rather than long-term considerations.
Discussing how to dismantle a multibillion-dollar enterprise with such a group was akin to chasing a dream.
"Harvey, how about you think it through once again?"
Ovitz extinguished his cigarette butt. "Remember, Meyer discussed last time how Guess Pictures can't remain profitable forever; they will inevitably see losses. The early-year failures of two films prove that we can wait for Guess Pictures to incur significant losses before striking at the right moment, which could severely impact them. For now, we can continue to watch."
"Michael makes a sound point." Terry Semel, Jon Peters, and others voiced their support.
Harvey shrugged and ceased his comments.
...
After Terry Semel and the others left, the office was left with just Harvey, Barry Diller, Ron Meyer, and Michael Ovitz, their own cohort.
"Link is already our community's enemy. I propose the most ruthless methods to eliminate him; his mere existence is a threat to our survival, and every second he continues to exist is a risk to us," Harvey said with an intense look on his face.
"The most ruthless methods? What did you have in mind?" Ovitz frowned, inquiring.
Harvey made a gesture of pulling a trigger.
The trio of Ovitz, Meyer, and Diller collectively displayed expressions of shock.
"Is it necessary to take such an extreme measure?"
*****
https://www.patreon.com/Sayonara816.