556-560

*Chapter 556: Total Box Office Rankings*

The person who is probably most upset about Meryl Streep winning Best Actress this year is Harvey.

Back in 2012, he spent millions of dollars and even used Obama’s PR team to help Meryl win the Best Actress award, but in the end, the award was snatched away by 21-year-old Jennifer Lawrence.

Meryl Streep received a lot of sympathy after missing out, and the media predicted that the next time she was nominated for an Oscar, she would be guaranteed to win Best Actress.

The media’s prediction came true.

However, this time Meryl won the award for a film produced by Lionsgate.

Harvey spent millions only to make things easier for someone else, so it’s inevitable that he would feel upset.

After the Oscars ceremony, Harvey spent another few hundred thousand dollars to hire professional critics to write promotional articles, stirring up news about Lionsgate monopolizing the Best Actress category, preparing to grill Lionsgate on this matter.

At the same time, he spread rumors about Link’s involvement with several actresses, suggesting that Link was abusing his power during Lionsgate’s casting process, exploiting women’s bodies and emotions.

However, these accusations lacked evidence and amounted to defamation and damage to reputation.

Lionsgate’s legal department quickly contacted these media outlets, sending a stack of cease-and-desist letters. This time, Link’s lawyers were prepared to pursue the matter to the end, not only aiming to bankrupt the media outlets spreading the rumors but also to send the writers to jail.

Lionsgate denied ever monopolizing the Best Actress category and never admitted to it.

To dispel the rumors, Link arranged for the media to focus on Palm Beach Pictures, a company founded in 2009 that specializes in female-centered films. Over the past five years, they have produced one or two high-quality female-centric films annually.

Movies like Easy A, The Help, Bridesmaids, Her, and August: Osage County were produced by Palm Beach Pictures. After their release, they were both box office hits and critically acclaimed, frequently receiving Oscar nominations, proving that both audiences and Oscar judges appreciated these films.

After the Oscars, Catherine represented Palm Beach Pictures in multiple interviews with reporters and appeared on TV talk shows, openly discussing the company’s development and her relationship with Link.

These interviews boosted Catherine and Palm Beach’s popularity in Hollywood.

Catherine became a well-known female CEO in Hollywood, and Palm Beach Pictures, due to its continuous production of Oscar-level films, saw its market value overestimated by Wall Street to around $160 million, making it one of the top ten independent film companies.

After some time, the negative news about Lionsgate monopolizing the Best Actress award was temporarily suppressed. However, whether this suppression remains permanent depends on Lionsgate's performance in 2014.

If Lionsgate wins Best Actress again in 2014, this kind of negative news will likely intensify after next year’s Oscars.

After the Oscars, aside from the attention paid to the Best Actress award, many were talking about Link winning the Oscar for Best Original Song with Let It Go.

As an actor, Link had won the Berlin Best Actor award, the Cannes Best Actor award, and had been nominated for the Golden Globe Best Actor three times, yet he never even had the chance to be nominated for an Oscar Best Actor.

When everyone joked that Link would never win an Oscar, he ended up winning one with a song.

After winning the Oscar, Link jokingly asked Leonardo if he wanted to touch it for luck, suggesting he might win next time.

Leonardo refused with a dark expression.

Link knew Leo was just jealous.

After the Oscars, the box office for several Lionsgate films that were nominated saw noticeable changes.

First, Dallas Buyers Club, which had been released in October, grossed $28.56 million in North America in a little over two months.

After the Golden Globes and Oscars, the box office surged, currently grossing $58.4 million in North America, making it Lionsgate’s 13th film of 2013 to gross over $50 million domestically.

The international box office is also growing rapidly, currently at $54.19 million.

The film's production cost was $5 million, with an additional $12 million spent on marketing and PR. It has grossed over $100 million worldwide.

The results are decent, proving Lionsgate’s investment was worthwhile.

Next is August: Osage County, which was released at the end of last year in a limited release. Before the Oscars, it grossed $32.3 million, and after the Oscars, it added another $10 million.

Currently, it has grossed $42.25 million in North America and $39.4 million internationally.

The film’s production and marketing costs were about $32 million.

Lionsgate and Palm Beach are likely to earn over $20 million from this film.

Meanwhile, Her, after the Oscars, added over $6 million to its North American gross, now sitting at $28.75 million, with an international gross of $27.01 million.

Compared to its $23 million cost, Palm Beach and Annapurna Pictures made a modest profit of around $7–8 million.

Then there’s The Wolf of Wall Street, which earned multiple nominations. It has grossed $145 million domestically and $332 million internationally, totaling $487 million worldwide.

Lionsgate and Red Granite Pictures will likely pocket around $200 million from the box office.

And last year’s major release from Lionsgate, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, after more than three months, grossed $507 million domestically, surpassing Iron Man 3 and Frozen to top the North American box office chart.

Globally, it grossed $1.031 billion, ranking third for the year.

Lionsgate spent about $28 million on Oscar campaigns this year, which resulted in six Oscars, over $100 million in additional box office revenue, and enhanced industry influence.

This demonstrates that the investment in award campaigns was worthwhile.

