Chapter 481: Utilizing the Premier League

"Duke, are you interested in football?"

In the massive banquet hall, Duke sat in a corner lounge area with a man of Russian-Jewish descent. The other man seemed to be a fanatic football enthusiast.

"I'm talking about English football. With your reputation, buying a Premier League team shouldn't be difficult. That way, we can meet up at the stadium every year."

"So, Roman," Duke said, placing his wine glass on the table in front of him with deliberate curiosity. "The rumors are true?"

Ever since arriving in London, he had been reading constant newspaper reports that Roman Abramovich was going to buy a Premier League team.

"Actually, the deal is already done."

Abramovich clearly wanted to befriend Duke, adopting an intimate, heart-to-heart manner.

"It's no secret within football circles. Now, we're just waiting for the season to end to make the official announcement."

He smiled at Duke.

"English football is the number one sport in the world, with countless fanatics all over the globe. It's a great opportunity to expand your influence."

"Expand my influence?"

Duke crossed one arm over his chest and pinched his chin. It was no exaggeration to say that his movie fans were spread all over the world, but compared to football—or rather, the fans of certain super clubs—his reach still fell somewhat short.

Seeing Duke's interested expression, Abramovich kept the rest of the conversation centered on English football, seemingly eager for Duke to join his circle.

Although he preferred American football and had even been his school's quarterback, Duke knew a bit about English football. He had heard of Abramovich before; the man was undoubtedly an English football fanatic. Perhaps he had harbored ulterior motives when he began his acquisitions, but he had since shown plenty of genuine passion.

The Premier League would undoubtedly become the world's top money-spinning league in the future. At the very least, commercially speaking, this was true. Sports clubs weren't merely black holes for investment; in North America, quite a few business families used the sports industry to turn a profit.

Duke was very interested in Abramovich's proposition. Just imagine: if he suddenly became linked to a globally influential football club right now, triggering massive media coverage, what kind of promotional boost would that bring to Return of the King, which was currently in theaters?

Truthfully, he had no intention of actually buying a Premier League club, but he was more than happy to use this opportunity to drum up some hype.

Ending his casual chat with Roman Abramovich, Duke walked out of the banquet hall and called Tina Fey over.

"Notify David and Penny. Tell them to get to London as fast as possible!"

Eighteen hours later, Duke met with his investment manager and his public relations manager at his hotel. Joined by the head of the Warner Bros. UK Branch, they discussed matters for two solid hours before heading their separate ways.

The cast and crew's promotional tour of Europe had only just finished its London stop when Duke withdrew from the itinerary. Over the following two days, The Times broke a highly captivating piece of news, claiming that someone had approached Man United with the intention of fully acquiring the club.

Fleet Street sprang into action at the scent of blood. In just one day, they unearthed the supposed inside story. Then, from the BBC to the newspapers, from the internet to traditional media, news reports blanketed everything.

"Duke Rosenberg, the famous director who just wrapped production on The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, has officially submitted a buyout offer totaling 300 million pounds after approaching Man United's three largest shareholders and club management!"

"Hollywood invades the English Premier League! Duke Rosenberg is tired of his directing career and wants to enter the football circle; The Lord of the Rings Trilogy is highly likely to be his final work."

"An American acquiring an English football club is unacceptable. Even if he successfully adapted the masterpiece of British literature, The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, it does not mean he has a sufficient understanding of this country's culture and traditions..."

Some reporters even ran to interview Man United's management. The club's CEO admitted to receiving Duke's offer, but stated that the club's shareholders currently had no intention of selling.

In this era, Man United was on a level that Chelsea simply couldn't compare to. In just a few short days, Duke's momentum completely overshadowed Abramovich's. He not only dominated the entertainment headlines but easily seized the front pages of the sports sections as well.

Across the entire region of Europe, many large sports and non-sports media outlets were tracking the story. Germany's Bild, Spain's Diario AS, and Italy's La Gazzetta dello Sport all placed the news on their front pages, using lengthy articles to detail Duke's background. Quite a few sports fans who didn't care much for the film industry came to learn the names Duke Rosenberg and The Lord of the Rings Trilogy.

The hotel where Duke was staying in London was completely surrounded by reporters and paparazzi.

Since he had tossed out this explosive piece of news, Duke didn't mind stepping forward to say a few words. While returning to the hotel from an outing, he deliberately accepted an interview with the reporters.

