*Chapter 202: Box Office Records*

Wayne raised an eyebrow in surprise upon hearing the news.

“1.646 billion is fine, but the overseas box office is only $51.66 million? That low?”

“Yeah,” Hannah replied, looking at the notebook in her hand. “The overseas revenue is mainly concentrated in Europe, especially in Spain, France, and Germany, where the box office numbers are quite high. But in East and Southeast Asia, the box office earnings are very low. Across more than a dozen countries, the total is only about $6 million.”

“Perhaps the audiences in East and Southeast Asia just don’t care for this kind of suspense movie.”

Hannah’s explanation was partially accurate.

At that time, moviegoers in China weren’t particularly interested in suspense films. They preferred martial arts and police dramas. Meanwhile, in Japan and Korea, it wasn’t so much a lack of interest as a matter of taste—they likely found their own domestic suspense films more appealing.

After all, Japan had produced many world-renowned suspense novelists.

“Still, with The Bourne Identity pulling in $606 million, Mean Girls earning $311.7 million, and The Notebook grossing $760 million, when Wedding Crashers is released, you’ll likely break the record for the highest annual box office earnings for a lead actor,” Hannah said.

Wayne was momentarily stunned but then chuckled.

It was true. The total box office revenue from those three films already amounted to $1.678 billion. If Wedding Crashers brought in another $200 million, his cumulative annual box office revenue as a lead actor would surpass the $1.8 billion gross from the initial release of Titanic.

But while Titanic achieved that with one film, he needed four. No matter how you looked at it, it wasn’t exactly comparable.

“Are you trying to remind me not to get too full of myself?”

Wayne laughed and playfully pinched Hannah, shaking his head internally.

For him, being a movie star was purely about making money, not about competing or surpassing anyone.

“By the way, when is Harvey’s party?”

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To be honest, Wayne was genuinely curious about what new tricks Harvey had up his sleeve.

With major players like Sony and Warner now involved, and Wayne’s influence continuing to grow, Harvey’s once-exclusive resources were being squeezed.

That afternoon, after finishing work, Wayne first stopped by the studio to check the edited version of Taken. After confirming there were no issues, he headed to Harvey’s party.

He hadn’t expected Harvey to truly surprise him this time.

Cindy Crawford, Christy Turlington, Claudia Schiffer, Linda Evangelista, and Naomi Campbell—all five supermodels from the 1990s were there. Harvey had somehow gathered them all at once.

Still, Wayne could accept the other four, but Naomi Campbell? That was a surprise.

Additionally, Harvey had recruited Sophie Marceau, whom Wayne had shown interest in previously but hadn’t pursued further.

There was also Florence Green, whose fame in France rivaled Sophie’s, and Mélanie Laurent, an 18-year-old rising star among French actresses whose beauty and fame were comparable to Eva Green’s.

And then, the truly iconic Isabelle Adjani, widely regarded as the most beautiful woman in France.

Although Isabelle was 46 years old at the time, her natural beauty and excellent care made her appear no older than 33 or 34. Even in her next year’s role in La Repentie, her looks remained stunning.

She was the epitome of the phrase, “timeless beauty.”

“Hey, Harvey, my friend, you’ve really given me a huge surprise this time!” Wayne couldn’t help but exclaim.

“Still, Taken is already spoken for.”

Harvey froze.

The film hadn’t even had its preview screening yet, and the final cut had just been completed that morning. How had it already been claimed?

“Damn it! Who moved so fast?” Harvey muttered to himself.

Despite pulling out all the stops with five supermodels and three French goddesses, he still couldn’t secure Wayne’s agreement. It was clear the other party’s offer must have gone beyond just women.

Thankfully, Harvey hadn’t set his expectations too high for Taken. In this era, action films were incredibly popular.

Even though Wayne wasn’t starring in Taken, the film was bound to do well at the box office.

Its risk level was far lower than films like Gifted, The Dark Side, or Mean Girls, meaning the competition among the major studios would be intense.

As for Wedding Crashers, which Wayne was starring in himself, there was no doubt it would be a hit.

The $760 million box office success of The Notebook had already cemented Wayne’s status as a box office powerhouse.

Even if Harvey were to mortgage his stake in Miramax, he likely couldn’t afford Wedding Crashers.

The major studios would never allow him to acquire it anyway.

Harvey’s real target was actually The Ring, the American remake that was a month into filming and nearing completion.

If that wasn’t feasible, he would settle for Heidi and Grandpa, which had just begun production.

Featuring Lily Collins, one of Hollywood’s top child stars, the film was virtually guaranteed to perform well at the box office.

Wayne appreciated Harvey’s honesty and decided to accept the extravagant gathering.

One man against eight—Wayne’s stamina left the group utterly astounded.

Even Isabelle Adjani and Sophie Marceau couldn’t help but feel pangs of regret, wishing their timing had aligned with Wayne’s.

Mélanie Laurent, though, was reserved. Raised by a ballet dancer mother who had her training rigorously from a young age, she had never even shared coffee with a boy before.

Wayne decided to savor this fresh sweetness privately, inviting Mélanie to move into Villa No. 3 with Eva Green.

However, Wayne didn’t have time to host a housewarming party—he still had to attend Warner’s The Dark Side celebration.

Although Alan Horn had already secured Taken, he was happy to strengthen his relationship with Wayne.