(End of Chapter)

*Chapter 557: New Forbes List*

In March, Forbes magazine released its latest global billionaire list.

This year, 1,645 people made the Forbes Global Billionaire list with total assets over $1 billion. The combined net worth of all the billionaires on the list reached a staggering $6.4 trillion.

Bill Gates ranked first with a net worth of $76 billion.

Last year's richest person, Carlos Slim Helú, came in second with $72 billion.

Spain's richest man, Amancio Ortega, remained third with $64 billion.

Warren Buffett took fourth place with $58.2 billion.

Larry Ellison ranked fifth with $48 billion.

Mark Zuckerberg was ranked 21st with $28.5 billion.

Jack Ma ranked 29th with $21.2 billion.

Link ranked 37th on the list with a net worth of $19.5 billion, doubling his $9.8 billion from last year.

Forbes calculated his net worth in three parts.

The first part is the shares controlled by GoldShell Investment Company. This includes:

- 16.6% of Nvidia

- 17.4% of Tesla

- 5.7% of SpaceX

- 1.6% of News Corp.

- 8.6% of Netflix

- 2.025% of Eli Lilly

- Minor shares in Amazon, Facebook, Instagram, Apple, and others.

Nvidia's value remained stable this year, with a market value of $10.2 billion by year-end, up $400 million from last year. Despite Nvidia's stock price being low, GoldShell Investment acquired an additional 1.1% of Nvidia last year, bringing its stake to 16.6%, worth about $1.6 billion.

Tesla performed exceptionally well last year, with four consecutive quarters of profitability after launching its new electric vehicles. Tesla's market value peaked at $25.6 billion, settling at $22.3 billion by year-end, more than doubling from $8.5 billion the previous year. GoldShell Investment’s 17.4% stake in Tesla is now worth about $3.8 billion.

SpaceX also had a solid year. After four years of bidding, SpaceX and Boeing secured a $6.8 billion NASA contract for manned space missions, with SpaceX receiving $2.5 billion to use its Dragon spacecraft for astronaut and cargo transport. Following this deal, SpaceX's stock value soared, reaching $3.6 billion.

News Corp. remained stable with a market value around $50 billion, making the 1.6% stake worth $800 million.

Netflix had a good year, with its market value rising to $26 billion, making GoldShell's 8.6% stake worth $1.8 billion.

Eli Lilly's market value broke $50 billion at the beginning of the year, rising to $52.4 billion, making the 2.025% stake worth about $1 billion.

His remaining Amazon, Facebook, and Instagram shares are worth about $600 million. Link’s Amazon stock, bought in 2008/09, is now valued at over $400 million.

All of these holdings together bring the total value of GoldShell’s portfolio to $9.8 billion, with Link owning 98% of GoldShell.

The second part of his assets is his music company, film company, and sports investments, totaling about $7.3 billion.

In music, this includes Link Music, Spotify shares, and SB Entertainment. Spotify grew rapidly last year, with 60 million free users and 15 million paid subscribers worldwide. In 2013, Spotify generated $1.28 billion in revenue but lost $210 million, largely due to the royalties it had to pay record companies, which amounted to $933 million. Of that, $85 million was paid to Link Music.

Despite the losses, Spotify surpassed competitors like Pandora to become the leading free music platform, valued at $6 billion. Link and Ivanka together own 16.8% of Spotify, with Link’s share valued at $750 million.

Link Music Company grew quickly after receiving investment from Universal Music, with a current value of $2.2 billion. Link owns 45.8% of Link Music, valued at $1 billion. He and Ivanka also own 2.2% of Universal Music and SB Projects, with a combined value of $600 million.

In total, his music assets are worth about $2.3 billion.

In film, his holdings include Lionsgate Films, Palm Beach Films, and an 11.37% stake in Netflix through Lionsgate. His film-related assets are worth about $4.5 billion.

In sports, he holds a 23.5% stake in Dynasty Promotions and the Nike-Link sports brand, valued at around $500 million, with little change from last year.

The third part of his assets is overseas holdings, including GoldShell Investment in Hong Kong, a 41% stake in Big Hit, and Paris Rose Films, with a total value of $2.5 billion.

At 25 years old, Link has a net worth of $19.5 billion, ranking 37th on the Forbes Global Billionaire List and making him the youngest billionaire on the list.

After Forbes published the list, Link's wealth became a hot topic, with many media outlets portraying him as a "wealth legend."

Ivanka also made her first appearance on the Forbes Global Billionaire List with a net worth of $1.2 billion, ranking 1,432nd. Her assets include shares in Link Music, Spotify, and Lionsgate Films, as well as her luxury brand.

Her father, with a net worth of $2.5 billion, ranks 339th, showing little change.

Forbes predicted that if this trend continues, Ivanka could surpass her father's net worth within five years, becoming the only second-generation billionaire to do so without inheriting family wealth, setting an example in American high society.

In Forbes' smaller lists, Link still dominates in sports and music income.

Last year, his sports-related income totaled $850 million, including earnings from six boxing matches, endorsements, and a 5% annual sales share of the Nike-Link brand.

Floyd Mayweather ranked second with an annual income of $105 million, largely from his matches against Alvarez and Guerrero, as well as pay-per-view revenue.

