Chapter 253: The hot "Edge of Tomorrow"

"Clap clap clap clap"

Both the invited guests and the movie fans gave warm applause after the movie ended.

Seeing this, Liu Zhou felt slightly relieved.

At least they are willing to applaud, which proves that the movie "Edge of Tomorrow" should still be good.

Liu Zhou even noticed that the audience was discussing the plot of the movie when the show was over.

Although "Edge of Tomorrow" is a popcorn movie, it is not just about visual impact.

The plot becomes suspenseful from the very beginning when the hero and heroine die one after another.

And halfway through, when they discovered that the alien monster's nest they had been looking for was a bait, a second suspense arose.

The plot and special effects are well done, and "Edge of Tomorrow" is also excellent among Hollywood popcorn movies.

But after the film was released, Liu Zhou was still a little worried about whether the audience would buy it or not.

After the premiere, reports about "Edge of Tomorrow" began to spread again.

“The plot is exciting and the special effects are pretty good. This is the mecha sci-fi version of Groundhog Day.”

"The familiar style, director Liu will bring it back tomorrow, with Nicolas Cage fighting alien creatures."

"Anne Hathaway looks stunning in a tight outfit!"

"The plot is first-rate! The special effects are first-rate! The war scenes are excellent! This movie is beyond words, a very good science fiction movie!"

……

Most of the reports about Edge of Tomorrow were positive, but there were some bad reviews, but due to the review control of Lionsgate, they did not make much of a splash.

After two days of intensive promotion, "Edge of Tomorrow" officially landed in theaters on April 25th.

This time, Lionsgate has done its best and secured 2,800 theaters for the opening of "Edge of Tomorrow".

"Edge of Tomorrow" did not disappoint Lionsgate's expectations, earning $21 million on its first day of release.

Everyone at Lionsgate was very happy to see this result.

This achievement is not inferior to some important series of movies produced by the Big Seven in Hollywood.

Anthony Edwards even expressed optimism that as long as the word of mouth does not collapse later, "Edge of Tomorrow" will be able to take at least 150 million in the North American box office, and 200 million is not impossible.

Seeing how well Edge of Tomorrow opened, Nicolas Cage worked even harder to promote the film.

Because the real estate market in the United States is about to collapse, and what he likes most is luxury houses.

Coupled with his extravagant spending in other areas, Nicolas Cage's assets are on the verge of bankruptcy.

Now it seems that only the revenue from Edge of Tomorrow can save him from bankruptcy.

Although it will take several months to get a share of the box office revenue, this part of the revenue is relatively transparent.

Nicolas Cage can use this part of the proceeds to mortgage and get the money first to ease his financial situation.

This will give him more time to deal with some assets.

Liu Zhou and Lionsgate didn't know what Nicolas Cage thought, but they were still happy to see him promoting the film so hard.

For a superstar of his caliber, it is difficult to ask him to do more unless it is stipulated in the contract.

With the hard promotion of Nicolas Cage and Anne Hathaway, the box office of "Edge of Tomorrow" lived up to expectations.

The day after its release, which happened to be a Saturday, it directly grossed 24 million US dollars.

On the third day of its release, it grossed 28 million U.S. dollars.

In its first three days, it earned $73 million, becoming the weekly box office champion.

For popcorn movies, the box office is generally concentrated in the first one or two weeks of release.

Especially the first week box office, which sometimes accounts for half of the total box office.

This is also why there are so many Hollywood blockbusters during the summer, with one blockbuster released almost every other week.

Although it seems very dense, the impact on each other will not be great.

This is also the tacit understanding among major Hollywood companies. Of course, the premise is that you have to dare to conquer the summer season.

The first week performance of "Edge of Tomorrow" can be said to be excellent.

Edwards' prediction is very accurate. There should be no problem for the total North American box office to break 150 million US dollars, and there is also a great hope of breaking 200 million.

Seeing this result, Liu Zhou finally felt relieved.

Historically, the version starring Tom Cruise had a box office of less than 150 million U.S. dollars in North America.

Although Nicolas Cage was cast in Liu Zhou's version, his current box office appeal is no less than that of Tom Cruise seven years later.