Horn’s choice of gift for Wayne, however, was rather unexpected.

Leveraging Warner Music’s influence in Taiwan, Horn had arranged for a group of young and beautiful models and minor celebrities to be present.

Among them was Lin Wei-jun, later known as “Taiwan’s most beautiful actress,” who gained fame from Lavender and Dolphin Bay Lovers.

This surprise left Wayne genuinely impressed.

Of course, Lin Wei-jun might now miss out on starring in Lavender.

Meanwhile, Howard Stringer, perhaps inspired by Horn, brought in a group of Japanese models.

For Wayne, this was amusing—if he wanted Japanese models, he could easily arrange it himself. Still, he acknowledged that it would indeed be more challenging to handle on his own.

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To give Howard Stringer some face, he ultimately accepted the gift and chose to keep Anri Sugihara, who had just signed with an agency less than a week ago.

Yes, it was mainly to show consideration for Howard Stringer.

It definitely wasn’t about coveting those rare measurements among Asian women.

Coincidentally, she could join Lin Wei-jun, Vivian Hsu, and Chi-ling for a group shot.

The night passed without incident.

The next morning, the screening of Taken proceeded as planned.

Perhaps realizing this was a seller’s market—where giving a “conservative” first-round offer might result in being directly passed over—all the bids came in high.

After all, action films tend to generate higher box office returns during this era, and the risk of losing money is comparatively lower.

Moreover, Taken was genuinely unique.

In this period, and for a long time to come, Hollywood action films predominantly follow grandiose styles. Guns, explosions, car chases, and plane crashes are par for the course, with large-scale, dazzling scenes.

Yet despite the variety in settings, the overall style feels uniform—differing only in scale and visual flair.

This is why Jackie Chan’s action-comedy style and the realism of The Bourne Identity stand out as particularly distinctive.

Taken introduced a different flavor.

There were no fiery car chases or explosions, but the 48-hour rescue window loomed like a knife at the protagonist’s back. Combined with harrowing depictions of human trafficking, the film created an intense atmosphere of dread and urgency, driving a fast-paced narrative.

Amid such relentless tension, the protagonist’s precise and ruthless actions in the name of love left audiences with a visceral sense of satisfaction.

Additionally, most action films rarely give their leads a chance to showcase their acting chops. Typically, they’re just stoic, occasionally delivering somber, angry, or smirking expressions—after a while, it all feels repetitive.

For example, Keanu Reeves in The Matrix, Jason Statham in The Mechanic and The Transporter, and Vin Diesel in The Fast and the Furious all fit this mold.

The leads are fast and charismatic, and the action scenes are stellar, but the acting performances rarely stand out in these films.

The protagonist in Taken, however, is different.

A frantic, worried father and a vengeful, furious father—all these emotions were masterfully portrayed by Liam Neeson.

While his performance might not rival that of arthouse films, it was undeniably outstanding within the action genre.

With all these strengths combined, major distributors estimated Taken’s box office earnings at over $250 million.

Top contenders like Warner Bros. and Universal projected even higher, around $300 million.

Thus, the lowest first-round offer was $90 million, while Universal came in highest at $115 million.

Studios like DreamWorks, Miramax, and Lionsgate could only participate by offering cash plus profit-sharing deals.

“Should we continue negotiating with Universal or other distributors to push the price higher?” Mia asked during dinner that evening.

Based on her and Sera’s assessment, Universal might be willing to go up to $120 million if pressed.

That could mean millions—or even tens of millions—of extra profits.

However, after some thought, Wayne shook his head.

“Let’s leave it at that. Alan Horn has been generous; we shouldn’t seem petty. We’ve had a good working relationship with him so far. If he solidifies his position, it could benefit us too.”

Aside from DC properties, Warner Bros. also holds the The Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter franchises—two massive IPs.

While it’s unlikely Alan Horn would ever sell them (doing so might get him fired once the films are released in November), the streaming rights for these series could be secured in advance with his support.

If we wait until these franchises explode in popularity and streaming becomes mainstream, acquiring the rights could cost tens—or even hundreds—of times more.

Thus, the next day, Mia contacted Warner Bros. and finalized the sale of Taken’s distribution rights for $115 million.

Since Warner Bros. planned to release the film during the summer blockbuster season, both sides completed this multimillion-dollar deal in just one day.

“Warner is planning a global preview on July 13, followed by the official release on July 16. You and the leads may need to attend some promotional events.”

“No problem,” Wayne replied.

Glancing at Hemera Pictures’ latest financial report, which showed $150 million in liquid assets, he agreed readily.

Interestingly, Scarlett Johansson had recently become a rising Hollywood B-list actress thanks to Mean Girls.  

Coupled with Liam Neeson, who was also a B-list star, Taken didn’t lack recognizable names in its cast.

Yet everyone knew the real draw was Wayne as the screenwriter and Hemera Pictures as the production company. Naturally, the new film’s promotion required his presence.

Unlike Mean Girls, The Dark Side, or Hotel for Dogs, Warner Bros.—or more accurately, Alan Horn—was prioritizing the promotion of Taken as his first major project after taking office.

In addition to ads in entertainment magazines and news outlets, Warner Bros. placed TV commercials on its own cable networks and ran trailers as pre-roll ads in several currently showing films.

(End of chapter.)