Hunting in Hollywood

This year, Thanksgiving falls on November 28th.

As "Scream 3" concluded its third week of release, on November 15th, the week before Thanksgiving, the first heavyweight film to hit North American theaters was Warner Bros.' "The Last Boy Scout."

Directed by Tony Scott and starring Bruce Willis, this action-comedy tells the story of a down-and-out private detective who gets involved in a football gambling case.

Bruce Willis had suffered a box office flop with his summer blockbuster "Hudson Hawk," which had a budget of $65 million. Now, "The Last Boy Scout," with a similar buddy-cop dynamic akin to "Lethal Weapon," also had a substantial budget of $30 million. This film was crucial for Willis to maintain his star status.

However, after opening on 1,823 screens, "The Last Boy Scout" received mediocre reviews, averaging only 4.6 out of 10, failing to even reach a passing grade.

From November 15th to November 21st, "The Last Boy Scout" occupied a relatively quiet week, grossing only $10.72 million in its first seven days.

In the original timeline, after gaining fame with the "Die Hard" series, Bruce Willis experienced a series of box office failures, leading to a career slump. The turning point came in 1994 with "Pulp Fiction," where Willis's role as a beleaguered boxer helped him return to box office success.

After "Pulp Fiction," Willis's career seemed to be revitalized, leading to consecutive hits like "The Sixth Sense" and "Armageddon," re-establishing him as a top-tier star.

With "Pulp Fiction" and "The Sixth Sense" already made by Simon, it's uncertain if any project will come along to save Willis's career this time.

Interestingly, Bruce Willis and Demi Moore's statuses flipped dramatically with the summer releases of the box office flop "Hudson Hawk" and the hit "A Few Good Men," coupled with the failure of "The Last Boy Scout."

After fulfilling her two-film contract with Daenerys Entertainment, Demi Moore parted ways with the studio due to disputes over pay. She even turned down a potentially lucrative role in "Indecent Proposal" and an endorsement deal with Van Cleef & Arpels, severing ties with Daenerys Entertainment.

In Hollywood, A-list actresses often face more competition than their male counterparts. With the split, Simon is unlikely to provide Moore with many opportunities, possibly leading her down a path of career decline similar to her original timeline.

November 22nd marked the official start of the Thanksgiving release period.

Alongside three small independent films, two major releases premiered: Paramount's "The Addams Family," based on the comic and TV series, on 2,411 screens, and Daenerys Entertainment's long-anticipated "Toy Story," on 2,686 screens.

"The Addams Family" comic started in 1932 in The New York Times and became a long-running TV series in the 1960s, boasting a strong fan base. Despite only receiving mediocre reviews, its popularity ensured strong ticket sales.

Comparatively, "Toy Story" faced some disadvantages.

As the first full-length 3D animated film, it might attract attention, but most people traditionally see animation as children's entertainment.

Disney's traditional 2D animated films had always targeted children.

Even though Daenerys Entertainment's executives who previewed "Toy Story" gave it high praise, they disagreed with Simon's decision to market it as a major blockbuster, viewing the 2,686-screen release as excessive.

Traditionally, 2D animated films followed a long-term release strategy targeting children and families, usually opening on about 1,000 screens.

As "Toy Story" opened, its reception surprised Hollywood.

Firstly, the reviews were overwhelmingly positive.

Unlike the just-passable "The Addams Family," "Toy Story" received nearly perfect scores from major media outlets. Daenerys Entertainment's distribution department reported no negative reviews, indicating that this groundbreaking 3D animated film achieved almost a perfect score of 10.

The Hollywood Reporter lavishly praised "Toy Story" as a "visually stunning and creatively groundbreaking masterpiece."

Even as more reviews came in, some differing opinions might emerge, but it's expected that "Toy Story" would maintain an average score above 9.5.

Not even the two-year-old "Batman: The Beginning" had received such unanimous acclaim.

Unlike the original "Toy Story," which was produced by Pixar and not considered a "Disney original," this version was entirely Daenerys Entertainment's production.

Therefore, both the marketing effort and the release scale of the new "Toy Story" surpassed the original.

With the outstanding reviews and growing buzz, audiences of all ages bought tickets, breaking the stereotype that animated films were only for children.

In its opening three days, "Toy Story" grossed $31.06 million from 2,686 screens, achieving an average of over $10,000 per screen.

This weekend's $10,000 per screen average differed significantly from the Halloween release of "Scream 3," which also achieved this milestone due to the popularity of its predecessors and the audience's continued interest. "Scream 3" saw a box office drop of over 50% in its second week.

With "Toy Story" earning $31.06 million in its first weekend, backed by its nearly perfect reviews and growing buzz, it was unlikely to see a similar drop in its second week.

Under Hollywood's close watch, the week from November 22nd to November 28th flew by.

On the day after Thanksgiving, "Toy Story's" first-week box office was officially released. With $46.73 million, it easily topped the weekly box office chart.

In comparison, "The Addams Family," also quite popular, only grossed $31.17 million in its first seven days.

Despite a budget of $30 million, "The Addams Family" was still considered successful with its $31.17 million first-week gross.

In third place, Bruce Willis's action-comedy "The Last Boy Scout" saw a 37% drop in its second week, earning only $6.75 million.

Following this box office trend, "The Last Boy Scout" was likely to end its North American run below $25 million, failing to recoup its $30 million budget—a clear failure.

