**Chapter 59: A Chance Encounter at the Airport**

Unlike the many people lining up to throw money at James Wan, Jessica hadn't received any audition invitations. After all, her relationship with Wayne was almost semi-public knowledge, and anyone in the industry could easily find out. Moreover, the fact that three top actresses signed on for *The Bourne Identity* only to be cast as Jessica's supporting roles was a well-known story within the circle.

A lot of people were definitely envious of her because of this.

Everyone knew that Jessica would continue starring in *The Bourne Identity*, and as Wayne's girlfriend, she wasn't short of work. Approaching her would just be a waste of time.

With a solid production budget of over $50 million, a movie like this wasn't something you'd see every year in Hollywood.

Soon, the global box office numbers for *Happy Death Day* were released.

To avoid missing the Halloween release window, DreamWorks handed over the overseas distribution to local distributors.

Although their international distribution channels were nowhere near as extensive or profitable as those of the big seven studios, *Happy Death Day* still managed to pull in an impressive $49.1 million in its overseas opening weekend.

If one of the big seven had handled the distribution, the film might have made another $10 million or so.

Clearly, unlike *Accepted*, which had a huge domestic box office but a mediocre international performance, *Happy Death Day* was a big hit worldwide.

However, the Halloween release window had its drawbacks, just as it had its strengths. Once the weekend passed and weekdays arrived, the drop in box office numbers was far more significant than in other release windows.

Even *Happy Death Day* couldn't escape this trend.

After a North American opening weekend of $58.5 million and an overseas take of $49.1 million, *Happy Death Day* managed just $23.77 million domestically and $19.5 million internationally over the next four weekdays.

It wasn't until Friday that the box office started to bounce back a bit, though it couldn't compare to the numbers from Halloween.

Looking at the cumulative box office, though, ten days after its release, the North American box office stood at $124 million, with $91 million overseas, for a combined global total of $215 million—an astounding figure.

To put it in perspective, the first *Scream*, which is regarded as a classic by countless fans, had only grossed $170 million globally by the time it finished its run.

Even in 2023, this would have placed *Happy Death Day* in the top 20 highest-grossing horror films worldwide.

"Wait, is our movie already fifth on the global horror box office list?"

In the VIP lounge at the airport, Wayne looked at the newspaper Mia and Jessica had excitedly handed him, unable to hide his surprise.

"Come on, darling, you don't even care about your own work!"

"Our *Happy Death Day* has already surpassed last year's *Sleepy Hollow* and this year's *Scream 3*."

"Now, the only films ahead of us are *The Sixth Sense*, *The Exorcist*, *The Blair Witch Project*, and *Interview with the Vampire*."

"Last year's *The Sixth Sense* was insane. It made $293 million domestically and $673 million globally—those numbers are terrifying."

"*The Exorcist*'s $441 million global box office will also be hard to beat."

"But we should soon surpass *The Blair Witch Project*'s $248 million and *Interview with the Vampire*'s $223 million."

"When that happens, we'll be third in history!"

Mia rattled off the numbers excitedly.

Jessica, just as enthusiastic, added, "If *The Bourne Identity* can do as well as *Happy Death Day*, we'll have back-to-back blockbusters, and we'll definitely become A-list stars in Hollywood!"

After a pause, she lowered her voice, as if worried others might overhear, and whispered, "At that point, even if I'm not as big as Julia Roberts, I should at least be on par with Nicole Kidman."

Hearing this, Jessica's smile grew even sweeter, and Wayne couldn't resist leaning in to plant a kiss on her soft lips.

"Don't worry, *The Bourne Identity* will do even better than *Happy Death Day*, by a long shot," Wayne said with a grin.

He wasn't kidding. In the previous timeline, *The Bourne Identity* had already outperformed *Happy Death Day* by a large margin. Now, with him and Jessica starring, and so many big-name actors in supporting roles, if it didn't surpass *Happy Death Day*, he might as well bang his head against a wall.

That said, while Jessica's career was soaring, Nicole Kidman wasn't doing too badly either.

If things followed their original course, Nicole Kidman's upcoming horror movie *The Others*, set for release next year, would also rake in $210 million globally.

On the other hand, Julia Roberts and Kate Winslet were nearing the end of their peak years. In a couple of years, they'd start their downward slide.

"It's a shame we missed this year's Saturn Awards. Otherwise, *Happy Death Day* and Jess would've had a good shot at winning something," Hannah chimed in.

Hearing the Saturn Awards mentioned from her, Wayne couldn't help but show a look of surprise.

"What are you looking at me for? I'm your assistant, you know! I have to be aware of these things."

Hannah playfully rolled her eyes, making him chuckle. It seemed that while he wasn't paying attention, even the seemingly carefree Hannah had been quietly working hard.

"Hello, are you Wayne Anderson and Jessica Alba?"

At that moment, three fashionably dressed young women approached with excited expressions. The two in front looked alike, possibly twins, while the one behind them appeared younger, likely their sister.

"Yes, I'm Wayne Anderson," Wayne replied with a polite smile.

He assumed the three were fans of him and Jessica, but Jessica hesitated for a moment before suddenly realizing who they were. She exclaimed, "Ah, you're the Olsen sisters, right? You're Mary, and you're Ashley! I've seen your show!"

"Wow! You actually know who we are, and you can even tell me and Ashley apart! That's amazing!" The twins squealed in delight.

Suddenly, all eyes in the VIP lounge were on them.

"The Olsen sisters?"

Recognition dawned in Wayne's eyes as he finally realized why the younger girl behind the twins looked so familiar—it was none other than the future Scarlet Witch! 

(End of the chapter)