Chapter 321

The popularity of "Pirates of the Caribbean 2" has sparked many discussions.

Entertainment show hosts are already shouting:

“The box office champion of this year has already been born—it can only be 'Pirates of the Caribbean 2,' and no one can stop it!!”

When "Pirates of the Caribbean 2" earned $169 million in its opening weekend, someone had already raised this point. But back then, it was only three days, and many still had doubts.

But after the second week passed, with "Pirates of the Caribbean 2" reaching $558 million in global box office over ten days, everything changed—everyone believed it, for the momentum was already established, and no one questioned it under these circumstances.

As for whether another movie this year will surpass it in box office? Come on, it’s already beyond Hollywood’s wildest expectations to have two high-grossing sequels like "Spider-Man 2" and "Pirates of the Caribbean 2" in the same year.

The only film with any challenge in the second half is "Harry Potter 3," but the director change has made many skeptical—it’s already a win if it matches the box office of the first two films; breaking $1 billion is nearly impossible.

Meanwhile, after initial praise for Johnny Depp’s outstanding Captain Jack, more and more media are shifting their focus and topics to Wu Yuchen.

“This summer belongs to Wu! The combined box office of all other big productions doesn’t even match the total of Wu’s 'Pirates of the Caribbean 2' and 'Spider-Man 2'!”

When someone achieves great success, people naturally become more convinced of him, unconsciously attributing even more accomplishments to him—Wu Yuchen is exactly like this now.

In the past two months, although Wu Yuchen served as producer of "Spider-Man 2," he appeared rarely during its entire promotional campaign, spending most of his time behind the scenes—even admitting he didn’t do much behind-the-scenes work. For "Spider-Man 2," aside from providing the script and securing extra time and guarantees for reshoots, he did little.

In the past two months, media and the public indeed focused much attention on director Sam Raimi, discussing his contributions to "Spider-Man 2."

But now, as "Pirates of the Caribbean 2" has clearly surpassed "Spider-Man 2" in momentum, various media have begun praising Wu Yuchen’s greatness, and more so-called insiders have emerged to recount Wu Yuchen’s importance to "Spider-Man 2," and more people are willing to believe that "Spider-Man 2" is Wu Yuchen’s work…

Once this situation arises, no matter how Wu Yuchen explains, people only believe he’s being humble!

So now, people attribute both "Pirates of the Caribbean 2" and "Spider-Man 2" to Wu Yuchen—2004’s Hollywood summer has become “Wu Yuchen’s Summer,” a summer ruled by Wu Yuchen!

“Oh darling, you’re truly incredible! Everyone says you ruled this summer!”

At this moment, Anne Hathaway clung tightly to Wu Yuchen, desperate to stick to him, using Wu Yuchen as her ladder to the pinnacle of Hollywood.

In fact, she is already on the right path. Her starring vehicle, "The Princess Diaries," has been in theaters for a month, with North American box office reaching $96.58 million—just one step away from breaking $100 million.

Since the North American summer is only halfway through and school won’t resume until September, "The Princess Diaries" will definitely break $100 million in North America.

At just 21 years old, Anne Hathaway, aside from the "Spider-Man" series, has now proven herself as a standalone box office draw, making a $28 million-budget film surpass $100 million in North America—this fully demonstrates her box office appeal.

She is without doubt the hottest young actress in Hollywood right now!

Only one girl can currently be mentioned alongside her: Keira Knightley, the female lead of Wu Yuchen’s own "Pirates of the Caribbean" series.

To be honest, Anne Hathaway used to envy Keira Knightley. Compared to her own role as a prop in the "Spider-Man" series, merely serving as Spider-Man’s emotional regulator, Keira had far more screen time in "Pirates of the Caribbean," with substantial weight and real influence over the plot’s direction.

But now it’s different!

She has already broken free from the constraints of the "Spider-Man" franchise thanks to "The Princess Diaries," gaining more possibilities. Keira, however, still needs to take that step.

Another thing she envied about Keira was her luck—she was chosen precisely when Wu Yuchen wanted to quickly launch the "Pirates of the Caribbean" project.

Some outsiders spread rumors that Keira obtained the role through Wu Yuchen’s various hidden rules, but Anne Hathaway, who understands Wu Yuchen’s tastes, knew he had no interest in women with A-cup chests.

She, Jennifer Connelly, and Jessica Alba all have sexy figures; even Nicole Kidman, with whom she had once dated, had a B-cup.

And she had asked Wu Yuchen—he never touched that Princess at all. This made Anne Hathaway feel even more that Keira was lucky—she got the role without paying anything, truly a chosen one!

But even the best luck has its limits.

Anne Hathaway knew that without Wu Yuchen’s help, Keira would become ordinary and vanish into obscurity, while she, Princess Anne, would rise to become Hollywood’s most popular actress thanks to Wu Yuchen.

Thinking of this, Anne Hathaway constantly radiated passion toward Wu Yuchen, willing to do anything to please him!

On Wu Yuchen’s other side, the chocolate beauty Jessica Alba was also clinging to him adoringly: “Great Director Wu, can you attend my premiere in two weeks?”

Originally, she and Anne Hathaway each secured a project from Wu Yuchen. Now that Anne Hathaway’s "The Princess Diaries" has succeeded, Jessica Alba has grown even more eager for "Step Up," and she’s already impatient to shine in Hollywood.

Wu Yuchen stroked the chocolate beauty’s thigh: “Jessie, I’m planning to return to China next month~”

Upon hearing this, Jessica Alba’s big eyes immediately filled with mist, her face pleading as she gazed at Wu Yuchen: “Dady, please! I can’t live without you~”

Wu Yuchen laughed and patted her firm buttocks: “Haha, little Jessie, I’ll leave only after your premiere!”

