Chapter 453: The Man Who Decides the CEO of Warner Brothers

"If the timing is right, I will accept your invitation."

Duke made no promises, offering only a vague answer.

The market over there was indeed tempting, but that wouldn't be true for another ten years. Its current value was better than nothing; even if a film grossed $100 million at the box office, a revenue share of just over ten percent was completely negligible for his movies.

Unlike traditional Hollywood directors, he knew exactly where the public's psychological bottom line lay over there. Although he had been shooting standard, politically correct films steeped in Great Americanism over the years, he never touched subjects he shouldn't—and he certainly wouldn't in the future.

Of course, after 9/11, Sino-US relations had improved significantly. If there were official film and cultural exchange events between the two sides, and they extended a formal invitation, Duke would be more than happy to go take a look.

However, it would only be a look. Duke knew very well that, let alone as a foreigner, even if he were a Chinese American, any real moves he tried to make would still leave him treated as an outsider.

This was just a minor interlude on his trip to Europe. After spending the weekend in Cannes, Duke and his team flew to London, and the latest weekend box office figures were forwarded to him by The Lord of the Rings Studio.

In its first overseas weekend, Britain remained the highest-grossing market. The Two Towers raked in $27.85 million over its first three days, setting the highest weekend box office record in British film history.

Across the entire European region, The Two Towers took the box office crown in almost every country without exception. In France, where Duke led the cast on tour, its performance was second only to Britain and Germany, bringing in a highly impressive $18.52 million.

In Germany, traditionally Europe's second-largest box office market, The Two Towers easily secured the top spot for the week with a staggering $24.55 million!

Although the film wouldn't enter Asia, Latin America, and other regions until the following weekend, it pulled in an overseas box office of $124.57 million in Europe alone!

Meanwhile, the film continued its triumphant march in North America.

Among the new releases in North America this week, only Universal Pictures' About a Boy opened in more than 1,500 theaters. However, heavily impacted by The Two Towers, the low-budget film's screen share was far from ideal. Even with popular stars like Hugh Grant and Rachel Weisz joining forces, it posed no real threat to The Two Towers.

Universal Pictures also took a very low-key approach to the film's promotion and distribution, clearly lacking sufficient confidence—otherwise, they wouldn't have scheduled it for the weekend immediately following The Two Towers. The performance of About a Boy met market expectations, grossing a mere $7.8 million in its opening weekend.

On one hand, the film's quality simply wasn't up to par; on the other, it suffered from the massive impact of The Two Towers.

The Two Towers held remarkably strong during its second weekend in North America. Compared to its opening weekend, the box office dropped by only thirty-eight percent, raking in an impressive $63.87 million!

Even now in the 2000s, when quite a few major commercial blockbusters could break the $50 million mark in their first week, $63.87 million not only crushed the opening weekend figures of the vast majority of films but also set the record for the highest second-weekend box office in North American film history!

"In just ten days of release, the cumulative North American box office has reached $249.62 million, with a global box office of $374.19 million."

In the Warner offices, Doug Walter and Jamie Jensen smiled radiantly.

"Can you even imagine results like this?" Jamie Jensen continued.

"I can!" Doug Walter said seriously. "Because the director is Duke Rosenberg!"

Jamie Jensen's eyes shifted thoughtfully. "Doug, how about we make a bet?"

"A bet on what?" Doug Walter asked curiously.

"I bet you a week's use of your new villa." Jamie Jensen immediately laid out the stakes. "If the North American box office for The Two Towers falls under $500 million, I lose. If it exceeds $500 million, you lose. How about it?"

Doug Walter tapped his own head and joked, "Do you think there's something wrong with me up here? Why would I take a bet like that? If you flipped the terms around, I'd definitely agree."

"Flip them around? No, no..." Jamie Jensen wagged a finger. "Then you might as well say The Two Towers won't cross $1 billion globally!"

"You know what, Jamie?" Doug Walter switched to a serious tone. "$1 billion is just my minimum global expectation for The Two Towers."

"Duke has never disappointed anyone, has he?"

The two men exchanged a look and burst into laughter at the same time.

As their laughter gradually subsided, Jamie Jensen asked again, "How are the merchandise sales looking?"

"Excellent!" Doug Walter pulled out a document and handed it straight to him. "In ten days, North American merchandise sales hit $187 million, and that's a conservative estimate!"

Jamie Jensen sighed. "Warner Brothers cannot lose Duke."

"He's Warner Brothers' largest individual shareholder," Doug Walter said. "A lot of the time, Warner's interests are his personal interests."

