Chapter 822: Setting Sail

[Chapter 822: Setting Sail]

"Titanic bombed at the box office, earning only $29.18 million in its opening weekend, making it unlikely to cross $100 million in North America."

"Eric Williams' cinematic magic fell flat, as the epic film stumbled right out of the gate."

"Firefly Films faced the largest box office failure in Hollywood history, with cumulative losses nearing $200 million."

"Despite some positive buzz, the box office continued to decline; Titanic's North American opening weekend was outperformed by Star Trek: First Contact, even though the production costs of the two films differed by a factor of five."

"James Cameron led the Titanic team at a London promotional event, appearing haggard and visibly distressed, hinting at a potential breakdown."

"Jeffrey Katzenberg, CEO of Firefly Group, released a statement assuring that the company would not fire producer Jon Landau, William Stewart, or other key creatives as a result of Titanic's performance, and they would continue to collaborate with director James Cameron."

"Eric Williams hadn't made any public appearances in days; the post-production for Casino Royale may have already stalled, risking a similar fate to Titanic."

"..."

"..."

...

On December 23, the day before Christmas, as the box office data for Titanic's opening weekend was released, North American entertainment media launched a new round of fervent criticism regarding the film's performance.

For other films, a $29.18 million opening weekend wouldn't have been deemed a failure, but Titanic was different. It had a colossal budget of $265 million, needing to earn $800 million globally just to break even.

Yet here we were, Titanic managed only $29.18 million in its opening weekend, falling short even compared to Star Trek: First Contact, which had been released the previous week. Paramount's Star Trek: First Contact, with a $45 million production budget, earned $30.71 million in its opening weekend and suffered only a 42% drop in its second weekend, garnering another $17.8 million, totaling $60 million after ten days.

Most media outlets predicted that although Titanic's critical reception improved compared to its pre-release buzz, the film's lengthy three-hour runtime would deter many viewers. It's expected that Titanic's box office could see a decline greater than that of Star Trek: First Contact, possibly exceeding 50%.

If this trend continued, Titanic's total North American gross might only reach $80 million to $90 million. Moreover, it was well-known that Titanic's overseas release faced significant hurdles, debuting in only nine foreign markets, less than half the number that had opened for Mission: Impossible 2 less than a month prior. The failure of Titanic in North America would likely negatively impact its overseas box office. With interest from distributors and theater chains in untapped markets dwindling, the global box office for Titanic could potentially stop short of $200 million.

With a global box office of $200 million, Firefly could recover only about $70 million. Future revenues from home video/DVD and television rights were also uncertain. Media predicted that Firefly would incur losses of $200 million on this film, a figure that seemed credible. Even within Firefly Group, many in management had resigned themselves to this "reality."

If this was any other major Hollywood studio, following the disappointing opening weekend of Titanic, executives responsible for the projected $200 million loss would likely be shown the door. In fact, the entire studio might face bankruptcy or restructuring. However, within Firefly Group, that simply couldn't happen, as Titanic was a project that Eric had pushed through himself, and eliminating the boss for such a debacle seemed too difficult a task.

While they didn't have to answer to Wall Street or the company's shareholders like other studios, in light of impending losses, company executives still needed to make some adjustments to avoid following in Titanic's footsteps.

...

Having just passed Christmas, yet while the holiday wasn't over, Katzenberg began to convene senior executives from the film department daily to discuss future production and distribution strategies.

As it stood, after the opening weekend's box office results, most people had already labeled Titanic as a doomed project. Coupled with the approaching Christmas holiday, few were paying special attention to the film's daily box office, even within the Firefly accounting department that was responsible for it. They found Eric's insistence on getting daily box office reports puzzling. Did the boss still hold out hope for a miracle?

Though perplexed, no one dared to ignore Eric's requests. Every morning, Eric found a report detailing the previous day's box office statistics in his email inbox.

Perhaps considering Eric's state of mind, the women around him refrained from discussing any aspects of film during this time. Despite the holiday greetings exchanged, executives at Firefly Group didn't dare mention Titanic during Christmas, making the holiday a rather festive and warm affair.

...

Before long, December 27 had arrived, marking the third day after Christmas.

Eric woke up early as usual, and after washing up, he headed to his study.

