Chapter 876: What Exactly Is Going On?

Amid heated public discussion, The Dark Knight Rises made it through its second weekend in theaters. Impacted by the recent string of incidents, the film's second-weekend box office dropped more than fifty percent from its opening weekend, taking in $86.57 million.

Although this drop exceeded Warner Brothers' pre-release expectations, the $135.42 million earned over the previous five workdays still carried the North American box office for The Dark Knight Rises smoothly past the $400 million mark, reaching a staggering $427.37 million.

Meanwhile, the film pulled in nearly another $250 million overseas. Its cumulative global box office was now infinitely close to $1 billion; breaking the billion-dollar mark would take only another day or two.

The various negative incidents had certainly impacted The Dark Knight Rises, but the film's momentum remained astonishing.

"Without the negative news, what would the box office for The Dark Knight Rises be? Could it become another The Avengers?"

Some media outlets raised this question. If the Santa Monica Commercial Square shooting had not happened, the North American box office for The Dark Knight Rises would indeed have been stronger, but Duke did not think the global box office would have seen a significant increase.

The reason was simple. The negative impact mainly affected the North American market; overseas, the incident only made The Dark Knight Rises more famous, drawing even more casual moviegoers into theaters.

Despite the CinemaScore Company's prediction that the final North American box office for The Dark Knight Rises would not surpass $600 million and its global total would stall between $1.3 billion and $1.4 billion—falling short of Warner Brothers' anticipated $1.5 billion—no one could deny that the film was still a massive success.

This fact deeply annoyed quite a few people.

David Ellison, who had been actively stirring up trouble and fanning the flames behind the scenes, was one of them. Reading the latest box office report in his office at Sky Film Studio, he tugged at his hair, his expression clearly showing his frustration.

Although everything he did had clearly taken effect, box office numbers like these couldn't strike a blow against Duke Rosenberg at all. In fact, they made his actions look somewhat ridiculous.

If he hadn't also received some good news today, David Ellison would have been tempted to tear that box office report to shreds.

Delivered alongside the box office report were several partnership agreements Sky Film Studio had reached with Universal Pictures and Paramount Pictures.

After lengthy negotiations, compounded by Hollywood's persistent cash shortage following the 2008 economic crisis—with Universal Pictures and Paramount Pictures facing particularly tight capital chains—Sky Film Studio finally reached an agreement with both studios on various terms, officially becoming a partner.

According to the agreements, Sky Film Studio had secured the investment rights for the next three installments of Paramount Pictures' Star Trek franchise. Unlike ordinary investments, Sky Film Studio would hold a fifty percent investment stake and enjoy all the corresponding returns for their share.

On the other hand, exactly as David Ellison had hoped, Sky Film Studio obtained the investment rights for the next four films in the Fast & Furious franchise. And unlike with Fast and Furious 5, the cash-strapped Universal Pictures had fundamentally agreed to let Sky Film Studio enjoy equivalent returns on their investment.

Beyond that, David Ellison would also invest in Universal Pictures' rebooted installment of Jurassic Park, taking a fifty percent share.

His investment in the new Jurassic Park film also solved Universal Pictures' most pressing financial crisis.

All of this improved David Ellison's mood. After years of experience, he finally understood one thing completely: investing in so-called new ideas and original concepts carried far too much risk. The probability of failure vastly outweighed the chances of success. Conversely, investing in sequels of successful film franchises—just like Fast and Furious 5—clearly offered a much higher return on investment.

David Ellison made up his mind. In the short term, Sky Film Studio would absolutely not invest in any more of those supposedly creative films.

Setting those thoughts aside for now, David Ellison flipped through the documents for Alien Battlefield. The film would be hitting theaters soon, and its success or failure was directly tied to Sky Film Studio's future development. Although he had his doubts and worried that he might have been conned early on, after watching the movie, he still believed it had the potential to be a massive hit.

The film's production was exceptionally well done. Since it was adapted from a famous novel, it didn't lack a fan base, and with a sufficient promotional budget, it should be a success...

Just as David Ellison was thinking this, an urgent knock sounded at the door. When he called out, his assistant pushed the door open and hurried inside.

"Boss!" The assistant immediately turned on the room's television and switched it to CNN. "There's a press conference regarding James Holmes. You'd better take a look."

Hearing this, David Ellison closed his files and turned his attention to the television. The Los Angeles Police were holding their latest case briefing on the "Santa Monica Commercial Square shooting and James Holmes."

