Chapter 420: By Duke's Side

The weekend before Christmas belonged entirely to Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. It was one of the two best release windows of the year for all-ages, family-friendly films. Coupled with a lack of strong competitors, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone swept away the tepid box office climate that had lingered since the September 11 Attacks, sparking a massive moviegoing frenzy.

"This is an energetic adventure film. The tone is full of adventure and humor, yet it feels exceptionally fresh, offering audiences a completely new experience."

"The magical world created in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone makes one marvel at Joanne Rowling's imagination. You can fully experience the miracles of Harry's magical world in this film."

The media was also filled with praise. Even the harshest reporters and editors understood that the most important thing for a family-friendly film was simply to be entertaining.

Undeniably, Chris Columbus's style was a bit too child-oriented, making Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone skew juvenile. But this wasn't without its benefits. The most crucial aspect of a family-friendly film was attracting the children in the audience.

Even for G- or PG-rated films, few parents would let their young children go to the theater alone. As long as a movie sparked a child's interest, it usually guaranteed at least two or three ticket sales, if not more.

Much like Chris Columbus's Home Alone in the early nineties, the explosive power of an excellent family-friendly film was astonishing. Furthermore, thanks to the promotional blitz orchestrated by the entire Time Warner Group, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone had already amassed a massive fanbase over the past few years.

On its opening day in North America, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone raked in $33.55 million across more than 3,600 theaters on Friday alone, shattering the North American single-day box office record of $32.24 million set by The Fellowship of the Ring during the Summer Season.

By Saturday, the little wizard continued to wave his magic wand and sweep the theatrical market. With a single-day gross of $34.58 million, the film broke the brand-new record it had established just yesterday.

Although the single-day box office slipped to $25.66 million on Sunday as the most fanatical readers burned through their initial enthusiasm, it still broke another record held by The Fellowship of the Ring, pushing the North American opening weekend box office record to a staggering $93.79 million!

Opening concurrently in Britain, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone also exploded at the box office, pulling in $26.09 million over its first three days!

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone delivered a nearly perfect opening for the entire series!

"Duke, working with you..."

In a reception room inside the Warner Building, Doug Walter looked at Duke with burning eyes. "...was absolutely the best decision Warner Brothers has made since the nineties!"

Jeff Robinov was scheduled to transfer to the parent company next year. The massive success of The Fellowship of the Ring and Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone under Doug Walter's supervision practically guaranteed him the position of the next Warner Brothers CEO.

Looking back, it wasn't as if there had been no dissenting voices within the company. But he had fully absorbed the lesson of how Jeff Robinov had claimed the CEO throne in the first place—by firmly and resolutely supporting Duke Rosenberg's projects!

Now, he was about to reap a massive reward!

There were even rumors circulating within Warner Brothers that becoming the CEO wasn't difficult at all; as long as you maintained a good relationship with Duke Rosenberg and fully supported his projects, that was enough.

As a beneficiary of this strategy, Doug Walter felt these rumors held quite a bit of truth.

He wouldn't discount his own hard work and interpersonal networks, but Duke's support was undoubtedly the heaviest weight on the scales that gave him an absolute advantage in the competition.

Although Duke rarely spoke at board meetings, who could possibly ignore the weight of his words?

"Doug, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone has indeed achieved success far beyond our expectations." Duke glanced at Doug Walter sitting beside him. The next Warner Brothers CEO seemed to be spacing out, so Duke spoke up to remind him, "But this success also brings hidden risks. Our negotiations with Joanne Rowling cannot wait any longer."

Doug Walter snapped back to attention and gave Duke a solemn nod. "I understand."

"Companies like Disney and Fox have already contacted Joanne Rowling's agent," Doug added. "Walt Disney in particular. Rumor has it they've offered her agent a series of terms that far exceed ours."

Duke had also caught wind of this news. "We need to finalize the contract with Rowling as soon as possible. No matter how many movies are left in the Harry Potter Series, they can only belong to us!"

The opening weekend box office of over $90 million was certainly worth paying attention to, but what Duke valued even more was the Harry Potter merchandise. Over those exact same three days, Harry Potter Series merchandise generated over $100 million in sales in North America alone!

For this series, the box office profits were nothing compared to the merchandise!

A knock rang out, and a secretary led Joanne Rowling and her agent into the room.

"Hi, Duke. Hi, Doug."

Rowling was in high spirits, her face glowing. She looked as though she had grown several years younger.

