In recent years, Apple has remained strong, and old operating systems such as Unix still occupy a large part of the market share.

Therefore, apart from the focus on the new technology field and the rise in stock prices, the Westeros Company's increase in Microsoft's 10% stake did not cause too strong a response. Most people could not see that Microsoft had the potential to become a world-defying powerhouse.

The potential of tech giants.

With this matter settled, Simon's attention turned back to Hollywood.

Another week in December has passed quietly.

In the week from December 8th to December 14th, "One Flew Over the Children", which was released in its fourth week, grossed another US$16.93 million with a 22% drop, with a cumulative box office of US$101.25 million, officially exceeding 100 million US dollars, becoming the first film in the year-end schedule.

Movies that grossed over 100 million dollars at the box office.

As the popular Christmas season approaches, although there are heavyweight films such as "Batman" and "The Rocketeer" about to be released, "One Flew Over the Child", a family comedy that is very suitable for the holiday atmosphere, still has strong box office potential.

The industry originally expected that the North American box office of this movie might be between 150 million and 170 million US dollars. When this week's box office data was released, both the film's producer and distributor and external box office statistics agencies confirmed that "One Flew Over the Child"'s North American box office

The box office is expected to reach US$170 million or even higher.

In Simon's memory, the North American box office of "One Flew Over the Child" was only about 140 million US dollars.

However, the original version of "One Flew Over the Child" was released in mid-October during an unpopular time slot, which was far behind Thanksgiving. The cast was not as good as that of Mel Gibson, and it lacked the strength of Daenerys and Warner Bros.

Therefore, it is reasonable for the new version of the film to exceed the box office of the original version by 30 million US dollars.

"One Flew Over the Wild" has a box office of over 100 million. The contract that Daenerys Entertainment signed with Warner Bros. in exchange for the copyrights to "Wonder Woman" and "The Bourne Supremacy" for a film with a box office of over 100 million has come to an end.

According to common sense, for a movie whose North American box office can exceed 170 million U.S. dollars, it is inevitable to develop a sequel. According to the original contract signed, Warner Bros. does not have the right to participate in the production of the sequel to "One Flew Over the Child", so the production of the sequel will be entirely in Dani's hands.

Mastered production by Liz Entertainment.

Amy is very interested in making the sequel to "One Flew Over the Child", but Simon can't bear to be enthusiastic about it.

It is difficult for this comedy that uses babies to talk as a gimmick to come up with new tricks in sequels. The box office performance of the two sequels of "One Flew Over the Child" in my memory was completely cut in half. Simon doesn't think that it can come up with too many new tricks this time.

tricks.

Moreover, having participated in two blockbusters with a box office of over 100 million in one year, Mel Gibson's salary has further increased. For the "Lethal Weapon 3" project in discussion with Warner, Mel Gibson directly offered a basic salary of 8 million US dollars plus 20

% share of net profit.

The expected box office of "One Flew Over the Child" is higher than that of "Lethal Weapon 3" released in the summer. If a sequel is developed, Mel Gibson's salary offer will definitely be higher than that of "Lethal Weapon 3".

Although it has the foundation of the first film, making a sequel to "One Flew Over the Child" will definitely make some money, but if production starts, the sequel will definitely occupy a high-quality schedule next year, and there are other better options.

This potential time cost is not what Simon is willing to accept.

Therefore, Simon does not intend to easily approve the production of a sequel to "One Flew Over the Child" without a better idea than the original.

In addition to "One Flew Over the Wild", "Scream 2" saw a 21% box office decline this week, taking in another US$5.11 million, bringing its cumulative box office to US$98.17 million, which is expected to exceed 100 million next week.

However, next week's single-week box office will fall to less than 5 million US dollars. Under the attack of heavyweight films such as "Batman", it will be very difficult for the total North American box office of this teen horror film to exceed 110 million US dollars.

In its third week of release, "Imprint of Gucci" still maintained a very good box office decline of 19%, collecting another US$6.39 million, with a total box office of US$23.86 million in three weeks.

Gucci has invested all expected profits in the promotion of the film. However, according to Daenerys Entertainment's investment, the box office exceeded 20 million US dollars, and the company has begun to generate good profits.