It was Friday, the opening day of Titanic's second weekend.

Opening his computer on the desk, as it booted up, Eric glanced at the whiteboard on the wall. There were already seven sets of data written out, including midnight showings.

The previous weekend's gross was a given, and now it was time to assess the past week.

December 23: $5.57 million.

Since it was a Monday, this was a 40% drop compared to the $9.3 million of the previous day, aligning with the common box office trends for films.

December 24: $3.5 million.

On Christmas Eve, very few people went to the movies; seeing the single day box office fall again was no surprise.

Then came December 25, Christmas Day, where the daily box office was $7.03 million.

There was little relevance to the Christmas Eve numbers. But compared to the $5.57 million from December 23, the significant uptick on December 25 offered hope. Seeing that number made Eric feel a sudden relief from the tension he had been feeling. However, he didn't feel an overabundance of excitement, as Christmas Day typically sees people out for festivities, and the day's box office increase could be attributed more to the holiday atmosphere than the film itself.

December 26, the last day of Titanic's first week of box office reporting, became all the more significant. This figure would prove whether Titanic's favorable reception over the week could lead to a resurgence in its performance.

If that day's box office fell back down to around Monday's $5.57 million, all expectations would be dashed. Yet if the figures went up, or even matched the Christmas Day totals, it could signify that this film, which was destined to embody the miracle of box office success, was indeed setting sail once again.

Eric stood lost in thought before the whiteboard for a moment, as his computer finally turned on. Entering his password to access his Yahoo email, he recognized that while he felt more calm about the situation lately, he still found it impossible to detach himself completely. His fingers trembled slightly with the anticipation of this "crucial moment."

The page opened, revealing an unread email from the Firefly distribution department prominently waiting in his inbox.

Eric moved his mouse, clicked, and began to read the contents of the email.

First, he skimmed over the total box office reported for the week, quickly bypassing the $54.33 million total and shifting his focus downward.

Staring quietly at the screen, Eric took a deep breath, stood up, walked over to the whiteboard, and swiftly wrote down Titanic's final figure for the week:

$9.05 million.

This figure for Thursday represented a 4% increase compared to Titanic's opening day, an 11% rise against Christmas Day, and a staggering 38% boost compared to the comparable Monday figures!

He couldn't help but glance over the seven-day box office numbers again:

$8.65 million, $9.67 million, $9.3 million, $5.57 million, $3.5 million, $7.03 million, $9.05 million.

That $3.5 million box office day may have seemed like a freezing point, but to Eric, it felt more like a spring that had been compressed to its limit, ready to unleash its energy and propel a film that was destined to be a miracle into the sky.

Titanic was officially setting sail!

Tossing the pen into the holder, Eric walked out of the study, thinking there was probably no need to continue tracking daily box office figures.

That would be exhausting.

...

A new day dawned, and while it was Friday in Hollywood, it also marked the start of a new week.

As many woke from their slumber, casually glancing at the day's newspapers, some might notice Titanic's opening weekend figures. Yet for this film, which had already been labeled a failure by most media, aside from the growing number of touched fans, most people shrugged off the $54.33 million as insignificant. After all, last month's Mission: Impossible 2 had an opening gross exceeding $80 million!

In Los Angeles, though it was three hours behind New York, Katzenberg saw Titanic's opening weekend box office numbers almost simultaneously with Eric. He certainly noticed the unexpectedly high figure of $9.05 million for the last day of the first week, initially wondering if there was a mistake in the distribution department's calculations. After all, how often does a film record a box office higher on a weekday than its opening day? Though it was during the Christmas holiday, most people's viewing habits typically still lingered around the weekend.

Katzenberg phoned the duty officer responsible for box office tracking and confirmed through the unwavering tone on the line that the numbers hadn't been miscounted.

However, instead of feeling more optimistic, Katzenberg saw the number as just a reflection of the Christmas holiday effect; after all, December 26 was still just the second day of the holiday.

Later, other Hollywood executives who were closely monitoring Titanic also picked up on the anomalous box office figure from December 26. Most mirrored Katzenberg's lack of deep analysis, including some astute media outlets.