"Hi, Jo..."

Duke maintained his usual demeanor, greeting Rowling and giving her agent a nod.

The purpose of this meeting was extremely clear, and Duke had no intention of beating around the bush. Once Rowling and her agent sat down, he asked directly, "Jo, when do you plan to start writing the fourth book of the series?"

"I've already outlined the direction of the plot." Joanne Rowling pointed to her forehead. "Once Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets is finished, I'll officially start writing it."

"I've been waiting a long time. I can finally see the fourth book on the horizon," Duke said with a sigh, before smoothly shifting back to the main topic. "You mentioned to me before that the entire series will be seven books. It's time we negotiated the rights for the final four."

"That's what I was thinking as well." Rowling's thoughts seemed straightforward. "Our collaboration has always been pleasant. If possible, I'd very much like to continue working together."

But she then glanced at her agent. "You can discuss the specific details with Dermott."

Duke and Doug Walter exchanged a look, both realizing this was going to be a difficult negotiation.

Of course, Duke still believed Joanne Rowling's top choices for collaboration were Duke Studio and Warner Brothers. After all, if the two sides really parted ways, the subsequent films would inevitably face massive cast and production changes, and the copyright disputes with Warner alone would be a monumental headache.

However, comparatively speaking, Joanne Rowling undeniably held the initiative in these negotiations.

Before Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone began production, and right up until its release, Harry Potter Studio had continuously tried to discuss the copyright for the entire series with Joanne Rowling, but they had been rejected every single time.

The situation was obvious. Before the release of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, the team representing Joanne Rowling had absolutely no intention of opening new negotiations with Harry Potter Studio. They wanted to wait until the film premiered to adjust their bargaining chips based on the market response.

Perhaps Joanne Rowling had once been an ordinary housewife, but with her experiences over the past few years, coupled with having an agent and a public relations manager by her side, how could she be foolish?

The blockbuster heat of the Harry Potter Series was blatantly obvious. Who would be stupid enough not to fight for their own maximum benefit?

At the very least, Duke knew one thing for sure. In order to keep the film crew in Britain, Joanne Rowling had given up one percent of the profit share. For the final four films, she would inevitably demand it back—perhaps even starting from the second film.

In his past life, Joanne Rowling was the only person in the world who had made it onto the Forbes billionaires list solely through writing.

This was bound to be a drawn-out negotiation filled with haggling and conflicts of interest.

After Rowling and her agent left, Duke didn't depart right away. Instead, he stayed to discuss their next countermeasures with Doug Walter.

"Aside from the Rowling team's own demands for profit," Duke began, pointing out the obvious, "the approaches from other companies will only further raise their psychological expectations. This is actually quite disadvantageous for our negotiations."

Doug Walter thought for a moment before replying, "Fox is easy to handle. Their energy is currently focused on the X-Men franchise and their parent company's scandal in Britain. Our main pressure still comes from Walt Disney."

"Therefore, Doug," Duke said bluntly, "have someone reach out to Steve Jobs. At the very least, we can't let Disney's management feel too comfortable. We have to give them something to worry about."

"Pixar Studio!" Doug Walter made no effort to hide the naked longing in his eyes. "Animation production has always been a weakness for Warner Brothers. If we could acquire Pixar Studio..."

"If you can really sway Steve Jobs and secure Pixar Studio..." Duke stood up to leave, but turned his head to add one last thing. "Doug, I will fully support you!"

Leaving the Warner Building, Duke got into his car and told the driver to head straight to Los Angeles International Airport. He was preparing to fly to New York for Christmas. Although the city had not yet fully recovered from its recent disaster, his mother and his girlfriend were both there.

As he neared the airport, he received a call from Ivanka Trump.

"Haven't boarded the plane yet?"

Hearing her familiar voice, a faint smile appeared on Duke's lips. "It'll probably be another half an hour. Don't worry, darling, we'll see each other very soon."

"My dad wanted me to tell you that he's throwing a grand Christmas party, and he wants to invite you."

Switching the phone to his other hand, Duke considered it for a few seconds. "No problem. I'll definitely be there on time."

"I'll pick you up at the airport."

Ivanka Trump left that final sentence and hung up.

The most prominent change brought about by the September 11 Attacks was that airport security had become far stricter. Even private jets faced certain restrictions. In the past, the media and the public would have decried such actions as violations of personal freedom, but now, no one objected. The North American Continent was no longer the inviolable land it had once been in the hearts of the American people.