"I am a Manchester United fan. I really like Ryan Giggs, David Beckham, and Paul Scholes. Manchester United is one of the greatest football clubs in the world, and I believe I have the ability to make it even better."

A reporter stepped forward and asked, "But some Man United fans are worried that you'll take on bank loans to complete this acquisition, thereby saddling the club with heavy debt."

"I will not take on debt from anyone!" Duke said with exceptional seriousness. "I have already prepared sufficient funds. If Man United's shareholders accept my offer, this deal will not bring any debt!"

Pausing there, he dropped the most important line of the interview.

"If the deal is completed, I promise to take all the profits I earn from Return of the King and use them as Man United's transfer budget for next season!"

The moment he said this, the scene erupted in an uproar. Quite a few of the entertainment reporters present knew that Duke had earned over 200 million dollars in profits from each of the first two films. Return of the King would definitely bring in even more. If this buyout was truly completed, just how much transfer budget would Man United have next season?

His goal achieved, Duke walked straight into the hotel under the protection of two bodyguards.

He had pushed this news storm almost to its climax. His name and Return of the King were frequently mentioned by various media outlets. In today's era of rapid information flow, it didn't take long at all for this news to reach the ears of football fans around the world alongside Manchester United.

"Duke Rosenberg? Return of the King? The Lord of the Rings Trilogy?"

Inside a football-themed bar in India, a man wearing a Man United jersey asked in confusion, "What is all this?"

Someone nearby who knew a bit about it explained, "Duke Rosenberg is a Hollywood director. Those are the movies he's filmed."

"A director?" That Man United fan grew even more curious. "Since when are directors so rich that they can afford to buy our Man United?"

"He's a very rich director!" another person chimed in. "The papers say his net worth is estimated at over 3 billion dollars. Any single installment from The Lord of the Rings Trilogy alone can bring him over 200 million dollars in income."

"What?" The man found it unbelievable. "What kind of movie can earn so much?"

"They say the final movie of the trilogy, Return of the King, took less than twenty days to surpass a billion dollars at the global box office."

"With such an insane movie out there, how come I don't know about it? Is it screening here in India?"

"It's playing right now. We have nothing going on today, so why don't we go watch it together..."

"I'll go too. I want to see what kind of movie a director who can afford Man United makes..."

A large group of people left the bar and hurried straight toward the nearest movie theater.

Perhaps this whimsically conceived promotional hype had truly played a role, or perhaps the fans in the newly added screening regions were just enthusiastic enough. When Return of the King passed its fourth weekend overseas, the international box office not only stopped declining, but actually experienced a slight rebound. In seven days, it raked in 110.25 million dollars from 95 countries and regions!

However, English football generated a mediocre response in North America, so Return of the King's North American box office continued to decline at a healthy rate. Furthermore, the film faced its first true competitor this week: Universal Pictures' sequel racing popcorn flick, Fast & Furious 2.

However, suppressed by theater counts and screen share, and compounded by the departure of the first film's lead, Vin Diesel, and the replacement of the female lead, Fast & Furious 2's opening weekend box office suffered a severe decline compared to the first installment. Over three days, it only earned 18.98 million dollars across 2,480 theaters in North America, still unable to challenge the absolute dominance of Return of the King.

Return of the King maintained a dominant screening presence across 4,013 theaters, raking in 24.86 million dollars in North America over its fourth weekend. Although its per-theater average no longer held an advantage, theater operators were still willing to maintain ultra-wide releases because the income it brought them wasn't just box office revenue—it also came from the frequently sold-out concession stands!

Although the merchandise sales for The Lord of the Rings Trilogy couldn't compare to Star Wars at its peak, Return of the King was the final chapter of the films, the ultimate farewell in the eyes of fans. Since the film's release, merchandise sales had continuously hit new peaks—calling it a miracle wouldn't even be an exaggeration. In less than four weeks, North American sales had already smashed past 400 million dollars!

Compared to the film's box office, merchandise brought even higher profit margins to the producers, distributors, and retailers!

Just like all commercial companies, North American theater chains made every decision based on commercial returns.

However, Return of the King's 4,013 theaters and high screen share would end there. Next weekend, Finding Nemo, produced by Pixar Studio and distributed by Walt Disney, would see a wide release.

But the results achieved by Return of the King were enough to make anyone involved in the film's production and distribution smile. In its four weeks of release, the film grossed 421.18 million dollars in North America and 1.17504 billion dollars globally!