While they regarded it as merely a fluke, Katzenberg still promptly called Eric in New York to report the somewhat good news. The box office predictions had expected a North American total of $80 to $90 million, but with a surprising opening week total of $54.33 million, the previous projections would surely see a revision upwards, indicating that crossing the $100 million mark in North America was nearly a certainty. Katzenberg felt that every little bit of loss reduction would be a good outcome.

Eric, on the other hand, chose not to disclose his own judgments to Katzenberg, thinking it would serve as a pleasant surprise for everyone. If fate wasn't playing tricks on him, that surprise might just come tomorrow.

...

After speaking with Eric, Katzenberg said goodbye to his wife and twin sons, then drove to Burbank's Firefly headquarters. He had set a meeting that morning with New Line Cinema President Kenneth Horne to discuss the upcoming year's production and distribution plans.

New Line had nearly matched the box office results of the major studios Firefly and Disney this year, and considering Titanic's box office missteps, it was clear the group would need to ramp up support for New Line. In discussions over the past few days, Katzenberg and Frank Wells had devised a plan to raise New Line's average annual film production budget to $500 million over the next three years, a proposal which Eric had tentatively agreed to over the phone. Today, they would delve further into the specifics.

As for the main studios, Katzenberg and Frank Wells aimed to trim budgets for big productions, essentially narrowing Firefly's productions and renewing focus on Disney-friendly family films. After all, Disney's entire ecosystem, from retail stores to theme parks, required a steady stream of family-friendly movies to supply sufficient merchandise and licensing, extending beyond just animated features to include live-action ones as well.

...

In contrast, Eric wasn't as busy as Katzenberg. After enjoying breakfast, he leisurely set out with a book in hand, heading towards a cafe on the edge of his neighborhood.

The cafe was mostly empty at that hour, and after greeting the indifferent old man behind the counter flipping through newspapers, Eric settled into his usual spot.

A waitress brought him coffee and quietly exited.

Eric sipped the warm beverage while leisurely cracking open his copy of The Alchemy of Finance.

The typically taciturn old man behind the counter surprisingly initiated conversation, "Eric, it seems Titanic's opening weekend box office isn't that bad, huh?"

The man, named Matthew Braga, was in his sixties and owned the cafe. However, Eric knew he also owned a substantial estate not far from his own. This older gentleman hailed from Brazil and was a well-known local businessman, overseeing a significant natural rubber enterprise for his family in northeastern Brazil. Having turned over the business to his children, he was now enjoying retirement in the U.S. and running the cafe more for leisure.

Though they weren't really acquainted, Eric didn't feel comfortable divulging much. Instead, he smiled and replied, "If it were another film, sure, that'd be quite good, but this is Titanic. I might be facing a big loss here; otherwise, I wouldn't be hiding away here, avoiding people."

Matthew chuckled, his eyes reflecting a sharp intelligence, "I've never seen you miss your mark before."

"Let's hope that's the case."

After that exchange, silence settled in again. Eric returned to his dry financial book, while Matthew continued skimming his newspaper.

About an hour later, a blonde girl clad in a white puffer jacket hurried through the door. Spotting Eric at his table, she rushed over, apologizing, "I'm so sorry, Mr. Williams. My car broke down, and I had to ask a classmate to bring me here."

"It's alright, Sabrina. Please, have a seat. I happen to have a few questions that need your clarification."

"Of course," Sabrina Rand took a seat across from Eric, pulling out her own copy of Alchemy of Finance along with a notebook, patiently explaining several seemingly simple financial concepts to him.

Of course, these questions were just simple for her, a finance graduate student from Columbia.

Due to his recent mood swings, Eric had lost interest in sorting through the Marvel comic universe narrative and opted instead for a dry financial book to pass the time; the cold financial theories offered a sense of calming distraction.

However, comprehending a professional finance book required a profound familiarity with numerous technical terms.

Eric only had a basic understanding of finance, so to make sense of the book, he had specifically hired a bright finance graduate from Columbia, who was none other than the tall, attractive blonde sitting across from him. He didn't lack for beautiful women around him but had no ulterior motives regarding the girl in front of him; he had merely chosen her out of the pool of candidates from Columbia to serve as a pleasant company while he read.

As for the Alchemy of Finance, it was authored by none other than the world-renowned financier, George Soros.

*****

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