Cristiano Ronaldo ranked third with $73 million, followed by Lionel Messi with $65 million and LeBron James with $42 million.

In music, Link earned about $180 million last year from album royalties and other music-related revenue, exceeding $200 million if "Victory" is included.

Madonna ranked second with $125 million, thanks to royalties from her new album MDNA, her first tour, and income from her Material Girl clothing line and Truth or Dare perfume.

Lady Gaga ranked third with $80 million, followed by Taylor Swift at $75 million from new album royalties, tour earnings, and endorsements from Amazon Music, iPad, and Toyota.

Beyoncé ranked eighth with $53 million.

Selena Gomez ranked 12th with $12 million, from album royalties, ads, and movie fees, making her a budding young millionaire.

Justin Bieber, Bruno Mars, and Lana Del Rey also ranked in the top 20, earning from royalties, tours, and endorsements.

In film, Link only starred in two movies last year: Captain America 2 and Gone Girl, earning $45 million and ranking fourth among male actors.

Robert Downey Jr. took first place with $75 million, followed by Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson with $52 million and Bradley Cooper with $46 million.

Leonardo DiCaprio ranked fifth with $39 million.

Among female actors, Jennifer Lawrence led with $35 million, followed by Sandra Bullock with $32 million and Scarlett Johansson with $17 million.

Forbes noted that these top actors earn significantly more than the Hollywood average of $52,000 per year.

---

Forbes primarily evaluates net worth, excluding cash flow.

In reality, since late last year and early this year, Link has received dividends from several companies, as well as revenue from Link Music, Lionsgate Films, boxing, music royalties, and endorsements, totaling $1 billion. After taxes, he kept about $700 million.

Instead of keeping the money, he reinvested it through GoldShell Investment, acquiring shares in companies like Eli Lilly and Amazon. GoldShell now holds 3.2% of Eli Lilly and 0.55% of Amazon.

Amazon's current market value is $141.3 billion, lower than Alibaba's $168 billion. But in ten years, Amazon's value is projected to exceed $2 trillion, while Alibaba is expected to remain at around $1 trillion.

Investing in Amazon is still a smart move.

Additionally, the investment team led by Cathy Wood has done well with companies like Instagram, WhatsApp, and Uber in recent years.

WhatsApp, currently valued at $6 billion, received $8 million in angel investment from GoldShell, giving them a 5.7% stake worth over $300 million.

There are rumors that Facebook is preparing to acquire WhatsApp. If the deal goes through, GoldShell could gain a large sum of money.

With the new funds, Link plans to buy a building in Manhattan, similar to his father-in-law’s, to house a hotel and restaurant on the lower floors, offices for Link Music, GoldShell, and Lionsgate in the middle, and luxury apartments on the upper floors.

He’s still searching for the right property.

“Is there any bad news? You look worried,” Ivanka asked as she walked over to him at their hillside villa, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"I've got too much money, and I don’t know how to spend it wisely. Does that count as bad news?"

Link pointed to his picture in Forbes magazine, with the caption beneath reading "$19.5 billion." It described him as the fastest-rising billionaire, the youngest billionaire in the world, a renowned entrepreneur, athlete, actor, musician, philanthropist, and more.

"How about donating it? Too much money can definitely cause headaches. Keeping a few billion should be more than enough for us," Ivanka said, gently stroking his forehead with her fingers.

"This money was earned through my hard work in the ring, all of it is blood and sweat. Donating it doesn’t seem worth it. If I ever do donate, it'll be after I become the richest person in the world. Right now, my morals aren’t that high," Link replied.

"Then don’t worry about it so much. Trust Casey—let her and the team at Golden Shell Investment handle it. We only need to focus on managing Lionsgate and Link Music," Ivanka said, hugging him.

Link thought for a moment and nodded in agreement.

Over the past few years, Casey and the team at Golden Shell had done a great job. It made sense to let them handle the future earnings.

As long as they kept holding onto stocks like NVIDIA, Tesla, Eli Lilly, and Netflix, the rest of the investments wouldn't matter much.

"I'll talk to Casey later."

Thanks to her collaboration with Link, Casey's net worth had surpassed $400 million, making her a rising star in Wall Street's investment banking scene.

"Dad says you've made it into the top 40 on Forbes’ rich list. Should we throw a party to celebrate?"

Ivanka smiled.

"A party just for that? Doesn’t seem appropriate. We know exactly how much we have—no need for Forbes to announce it, let alone celebrate it. But we could host a charity event, auctioning off some memorabilia like gold medals, trophies, or records, and donate the proceeds to the Link Foundation. What do you think?"

"That sounds like a great idea," Ivanka said, kissing his cheek.

Link smiled, set down the magazine, and kissed his beautiful wife.

While little Margarita napped, the two of them had some fun on the couch.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter 558: New Year's Movies

After the award season at the start of the year, major Hollywood studios began their operations. This year, Lionsgate has 15 film projects in the works, including The Hunger Games 4, The Expendables 3, Madea 5, Now You See Me 2, Insidious 4, The Conjuring 3, American Sniper, Maleficent, The Big Short, The Butler, Trainwreck, Creed, Sicario, Inherent Vice, and Split.