Hearing this, Jessica Alba instantly lit up with joy and planted a sweet kiss on Wu Yuchen.

Wu Yuchen smiled—he wouldn’t favor one over the other. He’d already attended "The Princess Diaries" premiere; he must attend "Step Up" too.

After "Step Up" succeeds, I’ll make "Step Up 2," then produce "Fantastic Four" for Jessica Alba—an expensive blockbuster, enough to take care of her. Anne Hathaway will be treated the same way, step by step, no rush.

“Darling, everyone around me is guessing how much total box office 'Pirates of the Caribbean 2' will reach?” Anne Hathaway asked Wu Yuchen, seeking an authoritative answer.

Wu Yuchen smiled and shook his head: “Baby, I can’t give you an exact number, but I can say global $1 billion is definitely achievable.”

After all, due to his influence, "Pirates of the Caribbean 2" is performing better than its original version—he truly can’t predict the final figure. But he estimates it likely won’t exceed $1.5 billion, probably between $1.2 and $1.3 billion.

Jessica Alba brought up another question: “Dady, my friends are debating how many years it will take before 'Pirates of the Caribbean 2's opening weekend record of $169 million is broken?”

This question made Wu Yuchen pause to think.

According to the original timeline, breaking this record wouldn’t happen until the finale of "Harry Potter"—"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2" in 2011, which also opened at $169 million, just a few million higher than "Pirates of the Caribbean 2."

Some might ask: How could "Avatar," with its $2.74 billion total box office, have such a low opening weekend?

But the truth is, "Avatar" earned only $77.02 million in its first three days. Yet James Cameron had the ability to make a film’s long-term revenue spectacular, with unmatched global appeal.

As for opening weekend records, the real powerhouses are fan-driven films like "Twilight." But "Twilight" was still somewhat niche; the most terrifying is the superhero fan film "The Avengers"!

Since the birth of the "Avengers" series, it has treated opening weekend records like a game.

In 2012, the first "Avengers" earned over $200 million in its first three days in North America, breaking Hollywood’s opening weekend record.

In 2015, "Avengers: Age of Ultron" underperformed with $1.91 billion, failing to break the first film’s record, but in 2018, "Avengers: Infinity War" set a new record at $257 million. The following year’s fourth installment was even more outrageous—$357 million in its opening weekend, a number that felt utterly hopeless!

But now Wu Yuchen is also uncertain—the biggest variable is himself. He doesn’t know whether "Pirates of the Caribbean 3" will set a new record when it releases.

If "Pirates of the Caribbean 3" is strong, it could break the record next year. If not, it might take seven or eight years.

Thinking this way, no matter what, this record will be ruled by him, Director Wu, for at least the next seven years—that’s already a long time!

As for "Pirates of the Caribbean 4," he has no intention of making it. The "Pirates of the Caribbean" trilogy is already a complete story; he won’t touch it further—it’s too much effort for little reward and might ruin his reputation.

Whether to invest further depends on the market then. Johnny Depp’s salary will also be a major issue. He doesn’t believe he can fool Depp again; to get him to star in "Pirates of the Caribbean 4," he’d have to pay an extremely painful price.

For now, Wu Yuchen doesn’t want to suffer that pain. Maybe in ten years, when the global film market is more prosperous and ticket prices are higher, he’ll reconsider investing in "Pirates of the Caribbean 4."

With "Pirates of the Caribbean 2" now a surefire success, Wu Yuchen can fully relax and no longer needs to Benbo for promotion, but some matters still need handling—such as the licensing rights for "Pirates of the Caribbean."

“Oh, Wu, we’re planning a celebration party for 'Pirates of the Caribbean 2,' but you seem completely uninterested~”

“Steven, I just want to rest~”

Wu Yuchen welcomed Spielberg with a smile. With "Pirates of the Caribbean 2" a success and the post-production of "Pirates of the Caribbean 3" complete, he now only wants to rest at home.

After some casual chat, they turned to the main topic.

“Steven, what’s the situation?” Wu Yuchen asked.

“Universal Pictures came to me, still seeking the licensing rights for 'Pirates of the Caribbean,' and they’ve significantly raised their offer.”

Wu Yuchen smiled. Three years ago, Universal had already wanted the "Pirates of the Caribbean" license, but their offer was too low—he had DreamWorks reject it outright.

Over the past two years, Universal had raised their bid slightly, but Wu Yuchen refused—he knew how massive the "Pirates of the Caribbean" market was.

Now, with "Pirates of the Caribbean 2" exploding, Universal can’t sit still anymore and has drastically increased their offer, eager to buy the license.

Wu Yuchen looked at Spielberg: “Steven, what do you think?”

Spielberg spread his hands: “In the past, I’d have agreed to that price, but now, Universal’s sincerity is lacking—especially compared to the alternative.”

Wu Yuchen smiled: “Let me guess—it’s Robert Iger?”

Spielberg nodded with a smile: “Robert Iger came to me personally with a very tempting offer—he’ll name Disney’s pirate project 'Pirates of the Caribbean,' and we’ll get a share of the profits.”

Wu Yuchen, seeing Spielberg’s attitude, clearly understood who he wanted to partner with.

This made Wu Yuchen reflect: originally, he had crushed Disney’s big-budget "Pearl Harbor" with "Pirates of the Caribbean," and now "Pirates of the Caribbean" is about to partner with Disney!

How times change!

But Wu Yuchen smiled at Spielberg: “I have no objections. Iger is truly bold. Frankly, I have a feeling Disney will become even stronger under his leadership.”

Wu Yuchen naturally chose the higher bidder—why sell cheaply to Universal because of past grudges? Besides, Disney’s reach is far greater than Universal’s.

Spielberg nodded: “The smiling Mickey Mouse is truly more powerful than the roaring Eisner.”