What's more, there is also the joining of Anne Hathaway, a rising star in Hollywood.

Moreover, Liu Zhou also made some modifications to the original plot. Not only were the big scenes and special effects more outstanding, but the logic of the plot could at least make sense.

The original version is like many popcorn movies. In order to defeat the big boss in the end, there are always some logical loopholes.

This is also the main point of criticism of the original version.

Coupled with Lionsgate's strenuous promotion and marketing, it is only natural that the film's box office exceeded that of the original.

"Liu, do you have any ideas for your next movie?" Edwards asked with a smile.

"Anthony, Edge of Tomorrow just came out, isn't it too early to talk about the next movie now?"

“It’s not too early at all. You don’t need to worry about the follow-up of Edge of Tomorrow. We at Lionsgate will take care of everything.

If you have a new project, we can prepare for it now. If it’s too late, I’m afraid you will be taken away by other companies, haha!”

Although Anthony Edwards said this with a smile, he was really worried that Liu Zhou would be snatched away by other companies.

If Source Code only made Liu Zhou emerge in Hollywood, then once the performance of Edge of Tomorrow came out, Liu Zhou would definitely be highly sought after, if not hot.

Other Hollywood film companies will certainly step up their efforts to poach him.

Lionsgate is not afraid of some of its other peers, but it is worried about the Big Seven in Hollywood.

For those who want to develop in Hollywood, few can refuse the olive branch from the Big Seven.

Edwards is now a little worried that Liu Zhou will be lured away by the Big Seven in Hollywood.

The only advantage Lionsgate has over the Big Seven in Hollywood may be the friendship it has developed with Liu Zhou in recent years.

But when faced with interests, how much is friendship worth?

The least valuable thing in Hollywood is friendship.

Edwards has seen too many scenes of falling out, smearing and betrayal due to personal interests.

Of course, Lionsgate is not saying that it must have Liu Zhou, but who would be willing to let go of a director who can make a lot of money for the company?

"Don't worry, I feel very happy to cooperate with Lionsgate. If Lionsgate does not change its attitude towards cooperating with me, I am still willing to continue to cooperate with Lionsgate."

"Liu, you can rest assured that Lionsgate is very willing to cooperate with you, and there will be no change in its attitude." "That's fine, I don't want to lose such a tacit partner."

This was also what Liu Zhou thought in his heart, but as for Edwards' words, Liu Zhou could only listen.

When Lionsgate develops in the future, who knows if they will also become arrogant?

Some even believe that the main reason for Liu Zhou's achievements is the role played by Lionsgate, and that Liu Zhou is dispensable.

Liu Zhou would definitely not try to please someone who doesn’t like him, and by that time, it would be a question whether Edwards would still be in Lionsgate.

So Liu Zhou will not look at what the other party says, but will see what Lionsgate does when they cooperate.

But these are actually not very important. Liu Zhou has already planned to acquire a film company in Hollywood.

Now the United States is about to experience a financial crisis, which will sweep across all industries in the United States.

By then, no Hollywood film company will have an easy time. Except for the Big Seven in Hollywood, other film companies will have poor risk resistance.

By then, as long as you have money, it will not be difficult to take over a film company, or even a company with certain distribution capabilities in North America.

If he really takes over a film company, Liu Zhou will no longer cooperate with Lionsgate in a personal way.

When the time comes, we will decide on the specific cooperation between companies directly, and we will do it however we want.

"Liu, you really haven't decided what your next movie will be?"

“Really not, and I may not have much time to stay in Hollywood in the future, as I still have a lot of things to deal with in China.

The next project in Hollywood will not be until next year at the earliest.”

"Well, it seems I was too anxious."

"Anthony, you should know that I am not just a director, and I don't want to be a scheduling machine."

Hearing Liu's words, Edwards also reacted and said with a smile:

"I almost forgot that you are also a wealthy man."

Although China's Forbes Rich List is only circulated in a small circle in the United States, as someone who has always worked closely with Liu Zhou, Edwards must know Liu Zhou better.

Liu Zhou ranked second on last year's rich list with a net worth of nearly 2 billion US dollars. He made such a big fuss at the time that it was impossible for Edwards not to notice it.

