Chapter 289: Risk and Opportunity

Another week passed, which was the third week of *Zhu Nuo*'s release. By date, *Zhu Nuo* had actually only been released for fifteen days.

The new North American weekend box office chart was released.

*Zhu Nuo*'s box office for the three days of the weekend was 26 million, falling to third place.

Compared to last week, the drop was 45%, which is a normal range of decline.

Ranked second was *The Da Vinci Code*, with a weekend box office of 33.5 million, a drop of exactly 50%, which is a larger drop than *Zhu Nuo*'s.

This also has to do with the film being criticized by many film critics.

*The Da Vinci Code* was not only bombarded by many film critics at Cannes, being considered a failed work that followed the pattern, but it was also criticized by many film critics in the United States.

Most film critics felt that this film relied too much on the original work and had the danger of leading those who had not read the book astray, and also said that there was no spark between the actors.

In short, the reputation was polarized.

Ranked at the top was the newly released *X-Men: The Last Stand*. The box office for the three days of the first weekend of this film exceeded the expectations of most people, taking 107 million in three days, a super good result.

So far, the first-weekend box office performance ranks fourth in North American film history, second only to *Spider-Man*'s 115 million, *Star Wars: Episode III*'s 108 million, and *Shrek 2*'s 108 million.

However, although the box office of *X-Men: The Last Stand* was high, the reputation was not very good.

There were only a few dozen theaters left showing *The Promise*, and as for the box office, let's not mention it.

Old Chen and Sister Hong had already returned to the country, which made Cao Yang breathe a sigh of relief.

Although most couples in the entertainment circle play their own games after marriage, it is very open.

But this is his senior brother.

Even according to Sister Hong, the senior brother has women outside, and there is one who is not a woman. Sister Hong had a resentful expression whenever she mentioned this.

Cao Yang was numb, feeling that Sister Hong might be talking nonsense.

But people cannot... at least should not... sigh, regardless of whether it is true or false, let's encourage each other with the senior brother.

Cao Yang only blamed himself for not having a firm will, for not being obedient after being caught, and for not doing something out of line to "Baizhi."

But as a man, when the other party repeatedly emphasized that she was "Baizhi" and made such seductive movements, Cao Yang was really stimulated and dizzy at the time!

Regret for not having a firm will!

Must correct this shortcoming in the future.

As the post-production of *Inception* entered the final stage, and with the big sale of *Zhu Nuo*, Cao Yang has been very busy during this period.

One is to carry out the finishing work of *Inception*, and the other is to cope with the contact and wooing of many film companies in Hollywood. Too many companies have ideas about him.

At first, Cao Yang thought these film companies were all coming for his novels, but he didn't expect that there were exceptions, and some were not coming for the novels, but for him.

Disney wanted to restart *Pirates of the Caribbean* and invited him to be the director, which Cao Yang did not expect.

He found someone to check it out. When the first *Pirates of the Caribbean* was shot, he was one step ahead of Disney and invited Depp to shoot *Milk*, so *Pirates of the Caribbean* missed Depp.

Although the male lead of the first *Pirates of the Caribbean* was not Depp in name, everyone who has seen this film knows that Depp's neurotic performance is the soul of the film. It is precisely because of Depp's existence that the film became popular all over the world.

Disney is not a fool, so the subsequent sequels began to weaken the male lead, the blacksmith, and made Depp the undisputed male lead.

*Pirates of the Caribbean* without Depp, even if it has high popularity in Disney, flopped.

Cao Yang even specifically found the disc to watch it. This film was shot as an authentic adventure film, and "Captain Jack" was played as an orthodox pirate.

The highlight was the blacksmith's adventure journey.

*Pirates of the Caribbean* had a lot of special effects, so the production cost of the film reached 140 million, but the North American box office was only 80 million, and the global box office added up to less than 200 million.

Wanting to recoup the costs is a long process.

The failure of the first one made the risk of restarting the second one very large, and the uncertainty was very high.

Because of the audience's preconceived notions, Cao Yang felt that even if he invited Depp to star, the audience might not necessarily accept a neurotic Captain Jack.

It can only be said that risk and opportunity coexist.

If he can restart successfully, his status and influence in Hollywood will likely catch up with Spielberg.

If it fails...

It certainly won't be as miserable as John Woo and Ang Lee. *Cao Yang's Fantastic Journey* is his guarantee of status in Hollywood.

Of course, the negative impact will definitely be very large. If he shoots A-level or higher blockbusters again, he won't have so much power and freedom.

In short, if he restarts *Pirates of the Caribbean*, risk and opportunity coexist.

On the contrary, the situation on Warner Bros.' side is much more stable.

*Gravity* goes without saying. The novel is Cao Yang's, and the copyright is completely in Cao Yang's hands. How to adapt and how to shoot is completely up to Cao Yang.

For most films, without constraints, as long as you can tell the story clearly and the actors' acting skills are at a normal level without making people feel out of character, you have already succeeded by 80%.

The rest depends on the influence of the director and actors, as well as the degree of promotion.

As for *Batman*, the situation must be much better than *Pirates of the Caribbean*.

Director Nolan has already established the tone of the film and laid a good foundation. As long as you don't try to be different, it is easy to be accepted by the audience and easier to succeed.

It has to be said that Nolan is indeed a very talented and thoughtful director.

However, since *Batman* and *Pirates of the Caribbean* are not Cao Yang's films, he definitely won't have the maximum autonomy like shooting *District 9* and *Inception*.

Nor is it possible to give too much box office share.

It is even unknown whether he can get a total box office share.

Relatively speaking, the more difficult *Pirates of the Caribbean* might be easier to talk about.

Let's talk about all three films.

Although Cao Yang did not join a Hollywood agency, he has his own team in Hollywood, which was set up by Bellman, who is responsible for operating *Cao Yang's Fantastic Journey*.

Leave this matter to Bellman to talk about. This kind of thing is definitely not something that can be achieved overnight, so let's talk about it slowly.

Just entering June, the post-production of *Inception* was finally completed, and several high-level executives of Columbia conducted a trial viewing in the small screening room.

They will evaluate this film, and this evaluation is related to how much manpower and material resources the company will invest in promotional operations.

For this trial viewing, not only Amy Pascal, the global vice president of Sony Pictures and president of Columbia Pictures, came, but even Michael Lynton, the CEO of the parent company Sony Entertainment, came.

In addition, there were Tang Mu Rothman, the executive director of Columbia, and Gareth Wigan, the senior vice president of Columbia Pictures responsible for company marketing and distribution, and others.

After the film was played once, even though everyone present had understood the novel and read the film script, they were still shocked.

The visual impact is not comparable to a novel or script.

"It's incredible. The city can be folded, the streets curl up like paper, and the dream can be layered... This simply subverts imagination. It is truly unparalleled imagination."

Amy Pascal said first. As the president of Columbia, she initially had reservations about Tang Mu Rothman's vigorous support for Cao Yang.

Especially since this film is to give Cao Yang a high 13% global box office and subsequent share.

However, in view of the success of *District 9* jointly promoted by Tang Mu Rothman and Cao Yang, even as the president of Columbia, she could not stop the work promoted by an executive director.

But after watching the film, as a veteran filmmaker, she could almost be sure that this film would definitely succeed.

It was too shocking and too imaginative. This was her true inner thought.

Clap clap...

Sony Entertainment CEO Michael Lynton took the lead in applauding.

Tang Mu Rothman looked at Amy Pascal with his head held high and laughed silently.

Then, in the small screening room, the applause echoed continuously, lingering for a long time.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 290 =====