Chapter 82: Breaking a Hundred Million

A film's box office didn't rely solely on internal factors like quality and marketing; external elements also wielded a profound influence. The most typical was the film's origin. For instance, even if a movie from Europe or Asia boasted excellent quality and robust promotion, ninety-nine percent of the time, the North American audience simply wouldn't buy it.

After reviewing the competitors' files, Duke realized that although Cliffhanger was produced by Carolco Pictures—the studio behind Terminator 2 and currently the leading second-tier label in Hollywood—its biggest investor was Silvio Berlusconi!

That was right, the owner of AC Milan! He was also the film's primary producer!

While this might have seemed like an irrelevant factor, it would inevitably impact the film.

And then came the most crucial point. Because the distributor Twentieth Century Fox had taken a substantial cut of the profits from Terminator 2, Carolco Pictures had ended their partnership. For Cliffhanger, rather than choosing one of the currently dominant Big Seven distributors, they went with a second-tier distributor, TriStar Pictures!

Although TriStar was also an established label with a long history, its capabilities and distribution channels couldn't compare to the Big Seven. Distribution wasn't just about having the rights and the ability; that alone couldn't guarantee securing the same number of North American screens as other films with similar production budgets, especially during the fiercely competitive summer season!

No one could deny one simple truth: Hollywood was a circle jointly controlled by corporate giants. They could cooperate and compete amongst themselves, but they would never allow a newcomer to rise to their level.

As the current leader of the second-tier studios, Carolco Pictures was a prime target for these restrictions. They only managed to secure 2,300 theaters for Cliffhanger, a film with a staggering $70 million production budget—far fewer than the 2,512 screens showing The Rock.

This gap in theater count directly resulted in a gap at the box office!

The giants employed a myriad of methods to strangle rising studios, but squeezing distribution channels was arguably one of the simplest, crudest, most direct, and most effective approaches. Just as they would later deal with DreamWorks, without adequate distribution channels, even powerhouses like Spielberg and Jeffrey Katzenberg couldn't save DreamWorks from its fate, no matter how high-quality their productions were.

The idea of simply buying a distribution company to widely release a film across North America or the entire world was nothing but a pipe dream!

Katzenberg and Spielberg had been deeply rooted in Hollywood for over two decades. Their personal abilities and capital were immense, yet even they couldn't pull it off. Could someone who had only been in Hollywood for a few years manage it?

If faced with a weak opponent, Cliffhanger would have won hands down. But when its adversaries were Warner Brothers and Duke's The Rock, its inherent disadvantages in production and distribution severely stunted its overall box office trajectory over the three-day weekend.

On Saturday, like most movies, Cliffhanger saw a distinct rise in single-day earnings, pulling in $5.76 million!

However, the weekend box office for The Rock followed the normal pattern of a film with phenomenal word-of-mouth, steadily climbing to $7.25 million. It continued to crush Cliffhanger and Interview with the Vampire, holding firm at the top of the daily box office charts!

By this point, the overall trend for the weekend box office was set in stone. Even if Carolco Pictures and TriStar Pictures wanted to mount a counterattack, there simply wasn't enough time.

...

"Pat, the latest figures! Tell me!"

It was the morning of a new Monday. After rushing into the CAA building, Tom Cruise bypassed all the other co-managing agents and went straight into the office of Kingsley, the female agent who had single-handedly built his career.

"Interview with the Vampire is doing decently well!"

Pat Kingsley glanced at the cash cow sitting across from her. Swallowing the lingering displeasure from the recent interview incident, she said, "It pulled in $17.43 million this weekend, bringing its cumulative North American box office to $60.68 million. Breaking the hundred-million mark eventually shouldn't be an issue."

Normally, Tom Cruise would have smiled. A film grossing over a hundred million in North America would not only consolidate his current standing but also propel his climb toward the very pinnacle of Hollywood. Now, however, his mind wasn't on that at all.

"What about The Rock?" Impatience edged his voice. "Did it take the box office crown again?"

"Yes!" Kingsley dug out a document and flipped it open. "The Rock made $22.89 million, completely destroying the $18.51 million of Cliffhanger. It took its second box office championship, and Duke Rosenberg snagged his fourth!"

"$22.89 million!" Tom Cruise did some quick mental math before forcing out the words, "That brings the cumulative box office to $78.89 million. Damn it! It might break a hundred million this week!"

His expression instantly darkened.

"Calm down, Tom!"

When it came to understanding Cruise, Nicole Kidman absolutely paled in comparison to Pat Kingsley. "Don't do anything else stupid or say anything foolish. Smearing Duke Rosenberg and The Rock will only backfire on you!"

