346 Diverse Achievements
Warner Bros. has spent a significant amount on the marketing of the film "Space Jam," but on its third day, its box office sales started going downhill.
The box office on the third day was 8 million dollars. Although it was already good box office sales for the day, it was possible due to Warner Bros.' ongoing promotion of the film "Space Jam." Warner Bros. also kept spending a huge sum in marketing.
Although the box office sales of "Space Jam" already declined on the third day, Warner Bros. still has a bit of hope and continued to spend a lot in marketing the movie, clearly hoping that it'll surpass the "Spider-Man" movie once more, but the results were disappointing.
In the first week, KiShin Pictures' "Spider-Man" movie box office sales for the week were a staggering 140 million dollars.
While the box office sales for Warner Bros.' "Space Jam" movie reached about 40 million dollars, its initial success in the first and second days sharply contrasted with a decline starting on the third day, despite Warner Bros.' marketing efforts.
Due to Warner Bros. investing a substantial sum in marketing the "Space Jam" movie, it achieved a box office revenue of around 40 million dollars. However, this success was primarily attributed to the marketing expenses, resulting in minimal profits for Warner Bros.
Recognizing this, Warner Bros. opted to cease their significant spending on the marketing of the "Space Jam" movie. Consequently, with reduced marketing efforts, the box office performance of "Space Jam" continued to decline, while the "Spider-Man" movie maintained its dominance in year-round box office sales.
Undoubtedly, KiShin Pictures' "Spider-Man" stood out as the blockbuster movie of 1996.
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In Tokyo, Japan.
The "Spider-Man" movie was making its way into the country with teasers and trailers.
From television alone, Japanese viewers could discern that the movie was exceptional, thanks to its incredibly advanced CGI.
Many Japanese had already purchased tickets in advance.
Meanwhile, the "Sailor Moon" anime also gained considerable popularity in Japan, with many girls imitating Usagi Tsukino's appearance by dyeing their hair.
The anime would soon influence other countries like South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Singapore, as the "Sailor Moon" anime was undergoing the dubbing process for these countries' languages.
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In KiShin's headquarters, Chairman Shin and the executives reviewed the corporation's ventures over the past few months.
The executives in charge of the entertainment sector, including anime, films, novels, manga, and comics, enthusiastically recounted the recent success of the entertainment department and its subsidiaries.
Shin smiled faintly upon hearing the good news that their challenge or provocation to the "Big Six" Warner Bros. was effective, and now, the film studio had suffered a slight loss.
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Time passed by in a blink, and in early December 1996, the "Sailor Moon" anime began airing in South Korea and Singapore.
After a few episodes had aired in those countries, the anime's influence was considerable.
Many young girls, in particular, purchased "Sailor Moon" merchandise from KiShin Merchandise or other distributors.
The impact of the "Sailor Moon" anime in other countries was something that many Japanese anime studios hadn't anticipated.
The anime targeted at girls became a sensation in other countries, surpassing the debut of "Dragon Ball," "Yu-Gi-Oh," and others. Perhaps only "Pokémon" could match the sensation of the "Sailor Moon" anime.
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In mid-December 1996, the "Spider-Man" movie was gradually distributed to Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Taiwan.
Although the box office sales in Asia were not as super successful as in the USA, it still achieved success, and KiShin Pictures profited significantly.
The consecutive and consistent blockbuster movies produced by KiShin Pictures were undeniably eye-catching.
Many, especially in the USA, began to speculate about KiShin Pictures. Some theorized that the film studio was contracted by a devil or that behind KiShin Pictures was the controller of the world—people orchestrating politics, the economy, and even the weather.
Shinro Suzuki was naturally implicated in these speculations. Many found it suspicious that such a young man could build a billion-dollar corporation from scratch, even with the support of his wealthy family.
Some guessed Shinro Suzuki might be an alien or had sold his soul to the devil.
Meanwhile, Shin remained completely unaware of people's speculations about him and his company.
Currently, Shin, with Mira, was simply annoyed at Luigi, the family's golden retriever dog, who had just farted in their room before nonchalantly leaving and closing the door.
If Shin didn't know any better, he would have thought that the dog did it intentionally. Meanwhile, Mira, in the room with him, just laughed at Shin's expression.
"I don't know if Luigi did that intentionally, but I'll probably never know," Shin said. He then showed something to Mira. "Anyway, look at this phone and tell me what you think."
Mira examined the phone in Shin's hand. After holding it, she noticed it had a flippable design, similar to the Motorola StarTAC. When she flipped it open, she was surprised to find a large screen on the upper shell and a keypad in the lower shell. She couldn't help but exclaim, "This is a phone?"
"Yeah, it's the new phone developed by KiShin-SamStar through joint research," Shin explained while turning the phone.
Mira was astonished as she observed the colorful and bright screen. "This will definitely become a hit!" As she curiously explored the phone, she became more and more impressed. Compared to ordinary cellphones with small, dull screens, the one in her hand was revolutionary.
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In early January 1997, the announcement came that "StarCraft 1" and "Fallout 1" would be released for the PC platform.
PC gamers were gradually getting accustomed to the release of various video games, providing them with many choices, including KiShin's video games. Despite the increasing options, KiShin still maintained its reputation for producing the best video games, and many were eagerly anticipating the release of their new games.
