Chapter 941: Unexpected Opening Day Box Office

[Chapter 941: Unexpected Opening Day Box Office]

That night at the party, Eric chatted with Matthew Perry about Ted. He showed no reservations about this utterly shameless movie that ruined childhoods; instead, he revealed great interest. They quickly hit it off, and after a symbolic audition, the lead role in Ted was secured.

With the lead actor for Ted confirmed, Eric's other projects, including The Lord of the Rings, Iron Man, The Fast and the Furious, and Desperate Housewives, were basically all set to go. As he headed to New York to spend Christmas with women and children, the only remaining project without a lead was the female lead in The Ring.

...

While most Western countries were basking in the joys of the approaching Christmas season, Southeast Asia continued to suffer from the ravages of a financial storm.

After putting up a fight for half a month, South Korea ultimately gave up defending the won. Within just two weeks, the exchange rate of the won against the dollar plummeted, reaching an alarming ratio of 1756:1, marking a horrific decline of 73% from its peak just a month prior.

In East Hampton, Long Island, Joanna and Virginia stopped moving between East Hampton and Southampton as their two little ones were about to start school. A brand new elementary school was under construction in East Hampton, and by the time Kevin and Hawaii turned five next year, this costly private school was expected to be ready for enrollment. Until then, Joanna and Virginia decided to give Kevin and Hawaii home preschooling.

It was December 20, and Eric had just flown in from Los Angeles the previous day. The Chris family had also made a special trip to East Hampton to celebrate Christmas together. After breakfast, Chris came over from their estate to discuss matters regarding Southeast Asia with Eric.

The East Coast had just experienced a heavy snowfall, and although it was sunny now, the sun offered little warmth. Rather than retreating to a study, Eric and Chris sat at a round table by the backyard pool, enjoying the winter's feeble sunlight while watching a big girl building a snowman with three little ones nearby; that was Ewa Pacula with Kevin, Hawaii, and Emma.

"Mike Tapler from Apollo Fund probably cried his eyes out privately," Chris told him. "He shorted currencies like the baht and the Indonesian rupiah, betting that the won wouldn't plunge. They say he lost $1.2 billion, wiping out a significant chunk of his initial profits. Many hedge funds that weren't a hundred percent certain about the won's direction regretted their decisions, but at least they can consider themselves lucky; they didn't make a wrong bet. A 73% drop! Virtually no one expected the won to plunge so drastically in such a short time. Many began to cash out when the won hit 1500:1 against the dollar. If it weren't for your insistence, I would have done the same. Thankfully, I didn't; our accounts are now nearing $800 million. After settling everything, we'll still come away with a profit of at least $450 million."

Chris spoke excitedly, while Eric felt a mix of surprise. Initially, he thought that his rebirth memories might not be of much help during this financial crisis, but the outcome surpassed his expectations.

Take the won as an example; had Chris cashed out when the won was at 1500:1 against the dollar, it would have depreciated by about 50%. The $1.1 billion short position established by Firefly Investments would have only recovered around $550 million at that exchange rate, resulting in a profit of just $250 million after deducting the $300 million principal.

However, under Eric's insistence, Chris patiently waited until the won fell below 1700 to begin settling. At this point, the original $1.1 billion short position had already dwindled to $300 million. After the short contracts settled, Firefly Investments' recorded earnings were nearly $800 million, allowing them to make a profit double what it would have been had the won dropped by only 50%.

During the entire Southeast Asian financial crisis, Firefly Investments' $700 million of principal appreciated to $1.8 billion, also far exceeding Eric's original expectations. However, a big part of this was because Firefly Investments had small capital, making it easier to pivot. If it had been a large fund like Quantum Fund, which could alter the dynamics of a financial crisis, achieving such high returns would have surely been impossible.

While they were talking, the twins brought over a pot of hot coffee, and the two paused their discussion. Eric instinctively glanced at the twins' fair necks and noticed the silver necklace with an 'Y' on it; this must be the younger sister, Eve.

Once she left, Chris picked up the coffee that Eve had just poured for them and said, "Eric, don't you think you have a few too many women around you?"

"This is the dream of two lifetimes for me," Eric chuckled, lifting his coffee and gesturing toward Ewa Pacula not far away. "She doesn't count."

Chris looked at Eve's departing figure and said, "So I guess the others do count?"

"Yeah," Eric nodded without hiding his acknowledgment. Despite having no intentions of pursuing the twins, he also had no plans to back down.

Chris lightly teased, then changed the subject. "By the way, there's a fund manager gathering in Manhattan next weekend. Want to join and check it out?"

"You can go on your own; I don't really have anything in common with them," Eric shook his head, showing no interest in the group.

"But Soros is going too," Chris added with a hint of encouragement. "The last time I ran into him, he said he really liked your remarks about him and hoped to chat with you someday."

"Remarks? I don't remember meeting him," Eric replied.

"It seems like it was something you said. He just mentioned it in passing, and I didn't ask for details."

Eric then recalled that it must have been after he read Soros's book, The Alchemy of Finance. He remembered giving that book to Katzenberg while describing Soros's rollercoaster influence on the global financial markets, so it made sense that this info got back to Soros through him. Katzenberg, being a New Yorker himself, often returned, and Soros was said to have extensive connections, so their paths intersected more often than not.

"I almost remember," Eric nodded while feeling curious about Soros. "If there's an opportunity next weekend, I'll check it out."