Her client was a star, an idol at that, whereas the other party was a director, a behind-the-scenes professional who never relied on public reputation. If the two sides started flinging mud at each other, Tom Cruise would undoubtedly be the one who suffered most.

With his agent's guidance, Cruise was usually quite level-headed. Dismissing the reckless ideas that had just sprouted in his mind, he leaned back in his chair.

"Tom, this is just normal business competition," Pat Kingsley urged gently. "You and Duke Rosenberg have no personal grudges; there's no need to prolong this feud! The massive success of The Rock proves he's a commercial director on a rapid upward trajectory. Don't tell me you can't see the benefits of befriending a director like that!"

Speed had effortlessly catapulted Keanu Reeves and Uma Thurman to stardom. After The Rock, previously obscure actors like Ed Harris, Nicholas Cage, and Christopher Lee were red-hot...

If he had been the one to play Stanley Goodspeed, what would his situation look like now? Tom Cruise could almost foresee it—everyone would universally treat him as a box office elixir, and for his next project, he could demand a $20 million base salary plus at least a ten percent cut of the backend profits!

Taking a few deep breaths, Tom Cruise spoke slowly, "I know what I have to do!"

Regardless of Tom Cruise's actual thoughts, The Rock behaved just like all successful summer season films. It broke free from the fierce, cutthroat competition and continuously surged toward new box office heights. Although film critics—who never truly belonged to the market or the general public—stepped up their attacks on the film as its theatrical run extended and its earnings climbed, causing its professional rating to briefly drop to around a 7, it maintained a steady 'A' audience rating of over eighty percent. That was more than enough to ensure the film kept reaping every possible dollar from the theaters.

By the time Duke and his team wrapped up their entire North American tour—traveling through cities like Philadelphia, Atlanta, and Nashville before finally stopping in Miami—The Rock had completed its third weekend in North American theaters, taking in $14.39 million.

Although it slipped to second place on the box office charts as expected, combining the weekend numbers with the $11.22 million earned over the previous four weekdays brought its total North American box office to an impressive $104.5 million!

The film's North American box office had successfully broken the hundred-million barrier!

However, Duke knew very well that this would likely be the film's last massive single-week haul. From here on out, it would only accumulate revenue through a prolonged theatrical run. After all, next weekend marked the release of a film whose box office numbers would be considered terrifying even twenty years later—a film he had specifically altered his schedule to avoid competing against head-on!

That was right, Steven Spielberg's Jurassic Park was arriving with unstoppable force. Any film hoping to make a splash in the summer season steered clear of this late May and early June weekend slot.

True, Duke wasn't afraid of competition, but being fearless didn't mean he wanted to smash his head against a brick wall!

On its third weekend in North American theaters, The Rock also landed in Britain, New Zealand, and Australia. These three locations were part of the core English-speaking markets; generally, any film that was a massive hit in North America would receive a solid response there as well.

With weekend box office figures of $6.12 million in Britain, $3.24 million in Australia, and $780,000 in New Zealand, the film successfully claimed the box office crown in all three regions.

That $10 million might not seem like much, but with the drastic changes in Eastern Europe and the collapse of the Soviet Union, most countries and regions around the world had opened their doors to Hollywood. Aside from heavily North American-flavored romances and crude comedies, massive blockbusters like action or sci-fi films could easily see their final international box office crush their domestic earnings. Some could gross 1.5 or even two times as much overseas.

However, in this era of sluggish information exchange, a true synchronized global release was simply impossible. In most overseas territories, a film's run wouldn't end until three to six months—or even a full year—after it left North American theaters. Settling the backend revenue from international box offices was an incredibly tedious process, and it was perfectly normal for payments to be delayed for long periods.

Right now, Duke's only hope was for the North American box office to climb as high as possible. Then, using his one-fifth profit share from the domestic market, he could pay off his mother's $10 million loan. The remaining ten percent profit share and interest could be settled slowly once the overseas earnings came in.

According to their initial contract, the lawyers Duke had hired and the accounting team from PricewaterhouseCoopers were involved in every stage of the process: pre-production, filming, marketing, and the post-release theatrical run.

Hiring these highly specialized, reputable firms certainly didn't come cheap. Aside from a $1 million base fee, they were also entitled to a five percent cut of Duke's investment returns.

Entering June, Lee, Cage, and Harris headed to Europe to continue promoting the film. Since directors drew comparatively less public attention, Duke returned to Los Angeles. Plenty of people in the City of Angels were waiting for him.