In the summer season, especially every weekend in May and June, there are almost all large-scale commercial films released. Some competition is simply unavoidable. After Memorial Day, the fight in May has come to an end for the time being, but the market, which is constantly being pushed up, will not stop competing. There are many large-scale productions every weekend in June.

Before the first weekend in June, Duke put down his screenwriter and other work and walked on the premiere red carpet once again. "Mission: Impossible", which he and Tom Cruise have a major investment share, was officially released.

"Congratulations, Duke."

As soon as he walked into the VIP lounge in the theater, Tom Cruise took the initiative to greet him, his face full of enthusiasm, "Once again, the summer box office list won three consecutive championships! I regret now, I regret not playing Neo."

Facing Cruise's smile, Duke would not be stingy with a smile, "I think Ian Hant will also become a classic on the screen."

"Thanks."

Tom Cruise let go of Nicole Kidman's hand and actually walked over and hugged him hard, "Thank you for your full support."

With Tom Cruise's personality, it is impossible not to have conflicts with Paramount Pictures during filming. Duke has put his agent on the crew on the side of Tom Cruise for most of the time.

Still the same thing, Tom Cruise wants "Mission Impossible" to be successful than anyone else, and this guy has a bad vision in movies at the turn of the century, not to mention that there is a Patkinsley around him constantly mentioning him.

"Hello, Mary."

"Hello, Duke."

After hugging Tom Cruise, Duke shook hands with Nicole Kidman again. The couple seemed to have finished socializing and always stood by and chatted with him.

“I think we can work together again.”

Standing opposite Duke, Tom Cruise's eyes were full of complexity, "I have not had a single film with a box office of over 200 million US dollars in North America, and you..."

He sighed softly, "Not a month after the release of the Matrix, the North American box office has gone to $300 million."

"Hey, Tom, you're so exaggerating."

The enthusiastic Tom Cruise made Duke feel uncomfortable and said with a smile, "The figure counted yesterday was only more than 230 million US dollars, which is still quite far from 300 million US dollars."

"The Matrix" cannot violate the normal commercial film rules like "Titanic". With the increase in screening time, its popularity has begun to decline significantly. It is still quite difficult to have a box office in North America exceeding $300 million.

This is a fiercely competitive summer season. As long as the popularity of the film drops, the scale of theaters will inevitably shrink significantly. In the weekends in June, there will be movies that were once powerful in memory such as "Mission: Impossible", "Mulan" and "Monster Doctor Dudley". The box office of "The Matrix" will inevitably be greatly impacted in June.

"I have confidence in you!" Tom Cruise seemed to be more confident than Duke, and turned to look at Nicole Kidman, "I have discussed it with Mary many times. This year's annual box office champion may not be sure to be won by you again."

Nicole Kidman cooperated and smiled, "I do think so."

After looking at Tom Cruise and then at Nicole Kidman, Duke suddenly felt that the two of them were much more harmonious than when they met last time.

However, this has nothing to do with him. Duke then threw the idea aside and continued the topic of film with the Cruise couple. However, before he could say a few words, Paramount Pictures' ceo Shelley Lansing came over.

"Congratulations on having another big film." She stretched out her hand and Duke gently shook it on it, "Thank you."

Although Paramount Pictures has made many moves in the ratings and shooting hype of "The Matrix" and "The Magnificent" and "Titanic", Duke also touched on Paramount Pictures' interests, but in this situation, he and Shelley Lansing both smiled brightly, as if the competitions in the past never existed.

In fact, this is also the norm in Hollywood. This year's partners may become competitors due to the collision of movie schedules next year. If they glar at each competitor, they don't have to get involved in this circle.

"It can be seen that "The Matrix" is a series."

While talking and laughing, Shelley Lansing suddenly tentatively said, "Duke, are you interested in handing over the sequel to Paramount Pictures? Our conditions..."

Yes, she really wants to get the copyright to the sequel to the "Matrix" series, and there are definitely many people in Hollywood who have the same ideas.

Films that sell big at the box office appear every year, but movies that sell big at the surrounding area are quite rare.

In recent years, as the promotion and distribution expenses have been increasing, even if the box office of commercial films is successful, the profits that can be obtained from the box office have been reduced, and the revenue of peripheral copyrights and sales of various peripheral products account for increasingly heavier.