Palm Beach Films is producing three movies: Wild, The Age of Adaline, and The DUFF.

Lionsgate is also collaborating with Annapurna Pictures on two projects: Joy and Foxcatcher, as well as with Paramount Pictures on three films: The Martian, Terminator: Genisys, and San Andreas.

Lionsgate's Summit Entertainment division has merged with its main production unit, now split into four divisions: the first focusing on commercial films, the second on art films, the third on horror, and the fourth working with Netflix to produce streaming films.

Besides the film division, Lionsgate also has two departments focused on producing TV shows and commercials.

Lionsgate’s film budget this year is $800 million, with six movies having production costs exceeding $100 million. Apart from The Hunger Games 4, which Lionsgate fully funds, the remaining five films are co-productions, including The Expendables 3, Maleficent, The Martian, Terminator: Genisys, and San Andreas.

This investment strategy reduces Lionsgate’s financial burden, allowing them to create more films while mitigating risk and potentially earning more box office revenue.

This year, Linck is involved in three films: Avengers: Age of Ultron, American Sniper, and The Expendables 3, along with cameo roles in several other movies.

Lionsgate will release 19 films this year, including collaborations with Palm Beach Films, Annapurna Pictures, and Summit Entertainment.

Movies already released include Snowpiercer, Ride Along, The Call, and We’re the Millers.

Snowpiercer premiered in early January with a 45-day theatrical run, earning $16.65 million domestically and accumulating $124 million worldwide. Lionsgate expects a $20 million profit from the film.

Ride Along debuted on January 17, a comedy starring Ice Cube as a Black police officer trying to break up his sister’s engagement to a white psychiatrist. The film opened with a record-setting $41.2 million over the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend. It has grossed $134 million in North America, making it Lionsgate’s first billion-dollar movie of 2014, and $19.08 million overseas, with a total gross of $152 million.

The Call is Lionsgate’s third release of the year, which opened in mid-February, starring Halle Berry and Abigail Breslin. The film follows a 911 operator helping a young girl escape danger. Made with a $12 million budget, it has grossed $41.98 million in North America and is expected to top $50 million. Overseas, it has earned $13.2 million.

The fourth movie, We’re the Millers, a comedy starring Jennifer Aniston, premiered in early March and grossed $45.61 million in its opening weekend. It has earned $74.33 million in North America and $55.48 million internationally, with projections suggesting it could break $150 million domestically and $100 million overseas.

Lionsgate’s four films have grossed a combined total of over $350 million in North America, a figure that has surpassed industry expectations and left competitors shocked.

The Hollywood Reporter, while mentioning that Lionsgate’s films are leading the 2014 movie market, also pointed out that this presents a major challenge for the competition. Disney, Warner Bros., and Universal Pictures might need to set aside their arrogance and actively seek advice from Lionsgate on how to achieve box office success.

“Damn, what is Lionsgate doing? Why are their films always performing so well? Do those moviegoers have no taste at all?”

In the Warner Bros. president’s office, Kevin Tsujihara, who had just taken office last year, had a gloomy expression after reading the news.

Warner Bros. had also released four films in the first three months of the year. Only one of them, the 3D animated movie The Lego Movie, had decent box office results, while two others lost money, and one barely broke even.

The total North American box office revenue for these four films was less than $300 million, while the production cost for them reached $200 million.

This was achieved even with the support of Warner Bros.' strong marketing and distribution capabilities.

Compared to Warner, Lionsgate was at a disadvantage in terms of marketing and distribution channels. The production cost for their four films was only $110 million, yet all four of them were box office hits.

This was something Kevin Tsujihara couldn’t quite understand.

He went to the theater himself to watch Lionsgate’s four films. Though they were good, they weren’t significantly better than other films released during the same period, yet somehow their box office numbers were impressive.

This made him wonder if Lionsgate had some sort of trick to lure audiences into theaters.

“Have we figured anything out?”

Kevin Tsujihara looked at Pam Abdy, the head of marketing, who was sitting across from him.

Pam Abdy shook her head, looking frustrated. Ever since Lionsgate's films started selling well a few years ago, Warner Bros.' marketing department had been investigating the reasons for their success. Initially, they suspected box office inflation, but their investigation showed no evidence of that.

They even sent people to investigate internally at Lionsgate, but found nothing unusual.

Warner Bros. even poached three producers and their assistants from Lionsgate, but their performance at Warner was quite average.

(End of chapter)

Chapter 559: The Clown and the Car Crash

These findings left him feeling helpless and under immense pressure.

Since the rise of Lionsgate, the top executives at the "Big Six" studios were all on edge, worried about being fired by their boards. They had to find a way to produce blockbuster movies to make money for shareholders.

But investing in movies is like gambling; before a movie is released, no one knows if it will be profitable. According to Hollywood investment rules, only about a quarter of the films make a profit each year. For instance, last year, 826 films were released in North America, with an average box office revenue of $13.26 million, and most of them ended up losing money.

The Big Six couldn’t expand their movie investments and guarantee profitability, which kept them from catching up to Lionsgate at the box office.