On the television screen, hundreds of reporters were focused on Lee Pace, the captain of the Los Angeles County Police Department. David Ellison stared at him as well, hoping the man would throw out even more shocking details to keep the media's attention locked on The Dark Knight Rises.

Lee Pace's words did not disappoint David Ellison. The information revealed was absolutely shocking, so much so that the color drained from David Ellison's face.

"According to police interrogations and verifications, the Vin Diesel car crash that occurred last year was not an accident, but premeditated murder," Lee Pace announced. "Based on James Holmes's confession, he was the direct perpetrator of that incident, and the true mastermind behind the scenes..."

It wasn't just David Ellison; his assistant also hadn't expected the press conference to broadcast such information. His mouth fell open in shock.

"What is going on here?" David Ellison fixed furious eyes on his assistant. "What exactly is going on?"

"I... I... I'm not sure either." The assistant wiped away the cold sweat beading on his forehead. "Boss, you said we couldn't handle this kind of thing personally, so I went through several middlemen to have someone else take charge. I heard they found some alcoholic deadbeat..."

To ensure the matter wouldn't trace back to them, the operation had definitely been passed through countless layers. As the assistant figured, there were countless unemployed and homeless people across America, and some of them would do absolutely anything for money.

He just never expected the matter to involve James Holmes.

Moreover, this James Holmes's lips were far too loose. Wasn't he supposed to be imitating the Joker? How could someone like this even call himself the Joker?

David Ellison could no longer sit still. He stood up and paced back and forth a couple of times, repeatedly telling himself to stay calm. There were too many layers to this; even if the police knew the Vin Diesel car crash wasn't an accident, they couldn't possibly trace it back to him.

Besides, there was still room to maneuver. As long as they didn't panic, there was no need to worry too much.

Taking two deep breaths, David Ellison sat back down behind his desk and instructed his assistant, "Drop your other work for now. Follow up on this matter with everything you have."

The assistant nodded emphatically.

"Look into the latest news," David Ellison added. "I need to know exactly how far the investigation has progressed."

Once his assistant left, David Ellison completely lost the mood to read his files. He sat there thinking for a while and ultimately vetoed the idea of immediately notifying his father. After all, the situation was still far from spinning out of control.

The progress of the case announced by the Los Angeles Police was like a bowl of cold water thrown into boiling oil, triggering massive shockwaves. The focus of public opinion immediately shifted to the Vin Diesel incident. The deceased Hollywood star once again exerted his lingering influence, not only becoming the focal point the media scrambled to cover but also allowing The Dark Knight Rises to gradually escape its previous whirlpool of public scrutiny.

Any news, or even gossip, had a shelf life, and the media was always chasing the freshest stories. Compared to "James Holmes murdered Vin Diesel," The Dark Knight Rises and the issue of movie violence were old news, making it very difficult to drum up further public interest.

"Don't relax."

Inside the office at Warner Studios, Duke instructed Tina Fey, "Urge Lee Pace and the police department to keep investigating."

"They've already traced it back to a private investigator," Tina Fey told Duke, sharing the latest developments. "Although they've come under some pressure, the Los Angeles Police Department has no intention of stopping for now. They are currently looking for that private detective and believe the matter won't be as simple as it looks on the surface."

Duke thought for a moment before asking, "What about Vin Diesel's family?"

"No reaction yet." Tina Fey flipped through her files. "Vin Diesel didn't have a good relationship with his parents, and they didn't really care whether he lived or died."

"What about Paloma Jimenez?" Duke asked, referring to the girlfriend Vin Diesel had abused. "Have someone find her and get her to put pressure on the police department."

Tina Fey nodded slightly. "She is a very greedy woman. It won't be hard to persuade her."

"From now on..." Duke's lips curled up slightly into a smile. "We stand with Vin Diesel."

For the sake of profit, they had once stood in opposition to Vin Diesel, vigorously smearing his posthumous reputation. Likewise, for the sake of profit, they could now stand in Vin Diesel's camp and urge the police to track this incident down to the bitter end.

"If this matter really is connected to him," Tina Fey asked with a hint of confusion, "are we really going to send him to prison?"

"Send him to prison?" Duke froze for a second, then shook his head. "Why would we send him to prison? Don't forget, with his and his father's net worth, they have more than enough money to hire a massive team of lawyers. Besides, what benefit do we get from sending him to prison?"

Without sufficient profit, why would Duke waste so much effort doing such a thing?

After discussing a few more details, Tina Fey left the office. She needed to follow Duke's instructions and keep a close eye on the reactions from all sides.