On November 29th, three more major new releases hit North American theaters.

These included Daenerys Entertainment's crime thriller "Cape Fear," which it acquired from Universal, "My Girl," starring last year's "Home Alone" star Macaulay Culkin, and MGM's new James Bond film "GoldenEye."

"Cape Fear," directed by Martin Scorsese and starring Robert De Niro, was known for being both critically acclaimed and a box office success. Simon had considered taking over this project from Universal but decided against it due to his plan to acquire MCA.

"My Girl," produced by Columbia Pictures, starred Macaulay Culkin alongside Jamie Lee Curtis and Dan Aykroyd, with a budget of $30 million, $5 million of which went to Culkin.

Despite signing comprehensive contracts in advance, Culkin's fee for "Home Alone 2," which was set to start filming after the new year, was also $5 million, making him the highest-paid child star in Hollywood at only 11 years old.

With two film contracts netting him $10 million, issues inevitably arose.

For instance, Culkin's notorious parents, to prevent their antics from affecting "Home Alone 2," Daenerys Entertainment even sent them a legal warning, advising them to avoid creating negative media attention.

As for Culkin himself, his fate seemed tragic.

With his parents not caring, no one could be his savior. Those attempting to help would likely be seen as enemies by his money-hungry parents.

On the Wednesday before the release of "GoldenEye," Simon personally attended the film's Los Angeles premiere.

The Johnston family's acquisition of a 30% stake in MGM made them the largest shareholder, effectively meaning Simon Westeros controlled the company.

This transaction didn't go unnoticed at the time.

Many knew that the Johnston family's stake effectively meant Simon Westeros controlled MGM.

Throughout the year, this became increasingly evident.

However, before the deal, MGM had already been part of Australian capital, and any attempts by Washington to investigate were quashed by the Westeros system. MGM's various creditors were pleased, even supporting the move behind the scenes.

Allowing Simon Westeros to control MGM benefited everyone, ensuring creditors' interests were maximized.

Even the major Hollywood studios, who might have objected, didn't see much value in Simon taking over MGM's mess. Plus, each had close ties with Daenerys Entertainment, even Paramount, which had resolved its differences during Daenerys's acquisition of MCA.

Thus, MGM smoothly fell under Simon's control.

Over the year, MGM saw significant improvement.

Besides the summer hit "A Few Good Men," MGM also entered various IP image licensing and classic film VHS distribution agreements with Daenerys Entertainment.

Additionally, with Daenerys Entertainment's support, MGM renegotiated with Turner Broadcasting for many of its classic film TV rights.

Turner Broadcasting's methods for acquiring a large portion of MGM's classic films had always been controversial. Through negotiations, while the rights remained until 2003, Turner Broadcasting increased payment and relaxed restrictions, allowing MGM to sell rights to other networks.

This meant Daenerys Entertainment's TV channels could also broadcast MGM films.

In summary, within a year, Hollywood saw MGM's improved business operations.

Despite the new releases "Cape Fear," "My Girl," and "GoldenEye," "Toy Story" remained unrivaled.

As the Thanksgiving period continued, more information came to light.

Not only did "Toy Story" gross $46.73 million in its first week, but according to the Los Angeles Times, its

 merchandise also saw phenomenal sales.

"Toy Story," as the film's name suggests, had immense potential for merchandise development.

After watching the film, audiences found that stores like Toys "R" Us had already stocked "Toy Story" merchandise, and Americans are known for spending lavishly on movie-related products and their children.

In just one week, roughly $230 million worth of "Toy Story" merchandise was sold.

Retailers initially expected to sell the $200 million worth of merchandise within a month. However, within a week, they had to restock.

Brands like McDonald's, which had signed early partnership agreements, quickly launched related products following "Toy Story's" success.

With the upcoming Christmas season, industry insiders estimated that "Toy Story" merchandise sales would exceed $1 billion in the next two months.

With Daenerys Entertainment earning about 15% of net profits from merchandise sales, $1 billion in sales would translate to $150 million in net profits for the company.

This was just the beginning.

According to Simon's recollection, the two "Toy Story" films each generated around $4.5 billion in merchandise sales.

As the media highlighted "Toy Story's" impressive earnings, attention naturally turned to Pixar Studios.

Previously, Pixar had garnered some media attention, especially after winning an Oscar for the short film "Tin Toy." Still, many had doubted Simon Westeros's continued investment in this new animation format.

Now, no one would question his wisdom.

With "Toy Story's" success, BusinessWeek raised Daenerys Entertainment's valuation by $5 billion, factoring in Pixar's value and the powerful boost 3D animation provided to Daenerys Entertainment's consumer products and theme park businesses.

BusinessWeek also highlighted the powerful synergy within a comprehensive media conglomerate.

"Toy Story's" success, driving growth in Daenerys Entertainment's other major business segments, exemplified this synergy.

BusinessWeek predicted that with the demonstrated strong synergies between Daenerys Entertainment's various business segments, horizontal integration within the US media industry would accelerate further.

___________________

(Support with power stones, comments or reviews)

If you guys enjoy this story, In support me on Patreon and get access to +200 advance Chapters

Read Ahead

Patreon.com/INNIT

Get 33% off all subscription levels from Jan 11–18! Use code: 5CEC6