So, they tried to figure out how Lionsgate achieved success, hoping to learn their method of movie investment and use it themselves, possibly to beat Lionsgate at the box office.

Unfortunately, neither industrial espionage nor headhunting provided any clues about Lionsgate’s investment model.

There was even a rumor that Link learned how to invest in movies from Ryan Kavanaugh, the CEO of Relativity Media. However, Warner Bros. found Kavanaugh's big data investment model of little value after trying to study it.

Former employees at Lionsgate claimed that the success of their movies was largely due to Ivanka and a few executives, while Link was rarely involved as he was too busy.

Pam Abdy had been investigating for a long time but failed to uncover the secret behind Lionsgate's movie-making success. When asked by CEO Kevin Tsujihara, she could only remain silent.

“You know the board's stance. If we can’t find the secret behind Lionsgate's movie operations and allow them to keep leading at the box office, you and I will end up like Jeff.”

Kevin Tsujihara spoke gravely.

The "Jeff" he was referring to was former Warner Bros. CEO Jeff Robinov, who was fired by Warner Bros. last year due to poor box office performance. Five other senior-level executives were also dismissed.

Besides Warner, Universal, Fox, and Sony Pictures also saw major changes in their top management and production departments over the past few months, which the media called a "major reshuffle among the Big Six studios."

If the Big Six fail to reverse their declining box office performance, another round of reshuffling could occur in a year or two.

Pam Abdy understood this but had no good solutions. He thought for a moment before saying, “It’s very difficult to beat Lionsgate in a conventional way, so I suggest using unconventional methods to deal with them.”

“Unconventional?”

Kevin Tsujihara, being a veteran in the movie industry, understood what Pam was implying. Hollywood has many unconventional ways to deal with competitors.

These include contract traps, box office fraud, negative publicity, releasing movies at the same time, or exposing scandals—methods that are relatively legal.

Then there are the illegal ones: leaking scripts, sabotaging film crews, kidnapping actors or directors, or even destroying film or recording equipment.

The Big Six had already tried using the media to suppress Lionsgate and expose Link's scandals, but the results were unimpressive.

Illegal methods come with significant drawbacks. If caught, it’s not just about losing one’s job—it could mean jail time. As the CEO of Warner Bros., Kevin Tsujihara wasn't willing to take such a risk just for a job.

Moreover, Lionsgate’s shareholders included not only Link, who ranked 37th on the Forbes list, but also Carl Icahn, who ranked 25th. Using such methods against them would not be a good idea.

Kevin Tsujihara shook his head. “The board wants us to beat Lionsgate at the box office through legitimate means, not unconventional ones. Although unconventional methods may work, they can damage the movie market environment. Hurting the opponent’s interests will hurt us too. Plus, shareholders behind the board are still seeking to invest in Lionsgate. They don’t want to see a profitable company go bankrupt.”

Pam Abdy frowned. No to this and no to that—he couldn't think of a suitable way to defeat the increasingly powerful Lionsgate.

“Take a look at this document.”

Kevin Tsujihara picked up a folder and handed it over.

Pam Abdy opened it and looked surprised. The document was from Lionsgate, expressing their interest in acquiring the movie adaptation rights for the character "Joker" from the Batman series, offering $20 million.

“Lionsgate wants to make a superhero movie too?”

“That’s right. The most profitable movies in recent years are mostly related to superheroes, and Lionsgate wants in on it.”

Tsujihara said, lighting a cigarette.

“What does the company think?”

Pam Abdy asked.

“We just had a meeting. The company intends to agree.”

“Agree? Lionsgate already has strong production capabilities. If we give them this character and they make a successful box office hit, it will be even more detrimental to us.”

Pam Abdy said worriedly.

With the success of the Batman movies, the character Joker has gained immense popularity. Warner Bros. even made a Joker movie back in 2012, which lost over $60 million.

But the character is still highly popular. If Lionsgate makes a successful movie with the Joker, the shareholders would consider the current Warner team incompetent.

Pam didn't understand why the higher-ups were willing to approve the deal.

“The company’s intention is to collaborate with Lionsgate on developing the character, and in the process, try to learn their filmmaking techniques to see if they have any secrets. But the Joker rights will still belong to Warner.”

Tsujihara said while smoking.

Pam Abdy thought for a moment and understood their thinking.

This approach seemed reasonable.

“You’ve negotiated with Lionsgate before. The company wants you to handle this negotiation, trying to keep as much control on our side as possible.”

Tsujihara said.

Pam Abdy nodded. He had indeed dealt with Lionsgate before—in 2011, when the Warner box office fraud scandal came out, he personally handled negotiations with both Palm Beach Pictures and Lionsgate.

Back then, Warner was one of the Big Six, while Lionsgate and Palm Beach were small companies, and it was easy for him to hold the upper hand in negotiations. But now, Lionsgate had risen rapidly, with a market value exceeding $7 billion, surpassing Warner Bros. in last year's North American box office.

Negotiating with Lionsgate now would be much more challenging.

He could only do his best in the negotiation.

“Boss, Warner Bros. called. They agreed to negotiate about the Joker.”