Nodding, Jamie Jensen asked in a low voice, "Any progress on your situation?"

"Don't mention this to anyone else."

After offering the warning, Doug Walter went on, "Last year, the revenue from the two projects I oversaw, The Fellowship of the Ring and Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, accounted for thirty-seven percent of Warner Brothers' total annual revenue. The group has basically confirmed that starting in July, I'll be taking over Jeff's position."

"Congratulations on becoming the new CEO."

Pausing for a moment, Jamie Jensen reminded him, "Doug, I think it's highly necessary to notify Duke in advance."

"Without his support, there's no way I could have gotten this position." Doug Walter gave him a reassuring look. "I had someone notify Duke yesterday."

In truth, Doug Walter felt that he had won this bloodless battle for CEO relatively easily. Aside from mobilizing his network, his greatest strategy had been choosing the strongest backer within Warner Brothers and latching on without hesitation.

To outsiders, this completely lacked any tactical finesse.

There was even a rumor spreading through Hollywood—the man who truly decided the CEO of Warner Brothers was Duke Rosenberg!

Duke had caught wind of these rumors but paid them little mind. Doug Walter becoming the new CEO of Warner Brothers perfectly aligned with his needs. They had worked together for years and understood each other's habits and methods, which would only benefit his continued collaboration with Warner Brothers.

After spending nearly a week in Europe, Duke led the cast to the Far East. Starting in Tokyo, Japan, they passed through Seoul, South Korea; Hong Kong and Taipei in China; Manila in the Philippines; and finally arrived in Sydney, Australia, promoting the release of The Two Towers across the Far East.

Even excluding Australia, this trip had taken them far from the Western world where The Lord of the Rings novels were immensely popular. Yet, everywhere Duke's group went, they set off waves of frenzy. During their promotional stop in Tokyo, Orlando Bloom was recognized while out sightseeing, leading to him being swarmed by thousands of young Japanese men and women. Even after alerting the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, it took quite a long time to rescue the actor who played Legolas.

Between the two most popular 'eye candy' stars of the first two Lord of the Rings films, Duke had deliberately brought Orlando Bloom along instead of Alessandra Ambrosio. This was a preemptive measure on his part.

Since he had agreed to formally date Ivanka Trump, Duke intended to take the relationship seriously. If he carried on as he had in the past, even if Ivanka magnanimously forgave him once, she would never tolerate it indefinitely. No woman had limitless patience when it came to that kind of thing.

When he was single, he could play around to his heart's content, but now that he had a girlfriend, Duke was determined to settle down.

He knew his self-control was somewhat lacking at times, so minimizing contact was undoubtedly a good strategy.

Duke's Far East tour with the cast was a massive success, triggering intense reactions at every stop. After The Two Towers enjoyed a red-hot first week in Europe, its momentum inevitably cooled down slightly. The Far East and Latin America then took up the mantle of propping up the overseas market, and they performed exceptionally well.

In its second weekend of overseas release, The Two Towers pulled in a staggering $189.23 million, bringing its cumulative overseas box office to $372.57 million!

There was no suspense in North America, either. Entering its third weekend, The Two Towers didn't see a reduction in theaters; instead, it expanded once more, reaching an unprecedented 3,977 theaters across North America. The average theater screen share still hovered near eighty percent. This guaranteed another robust performance for the weekend, keeping the drop-off rate contained to just forty percent as it took in $38.32 million.

Factoring in the $32.11 million earned over the preceding four weekdays, the North American box office for The Two Towers successfully broke the $300 million mark, reaching an impressive $320.05 million.

In less than twenty days, the global box office for The Two Towers had already hit $692.62 million!

By this point, even industry outsiders could see clearly that $1 billion globally was just a milestone for The Two Towers, definitely not the finish line!

Duke knew exactly why the film was able to achieve such stellar results and reap profits at the box office and through merchandise at a much faster rate than The Fellowship of the Ring. It was the result of multiple factors.

First, although The Two Towers wasn't a sequel in the traditional sense, it enjoyed all the same perks as the follow-up to a massive blockbuster.

Second, the film's quality, marketing, and theater support were equally robust. Plus, as a director, he had spent ten years building a resounding brand for himself.

Finally, in what should have been a fiercely competitive May, The Two Towers faced no truly formidable rivals, allowing it to easily secure a three-week box office winning streak.

But this advantage was about to vanish. The following weekend, George Lucas's epic, Star Wars Prequel: Attack of the Clones, would be making its forceful arrival.