In 1993's "Jurassic Park", Spielberg alone took away $200 million in revenue. Even so, Universal Pictures still made a big profit because its surroundings were so popular!

Her eyes were fixed on "The Matrix", not because of the box office, but because of the continued hot peripheral products.

There is no specific statistics on overseas sales yet, but people at the top of Hollywood have obtained North American sales of products around the Matrix. The film has been released for four weeks. Even if the Nokia phone is not counted, it only counts sunglasses, windbreakers, pencil cases and other peripheral products, and its sales have reached US$180 million!

The Duke Studio can earn $3060 million from it, plus the $20 million in advertising sponsorship that it received in the early stage. Even if the North American box office has not yet been divided, the Matrix will recover the production cost!

Is it possible to say I don’t envy you?

What's more, Warner Bros. and Duke Studios are still negotiating with various marketing companies. The future North American TV broadcast rights and disc and videotape copyrights of "The Matrix" will inevitably be sold at a sky-high price!

This is just North America, and its revenue has long exceeded that of North America's overseas market...

Just think about the expected income figures, Shelley Lansing felt a little dizzy. In her eyes, Duke on the opposite side was not a director, but a super gold-making machine!

Although Shelley Lansing said a lot of attractive conditions, Duke used the excuse of taking time to consider and expressed his polite rejection. The other party's promise looked really beautiful, but how many promises in Hollywood can be realized?

"I'll introduce you to the crew members."

With the resolution of the conflict and the two consecutive collaborations, Duke and Tom Cruise's relationship is normalizing. Faced with Liang Tang's invitation, he had no intention of refusing. After entering the theater, he walked to the front row to shake hands with the main members of the crew one by one. No matter what, he is one of the bosses of the film.

"Hello, let."

Looking at the Frenchman with a big nose, Duke greeted him with a normal expression, "Your performance in Leon is impressive."

Even though Duke Studios was one of the most active companies among the Black Renault’s forces a few weeks ago, both Duke and Renault shook hands calmly.

This kind of competition has become so intense that there is no abnormality on the surface, which is really too ordinary in Hollywood.

Under Tom Cruise's introduction, Duke shook hands with many actors and finally walked to an actor who was similar to his age. The other party's face was angular and his tall figure was almost as tall as him. Under the combined suit, the explosive muscles that could be seen vaguely appear stronger.

"This is Gerald Butler."

After hearing Cruise's introduction, Duke looked at him more interestedly after shaking his hands, turned around and walked to his seat. After sitting down, he specifically reminded the female assistant who had been following him, "Tina, look back and find the contact information of Gerald Butler's agent."

"Yeah!" Tinafei nodded and asked softly, "New project?"

"I need an actor who is strong enough, has certain acting skills, and is more fierce in appearance to play the two robbers. He has good appearance conditions."

Speaking of this, Duke looked up and signaled to the big screen, "If the acting skills in the film are still good, you can send him an audition invitation when you look back."

Leonida, the leader of the Red Trouser Army, is very suitable for playing such a fierce role. Duke's only concern is his acting skills. However, after the film started, he watched several scenes of Gerald Butler appearing, and gradually felt relieved. The other party's acting skills were far from excellent, but he could completely meet his low baseline requirements.

Besides, according to his plan, the two gangsters wore heads for a considerable amount of time in the film, and did not require great acting skills. Moreover, based on the requirements of meeting mainstream values, he would not highlight these two gangsters too much.

After briefly thinking about the actors in the new project, Duke's energy turned to the big screen. "Mission: Impossible" appeared two years later. The scenes and plots have changed. What remains unchanged is the overall style of the film and Ethan Hant's various face-selling skills. Tom Cruise's appeal in this era is amazing. The popularity of the film can also be seen from the constant exclamations of boys and girls from the back row.

As an investor, Duke, like Tom Cruise, wants to see this film succeed. And based on his accumulated experience and experience in the past few years of his career, the reputation of the film may not be very high, and the box office will not be a problem, and it may not be a super big seller, but it should not be difficult to reach the level of $100 million to $150 million.
Chapter completed!