In the Lionsgate coffee room, Vice President Michael Burns said.

“Oh, that’s good news.”

Link nodded. He had been worried that Warner would reject the offer, and even bought the adaptation rights for Stephen King's horror novel It as a backup.

It, which was adapted into the movie It: Chapter One, is a well-received horror film. With a budget of $35 million, it grossed over $700 million worldwide, becoming a standout success story.

On the other hand, Warner Bros.' Joker movie, starring Joaquin Phoenix, grossed over $1 billion globally and won Joaquin an Oscar for Best Actor. It also had a relatively low production cost.

If he could secure the rights to both versions of the Joker, these two movies could bring in an estimated profit of around $1 billion, making it a very worthwhile investment.

“Mike, you handle the copyright acquisition. Warner probably won’t give up this character easily. Be flexible during the negotiations—if they want more money, or if a collaboration is needed, do whatever it takes to secure the adaptation rights.”

Link said.

“Got it, boss.”

Michael Burns nodded, discussed a few other work matters, and then left the coffee room to get busy.

Riiing!

The phone on the table rang—it was Anna calling. Link answered, and his brow furrowed.

“Is Paul okay?”

“He’s still in surgery, and the situation is unclear. Boss, I suggest I arrange for someone to stay at the hospital and keep you updated. There are too many reporters here now, and your presence would only cause more traffic issues.”

Anna said.

“Alright, do as you say.”

Link hung up the phone and shook his head. Anna had just told him that Paul Walker was involved in a car crash while street racing in Long Beach at around 3 p.m. He was rushed to the hospital, but his condition remained critical.

Link felt helpless hearing this. Ever since meeting Paul Walker in 2008, he had repeatedly advised him to drive slower and to avoid street racing. Paul had listened to him.

Link had thought that since Paul hadn’t had any accidents last year, they were out of the woods, but he didn't expect something to happen again this year.

There wasn't much else he could do but pray for Paul.

Link opened the browser and checked the news. There were already many reports about Paul Walker’s car accident—some saying he had died, others saying he was still in surgery. Paul's agent hadn’t released any official response yet.

Link sat in his office for a while and received a message from Anna after getting home with Ivanka. She informed him that Paul Walker had suffered severe burns over much of his body and had survived surgery. He was now in intensive care but had not yet regained consciousness. His assistant, who was with him, had sadly passed away.

After hearing this, Link felt relieved despite the loss of the assistant, knowing that Paul had survived. This time, Paul probably wouldn’t be touching cars again in his life.

Ding!

A message notification—Taylor was asking if he had seen the news about Paul Walker’s car accident.

Link replied that he had seen it and that Paul Walker was now out of danger.

Taylor wasn't really concerned about Paul Walker; she just reminded Link not to drive too fast, to avoid driving if possible, and only to ride in specially modified SUVs when traveling.

Link replied that he understood and told her she should do the same, and asked if she wanted to bring the kids over this weekend.

Taylor said she'd come if she had time.

Link said okay.

After spending Christmas together, their relationship had become closer, and now Taylor and Ivanka staying together wasn't awkward. Although it hadn't reached the level of all three sharing a bed, things were going better than expected.

Link's next goal was to keep the momentum going, hoping to have another child with Taylor in a couple of years, fully securing her in his life.

Besides Taylor, Marion Cotillard, Emma Roberts, Emma Stone, Beyoncé, Lana Del Rey, and a few others also messaged to ask about Paul Walker, with tones ranging from serious to teasing, advising him to drive slower and not repeat the same mistakes.

Link accepted their advice, saying he’d be more careful.

The next day, they got word that Paul Walker had woken up, so Link and Ivanka drove to the hospital to visit him. According to the hospital, Paul had suffered extensive burns, more than ten fractures, including some shattered bones, and severe internal bleeding.

He was lucky to survive thanks to the quick response of the ambulance, the proximity of the hospital, and if they had been delayed another 20-30 minutes, he likely wouldn't have made it.

Link waved through the glass at Paul, whose head and face were wrapped in bandages.

Paul grinned and flipped him off.

Link shook his head, thinking how Paul's whole body was full of broken bones, yet the one finger that should have been broken wasn't.

Affected by the atmosphere in the hospital and recent plane crash news, on the way back, Link and Ivanka discussed life and death, agreeing that making too much money was meaningless—they needed to live in the moment and enjoy life.

So, right there, they made a plan to increase their vacations from two to three times a year, with each vacation lasting at least a month.

“We're the Millers” had been in theaters for 24 days, and its domestic box office grossed over $100 million, standing at $100.1 million. It officially became Lionsgate's second movie of the year to surpass $100 million at the North American box office.

The international box office also broke $100 million this week, reaching $106 million.

It was Lionsgate's first movie this year to achieve a worldwide gross of over $200 million.

Meanwhile, “The Call” had grossed $51.87 million domestically and $20.4 million internationally, with a total box office of over $72 million. Compared to its $12 million production cost, Lionsgate had made over $30 million in profit.

This week, Lionsgate also released “Ender's Game,” produced by Summit Entertainment, with a reduced production cost of $82 million, down from $110 million.