Encouraged by the success of "Imprint of Gucci", other well-known luxury brands and Hollywood studios have begun to contact each other, trying to replicate the success of "Imprint of Gucci" in terms of brand marketing and box office. Daenerys Entertainment has also officially signed a contract with Madonna,

Publicly announced the project for a documentary about Madonna’s global tour next year.

Finally, in the first week of its release, "Driving Miss Daisy", with 32 screens and excellent media reputation, achieved a single-week box office average of more than US$23,000, and the first-week box office reached US$750,000.

This film, adapted from a famous stage play and about racial issues, cost only US$7 million to produce. It grossed US$750,000 at the box office in its first week of small-scale screenings. The film will obviously have good box office prospects.

Immediately afterwards, the day after last week's box office data was released, that is, December 16, the nominations for the new American Film and Television Golden Globe Awards were officially announced.

Daenerys Entertainment's two films, "My Left Foot" and "Driving Miss Daisy," produced by High Gate Pictures, have received a total of 5 important nominations.

Among them, "My Left Foot" was nominated for Best Actor in a Drama Series and Best Supporting Actress. "Driving Miss Daisy" was nominated for Best Picture in a Musical Comedy and Best Actor in a Musical Comedy.

and Best Actress in a Musical Comedy.

Speaking of which, "The Sixth Sense", which was a hit at the box office during the summer season, is also very qualified to be included in the Golden Globe nomination list. If the film is submitted, it will be nominated for Best Picture, Drama, Best Screenplay, Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor.

All four nominations are very likely.

However, Daenerys Entertainment voluntarily gave up the idea of ​​applying for a nomination for the film due to the controversy surrounding the film's screenwriting and to make way for "My Left Foot" and "Driving Miss Daisy."

What I have to say is that "The Sixth Sense" is still scheduled to be released on December 7. This phenomenal horror film has been released in North American theaters for a total of 23 weeks, with a total North American box office of US$295.38 million. It is a pity that

It failed to break through the US$300 million mark.

Because the single-week box office in the last few weeks only has 200,000 to 300,000 U.S. dollars left, unless you pay directly for the box office, it is no longer possible for the box office of "The Sixth Sense" to rebound and break through 300 million U.S. dollars. Daenerys Entertainment

I no longer strive for this kind of title.

With a box office of over 290 million U.S. dollars, it has already ranked first in this year's box office list. Most media also tend to believe that no other film will surpass the box office of "The Sixth Sense" by the end of the year.

Moreover, regardless of whether it can break through 300 million U.S. dollars, Daenerys Entertainment has already made a lot of money, and there is no way that all parties will have any opinions on the movie just because "The Sixth Sense" failed to break through the 300 million mark.

contempt.

New York.

Inside Simon's apartment on Fifth Avenue on Manhattan's Upper East Side.

The time is Monday, December 18th.

Simon and Janet came here last Friday mainly to record an episode of "The John Carson Tonight Show" to promote "Batman".

Due to some entertainment reasons, the two did not return to the West Coast over the weekend.

Last night I attended a reception for the new mayor-elect of New York, David Dinkins, who successfully defeated Rudy Giuliani in the election for the new mayor of New York in November.

The final stage of the election coincided with the mini-crash of the US stock market in October, and the David Dinkins campaign relied on James Raybould's revelations about Rudy Giuliani's inappropriate remarks during the investigation of the Michael Milken case.

The scandal launched a fierce attack on the opponent, which established David Dinkins' dominant position in the late election, and finally won the election easily.

The Company of Westeros spared no effort in the election of David Dinkins, but Simon did not have a clear political appeal this time.

Or, if there is one, to announce to North American politics that Simon Westeros is getting into the game, and to make clear Simon's own political stance.

Still get up early in the morning.

It snowed recently in New York. The Central Park outside the bedroom is still white and the weather seems quite cold.

After breakfast, Simon said goodbye to Janet and rushed to the airport alone to return to the West Coast.

During this period, Janet never let go of the management of Cersei Capital.

However, compared to previous operations such as stock index futures that targeted the ever-changing Japanese market, various types of positions facing the North American bond market are basically long-term short contracts, so there is no need to closely monitor the market every day. Cersei Capital's

The sub-fund team was also granted a certain degree of autonomy, so that women could follow Simon everywhere.