When Edwards saw the Forbes rich list, he thought it was someone with the same name.

But it was not until I saw the introduction that I realized that Liu Zhou, who was ranked second on the rich list, was the Liu Zhou I knew.

Edwards was stunned.

With a net worth of 2 billion US dollars, he would be considered a wealthy man in the United States.

If it were in Hollywood, perhaps only George Lucas, the richest man in Hollywood, could surpass him.

Even if Spielberg, one of the owners of DreamWorks, has been making movies for a lifetime and has countless classic works, he may not have as much wealth as Liu Zhou.

So when Liu Zhou came to Hollywood this time, Edwards was more respectful to him.

In the United States, people have a greater respect for wealth.

"Anthony, how long have you been working at Lionsgate?"

"It's been almost five or six years. I worked at Disney before, but at that time, there was a lot of internal struggle at Disney, so I accepted the invitation from Lionsgate."

After Edwards said this, Liu Zhou roughly understood what was going on.

Disney’s subsequent development into the world’s leading media group was inseparable from two people.

One is Michael Eisner and the other is Robert Iger.

Michael Eisner has been the CEO of Disney since 1984, leading Disney out of the trough and towards glory.

Under his leadership, Disney successively acquired ESPN and ABC, one of the three major wireless television networks in the United States.

It made Disney a large media group in one fell swoop.

In the 1980s and 1990s, there was a wave of mergers and acquisitions in the U.S. media industry. Companies like News Corporation, Time Warner, and Viacom were all formed during this period.

The Big Eight in Hollywood have all become subsidiaries of these large media groups.

But Disney was the only film company among the eight major Hollywood companies at that time that had not been acquired by a large media group.

Therefore, Michael Eisner's prestige in Disney is unmatched. The outside world calls him a tyrant, and even the descendants of Disney's founder can't do anything about him.

But after entering the new century, Disney's business declined, and the descendants of Disney's founder joined some shareholders to want to remove Michael Eisner.

After several years of struggle, Eisner finally failed and left Disney in 2005 after leading it for 21 years.

The successor was Robert Iger. Under his leadership, Disney successively acquired Pixar, Marvel and Lucasfilm.

With many blockbuster IPs in hand, Disney has not only been the number one in the box office in the film industry for more than a decade, but has also made huge profits from subsequent copyright development.

Later, it even acquired 20th Century Fox, one of the other six major Hollywood studios.

Chen Tianqiao wanted to build Shanda into the Disney of the Internet, but he had no idea of ​​the terrifying power of Disney.

It is almost impossible for a media company like Disney Group to emerge in the mainland.

"Then how long do you think it will take for you to take the position of Lionsgate's president?"

Edwards shook his head and said:
"I don't know. If Gustavo is still in that position, no one else will have a chance."

Frank Gustave is the founder of Lionsgate Entertainment, a banker from the United States, but he achieved greater success after crossing over to the film and television industry.

"Have you ever considered leaving Lionsgate?"

"Not yet. I feel pretty good staying at Lionsgate right now. Do you have a better job to recommend to me?"

Liu Zhou smiled and said:
"No, maybe in the future."

Edwards thought Liu Zhou was joking at first, but then he thought of his wealth and looked at him in surprise.

Liu Zhou also noticed Edwards's look, and stopped talking about this topic, and said:
"Anthony, it's up to you, Lionsgate, to take care of things from now on. I have some things to do in China, so I need to go back early."

"when are you leaving?"

"Tomorrow."

"Aren't you going to say goodbye to Anne Hathaway?" Edwards asked with a smile.

"I told her about this two days ago."

"Okay, once Edge of Tomorrow is off the screen, I'll call you and tell you the final box office results."

The next day, Liu Zhou flew back to Beijing, and "Edge of Tomorrow" began its second week of screening.

At this time, word of mouth about "Edge of Tomorrow" also began to spread, but most of the reviews were still positive.

So in its second week of release, "Edge of Tomorrow" once again took in more than 60 million US dollars at the box office.

Ten days after the movie was released, the box office has exceeded 140 million, and it is certain to break 200 million.

(End of this chapter)