The movie opened with $27.01 million across 3,407 theaters over the weekend. For a commercial sci-fi film, the performance was mediocre, likely breaking even but not much more.

At the time of release, media reports surfaced about internal conflicts at Lionsgate, claiming that the budget cuts on “Ender's Game” led to a significant decline in quality.

Some media outlets sympathized with Summit, taking their side in the argument.

In response, former Summit Entertainment Chairman and current Lionsgate Vice Chairman Robert Friedman explained that the current partnership between Lionsgate and Summit was optimal, denying any claims of suppression.

Friedman also mentioned that “Ender's Game” had inherent issues with its subject matter, making a budget reduction a reasonable move, which, in hindsight, proved to be the correct choice.

The reason Robert said this was that, during the acquisition of Summit, Lionsgate paid him and other shareholders with Lionsgate stock. With Lionsgate's market value doubling since last year, the value of their shares had naturally increased.

With profits on the rise, they had no complaints.

Aside from “Ender's Game,” Lionsgate had three more movies scheduled for release before the summer season: “The Grand Budapest Hotel,” “Madea's Big Happy Family 4,” and “Divergent.” For the summer season, “Gone Girl,” “John Wick,” “Neighbors,” and “Step Up All In” were set to be released.

Whether Lionsgate could truly compete with the Big Six studios this year depended on how those summer releases performed.

(End of chapter)

Chapter 560: Captain America 2 Released

This week, after several rounds of negotiations, Lionsgate and Warner Bros. have reached an agreement regarding the Joker character in the Batman series.

Initially, Lionsgate wanted to acquire the rights to adapt the Joker, but Warner Bros. refused, expressing a desire to retain this potentially lucrative character and co-develop the project with Lionsgate.

After negotiations, Lionsgate obtained a five-year adaptation license for the Joker for $5 million, while agreeing to leave a 45% investment share to Warner Bros. during the production of the Joker film.

Upon release, Lionsgate will be responsible for North American distribution, and Warner Bros. will handle overseas distribution.

After acquiring the adaptation rights, Lionsgate began collecting and creating related scripts, with Link personally overseeing the selection to ensure it stayed true to the original material.

After dealing with company affairs, Link joined the Avengers 2 crew to begin filming scenes as Captain America.

The story of Avengers 2 revolves around Tony Stark attempting to maintain world peace by investing in the development of a robot meant to safeguard global safety. However, this AI, Ultron, gains self-awareness, and its twisted beliefs lead to an evil campaign to exterminate humanity.

In this crisis, Earth’s mightiest heroes—Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, Hulk, Black Widow, and Hawkeye—must unite once again to stop Ultron and save the world.

The plot of Avengers 2 is primarily focused on Iron Man, with limited screen time for Captain America. Link completed most of his scenes as Cap within just two weeks.

The remaining scenes are more scattered, with over 3,000 special effects shots, making for a lengthy shooting schedule.

Link will need to return frequently to the Avengers 2 set throughout the year to complete the remaining scenes.

—

In early April, Disney's Captain America 2 was released globally, and after wrapping his work on Avengers 2, Link joined the promotional tour, traveling from the U.S. to the U.K., France, Germany, China, South Korea, Australia, and Japan.

During the promotional period, Link and the promotional team visited more than ten countries.

Captain America 2 premiered globally on April 4, grossing $115 million in North America over the opening weekend.

This placed it tenth on the North American box office rankings for opening weekends—slightly lower than movies like The Dark Knight, The Hunger Games, and Harry Potter, but second only to Avengers 1 and Iron Man 3 among Marvel films.

The first-week box office total was $165 million, surpassing expectations and breaking even.

The overseas box office during the first week reached $218 million.

Compared to the first film, Captain America 2 performed much better in overseas markets.

Given its success, according to Link's contract with Disney, he not only received a base salary but also a 3% share of the global box office. This profit share was also why he was willing to participate actively in the promotional campaign.

However, knowing his schedule would be extremely packed in the coming period—between filming, boxing matches, and taking a vacation with Ivanka and the kids—Link decided to drop the leading role in The Martian, allowing the production team to recast the part.

The Martian, a Lionsgate and Paramount Pictures joint project, is currently in the preparation stages with a budget of $100 million. Ridley Scott is directing and producing.

Paramount had hoped that Link would take the lead role to secure the film's box office performance.

He initially agreed, but with the increasing workload, he no longer had the time. Moreover, given the character’s storyline—struggling for survival on Mars and requiring weight loss of 20 to 30 pounds—Link found this a challenge he wasn't prepared to take on.

After careful thought, he chose to give up the role and focus more on his boxing training.

He currently has four matches scheduled for the year.

The first match is against "Bronze Bomber" Deontay Wilder, fighting for the WBA Heavyweight Championship contender title.

If successful, he will then challenge WBA Heavyweight Champion Alexander Povetkin.

The third fight will be against "The Beast from the East" Nikolai Valuev, competing for the WBC Heavyweight Championship contender title.

If he wins that, his next opponent will be current WBC Champion Vitali Klitschko in the latter half of the year.

His fight with Deontay Wilder is scheduled for late April. After completing the Captain America 2 promotional tour, Link spent most of his time training in the gym and studying his opponent’s techniques.