The crisis in the U.S. junk bond market triggered by the small collapse in October has been continuing in recent months. Because of the established plan, Cersei Capital intends to liquidate all positions and exit the North American junk bond market before the new year. Therefore, Janet has been

Tian plans to stay in New York to personally handle the final phase of the operation.

Simon plans to fly to Australia for Christmas after attending the premiere of "Batman" on December 20. Simon has also been extremely busy in recent days.

Back in Los Angeles, due to the time difference, it was still only around nine o'clock in the morning on the West Coast, just after work time.

Jennifer and Simon returned together, and while still on the plane, the female assistant told Simon that the Australian Qintex Group officially signed an acquisition agreement with MGM today.

Prior to this, Qintex Group’s detailed plan to acquire MGM had been announced in the media.

In recent years, although the boss of MGM has always been recognized as casino tycoon Kirk Kerkorian, in fact, this one of the top seven film companies has always been a listed company. Kirk Kerkorian only

Holds 70% of MGM shares.

The several "capital operations" that Kirk Kerkorian conducted around MGM were all conducted on this 70% stake.

Qintex Group will acquire 70% of the shares of MGM-United Artists from Kirk Kerkorian for US$10 in cash this time, becoming the absolute controlling shareholder of this veteran film company. This transaction also means that Qintex Group

It will assume all aspects of MGM's debt totaling more than US$700 million.

The Qintex Group's own business situation is in jeopardy. This matter has been unearthed by the powerful North American media recently. The outside world is generally not optimistic about this transaction. At the same time, some people can't help but think of Simon. They think that Simon's girlfriend is Australian.

Due to her identity and Simon's close ties to Australian capital, Daenerys Entertainment is likely to help MGM recover.

You must know that the Qintex Group was involved behind the scenes in this acquisition of MGM. There were also many other Australian capitals who hoped to get involved in the Hollywood media field. Otherwise, with the strength of the Qintex Group itself, it would be impossible to complete this task.

acquisition.

Although Simon accepted that Qintex Group Chairman Christopher Scars would attend the signing luncheon for the acquisition of MGM, he actually had no intention of helping MGM.

At least, he had no intention of getting involved before taking control of the company.

Back in Los Angeles, Simon left Los Angeles International Airport and rushed directly to Daenerys Entertainment headquarters in Santa Monica.

There is already a meeting waiting for him here.

Last Wednesday, Daenerys Entertainment officially completed the acquisition of EA shares, and finally took over 35% of the PC game production and distribution company from EA's original major shareholders for US$50 million, becoming EA's

The largest shareholder.

Compared with the initial total acquisition budget of US$350 million, US$50 million acquired 35% of EA's equity, valuing the company at only US$140 million, which is approximately US$170 million higher than EA's US$170 million before the deal was concluded.

The market value is much lower.

Obviously, what EA’s shareholders value is Daenerys Entertainment’s content development capabilities.

After Daenerys Entertainment becomes a shareholder, as long as EA can develop a hit game like "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles", the business of selling 35% of the company's shares for US$50 million will definitely not be a loss. Moreover, because in recent years

With the resurgence of console games, EA originally planned to enter the field of console games, but was deterred by Nintendo's harsh royalty system.

Now, according to the preferential agreement reached between Blizzard Studio and Nintendo and the special negotiations between the two parties on this matter, after this investment, games produced by EA can also enjoy the preferential royalties of Blizzard Studio. This is why EA shareholders quickly cooperated with Dan

Reasons why Nelis Entertainment reached a stock sale agreement.

You know, after the news was announced last Wednesday, EA's stock price continued to rise sharply in the following three trading days. The stock price rose by more than 70% in three days, and the market value had reached US$290 million at the close of last Friday. Obviously, it's just that

In just three days, Daenerys Entertainment’s $50 million investment in EA achieved more than 100% book profit.

In this morning's meeting, both parties tacitly wanted to work together and continue to stimulate EA's stock price through some good news. At the same time, during the negotiation process with EA, Simon had already told Nancy to contact some suitable companies.
Chapter completed!