As they were chatting, Eric's phone rang. Seeing the caller ID, he couldn't help but smile. He just thought of Katzenberg, and he was calling.

He raised the phone to signal Chris, leaning back on the chair, pressed the answer button, and exchanged small talk for a bit before asking, "Jeffrey, it must still be around six in the morning over there in Los Angeles. Is there something urgent?"

"..."

Katzenberg said a few things on the other end. Eric shook his head and said, "I checked some reviews in the newspapers this morning. It seems the reception for Rush Hour 2 isn't as good as Starship Troopers, but I haven't seen the box office numbers; they should be out by now, right?"

...

Yesterday, December 19, was Friday and the start of the Christmas season, with Firefly Group's New Line Cinema's Rush Hour 2 and Sony Pictures' Starship Troopers widely released yesterday.

Los Angeles was three hours behind New York, and while it was already after 9 AM in New York, it had just passed 6 AM in Los Angeles, still not quite time for work. Eric wasn't focusing on the box office numbers like he had for Titanic the previous year. Under such circumstances, the Firefly distribution department in Los Angeles would likely send yesterday's single-day box office numbers to Eric's email after business hours started.

While having breakfast, Eric had read some reviews on both Rush Hour 2 and Starship Troopers. Generally speaking, the critical reception for Rush Hour 2 could only be considered passable, while Starship Troopers received much better reviews, with an overall rating exceeding 7.

...

When Katzenberg called just to mention Rush Hour 2, Eric thought the film might be underperforming, and he had mentally prepared himself. However, as Katzenberg shared more details, Eric straightened his posture. "Opening day earnings of $23.1 million? You must be joking!"

"..."

"What was Starship Troopers' opening day box office?"

"..."

Eric listened patiently as Katzenberg reported some figures, nodding along occasionally. After chatting for a while, he finally hung up the phone, his expression a mix of complexity.

Sitting next to Chris had surmised a general idea, but still, he asked curiously, "What's this $23.1 million about?"

"Rush Hour 2. You must have seen the first one, right?"

"Yeah, it was an interesting movie," Chris nodded. However, having been around this long, he was somewhat familiar with Hollywood, and as soon as he finished saying that, he exclaimed, "Are you saying this film's opening day box office was $23.1 million?"

Chris thought of Rush Hour as a mid-range budget action-comedy. The first film did quite well, but the sequel hitting $23.1 million on its opening day was unexpected. According to the opening day box office figures, Rush Hour 2 was guaranteed to earn at least $60 million over its first weekend, possibly exceeding $80 million in its first week.

In Hollywood, films usually surpass $80 million in opening week box office if they belong to the top seven major studios, due to their greater promotional and marketing resources. Firefly's heavy hitter for the Christmas season was supposed to be Jurassic Park 3. Although Rush Hour 2 was also highly anticipated, it absolutely wouldn't command the same level of attention that Jurassic Park 3 received. Had it been foreseen that Rush Hour 2 would perform so well, Firefly would have never scheduled its release alongside Jurassic Park 3, which would obviously create internal competition.

Seeing Chris's surprised expression, Eric nodded. "No one expected this. New Line predicted that Rush Hour 2 would do best with an opening weekend box office of $30 million, meaning the single-day earnings should hover around $10 million. But the actual number was over double the expectation. In contrast, Sony's Starship Troopers seemed more in line with our expectations for Rush Hour 2. I initially thought this film would overshadow Rush Hour 2, but in reality, its opening day box office was only $8.3 million, less than half of Rush Hour 2."

Chris noted, "In that case, next week's Jurassic Park 3 may feel some effects, huh?"

"There will definitely be an effect," Eric admitted with a wry smile and a nod. "Honestly, I was uncertain if Jurassic Park 3 would reach an opening weekend box office of $80 million; after all, this is the third installment. The situation might even be worse now. Initially, the expectation for Rush Hour 2's opening weekend was around $50 million, which would have kept its second weekend box office under $30 million, thus not affecting Jurassic Park 3. But now, if Rush Hour 2 exceeds $80 million in its first week, its second weekend drop, even calculated at a 40% decline, would still see around $50 million, which is about a quarter of North America's total box office for that week."

After Christopher absorbed what Eric said, he remarked, "Nevertheless, this is still a good thing."

"Yeah, as a boss, I naturally hope for Firefly's films to make as much at the box office as possible."

Eric could only say that, but he resolved again to develop completely new release schedules, at least to avoid conflicts among Firefly's films.

However, discussing it was easier than doing it; implementation required more complex considerations. Which films should be placed in slightly less crowded schedules, and which films should be moved to better release schedules to maximize box office potential were challenging decisions to make.

After all, Eric most of the time could only gauge the general box office outlook for a few films. As the trajectory of Hollywood developed increasingly away from its original path, some boosts from his past life memories would gradually diminish.

Chris could sense the frustration etched on Eric's face.

He understood that if Firefly had to choose between Rush Hour 2 and Jurassic Park 3, it would undoubtably lean towards Jurassic Park 3, given that as a special effects blockbuster, Jurassic Park 3's overseas box office potential far surpassed its domestic performance. Even if it performed slightly worse in North America, its global box office would still easily crush most major Hollywood blockbusters.

Rush Hour 2, however, was different. This series relied heavily on the North American box office, with overseas performance relative to North America being rather average. Additionally, the earnings from Rush Hour's related merchandise were nowhere near comparable to the Jurassic Park series.

*****

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