—

Two weeks after the release of Captain America 2, the North American box office grossed $219 million, with overseas earnings totaling $335 million, taking the global box office past $500 million.

Meanwhile, Lionsgate saw several of its films performing well. We're the Millers, in its sixth week of release, grossed $152 million in North America and $129 million overseas, far surpassing expectations.

Ender's Game, a sci-fi movie produced by Summit Entertainment, grossed $63.97 million in North America and $52.2 million overseas over four weeks, with the total global box office expected to be around $140 million.

Considering a production budget of over $80 million and a marketing budget exceeding $10 million, Lionsgate anticipates a loss of more than $40 million on the project.

This represents Lionsgate's biggest loss on a film project in three years.

This week also marked the release of Lionsgate’s sixth film of the year, The Grand Budapest Hotel.

This art-house film, set in Europe between the 1930s and 1960s, tells the story of an anonymous writer visiting the "Grand Budapest Hotel," where he meets its owner, Mustafa, over dinner. During their meal, Mustafa recounts the storied past of the hotel.

Directed by Wes Anderson and starring Ralph Fiennes, Saoirse Ronan, Edward Norton, Jude Law, Owen Wilson, Léa Seydoux, and Harvey Keitel, the film received critical acclaim.

It won the Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize at the Berlin Film Festival, received a nomination for the Golden Bear for Best Film, and garnered further nominations at the David di Donatello Awards and the Gotham Independent Film Awards.

The movie had a limited release in six North American theaters on March 21, grossing $1.096 million over two weeks—an impressive result.

In April, it began a wide release, making $29.33 million in its first week across 2,207 theaters, with a cumulative gross of $30.43 million.

In comparison, overseas box office results were even stronger, with $66.28 million in 23 countries over three weeks.

The total box office earnings approached $100 million.

With a production cost of $25 million, this was shaping up to be a major success.

—

"Paul, how are you feeling today?"

In the afternoon, Link finished his training and went to visit Paul Walker, who was recovering at the UCLA Medical Center.

After more than half a month of treatment, Paul Walker had largely recovered from immediate danger, though full recovery would take at least two to three years.

"Not great, I just had a skin graft. Everything hurts."

Paul lay on his bed, completely wrapped up in bandages, looking much like a human mummy, with only his face exposed—barely recognizable.

"Sounds really tough."

Link looked at him sympathetically. "It was close this time. The doctor said it's a miracle you're still with us."

Paul's eye twitched. Ever since the car accident, any mention of it sent shivers down his spine, and even the mended fractures and burns seemed to throb.

"Yeah, it really was. When I was lying there, trapped in the car, unable to move, and saw the fire at the front, I thought, ‘This is it. The Fast & Furious 4 scenario is happening for real.’ Then I was rescued by some good people and taken to the hospital. Honestly, it feels surreal."

Paul tried to shrug his shoulders, but the motion aggravated his wounds, making him wince in pain.

"Want me to get the doctor?"

"No, no need. Compared to a few days ago, this pain is nothing. I’ll be fine."

Paul gritted his teeth.

Link smiled softly, praising his courage. He suggested that perhaps hardship was a gift in disguise, one that made him even stronger.

Paul wasn't a fan of the “gift” idea, saying that if he could turn back time, he’d make different choices, especially since his assistant Bill had died in the crash.

At the mention of Bill, Paul sighed mournfully.

Link shook his head, offering his condolences, and reminding Paul that what had happened couldn't be undone, urging him to drive slower in the future.

Link stayed with Paul for another half-hour until he noticed the fatigue on his face. He told Paul to rest well and promised to visit again.

On his way home, Link chose to ride in a company car rather than drive himself, a practice he adopted since Paul’s accident. He also made it a point to have at least two bodyguards with him.

Back at his hillside villa, Ivanka had just returned as well. She was still in her business suit and pencil skirt, busy on the phone dealing with work matters.

Little Margarita was in the smaller living room, practicing drawing with her art teacher. The lessons were meant to nurture her interest in painting and train her color perception, with no pressure on quality.

The little girl sat on a small stool, her feet moving restlessly, and her face and hands covered in paint. The paper in front of her was filled with colorful, abstract shapes.

“Daddy!”

Upon seeing him, Margarita’s face broke into a big smile, her eyes shining brightly, and she ran toward him with her paint-covered hands held up, asking to be picked up.

“Stop! No paint on me,” Link warned.

Little Margarita wasn't scared of him at all. She ran over and hugged his leg, rubbing her cheeks and hands on his pants until his casual pants were a complete mess.

"You're getting naughtier and naughtier. Come on, let's go wash your hands."

Link greeted the teacher and carried the little one to the bathroom to wash her hands. On the way, the little girl saw her mom on the phone, and reached out her little hand, calling for her mom. Link didn’t want to stop the little one from showing affection, so he carried her over to Ivanka.

He thought she might smear some paint on her mom's face, but instead, she just puckered her little lips and gave her mom a kiss on the cheek.

Link shook his head, gave her a light pat on the bottom, and took her to the bathroom to wash her face.

(End of chapter)