By March 8th, another week had passed, and North American cinema history witnessed a new milestone.
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, in its 11th week of release, officially surpassed $600 million in domestic box office sales, becoming the first film in Hollywood history to achieve this feat in a single market. It was also the first film to cross the $600 million mark in a single country.
The North American media and movie fans were in a frenzy.
Across the internet, the number $600M was plastered everywhere as countless websites raced to report this monumental event in entertainment history.
Speculation followed on whether Batman v Superman could go even further.
The film's weekly gross had dropped to $11.56 million in the week of March 1st to March 7th. For most blockbuster films, a weekly gross dipping into the $10 million range usually signals the end of significant earnings. Even a massive hit like Jurassic Park would struggle to add $100 million more at this stage.
But Batman v Superman was not just any film.
More importantly, the Oscars were just around the corner.
Though Batman v Superman had not been entered into January's Golden Globes, the film had garnered numerous accolades from various guild and media awards, which are often seen as precursors to the Academy Awards. These awards helped keep the film in the public eye and bolstered its box office performance.
As a result, both the media and public relations teams believed that Batman v Superman was all but guaranteed to sweep this year's Oscars.
With Batman v Superman poised to become the first film in North America to cross $600 million and possibly even $700 million, how could it not be eligible for an Oscar? The Academy has never had an outright ban on awarding commercial films.
Historically, the Oscars had been quite inclusive before the turn of the millennium. Consider Titanic or even earlier winners like Forrest Gump, Rocky, Out of Africa, and Platoon—all of which were hugely successful at the box office before winning Best Picture.
And then there were the massive financial interests tied to this film.
In addition to its North American earnings, Batman v Superman had already raked in $870 million overseas in the past two months, despite many countries delaying its release to protect local films.
With the Oscars approaching and international releases ramping up, Batman v Superman was poised to exceed $1 billion in overseas markets alone.
The first film to surpass $1 billion internationally!
Anyone attempting to sabotage such a lucrative project would risk their career in Hollywood, and in a business where billions were at stake, mysterious accidents or suicides were not out of the question.
Money drives everything.
So even though the film's weekly gross had dropped to $11.56 million, the push to hit $700 million domestically had become a unified goal for the studio, the media, and the fans. Even if it required some discreet box office manipulation, that milestone had to be achieved for the film to be deemed a complete success.
In the same week, due to Batman v Superman's dominance, Rush Hour, produced by Danelys Entertainment's subsidiary New World Pictures, passed the $100 million mark after four weeks in theaters. Yet, the milestone seemed to go unnoticed by the public and the media.
Released on February 9th for Valentine's Day, Rush Hour had an impressive $42.83 million opening weekend, but its box office dropped more than 30% in its second and third weeks—far less of a phenomenon than Batman v Superman. Still, by the fourth week, it had earned $14.38 million for a total of $101.66 million, crossing the coveted $100 million mark.
Though the public may have overlooked this achievement, it didn't go unnoticed within the industry.
With Batman v Superman still in theaters and Beauty and the Beast, which had just ended its run after a final gross of $256 million, Rush Hour became the next hit, and it was becoming clear that Danelys Entertainment was leaving no room for competitors to breathe.
Had this been three or five years ago, or even earlier, other studios might have banded together to counter such dominance from Danelys Entertainment. Back then, a coalition of major studios could have united against Simon Westeros. Even if they couldn't destroy Danelys Entertainment, they could have made it clear who really ran Hollywood.
But now, it was too late.
Though Hollywood still had its "Big Seven," only Danelys Entertainment and Time Warner were truly stable. Columbia Pictures had been absorbed by Sony, Disney had become a subsidiary of a French conglomerate, Paramount was owned by Canadian interests, and Fox and MGM were largely controlled by Australian capital.
Time Warner and Danelys were too closely aligned to be enemies.
Fox and MGM were nearly in the same boat.
As for the other three—could Japanese, French, and Canadian corporations really unite against a homegrown American company? Who would allow that?
Besides, Danelys Entertainment was backed by the vast financial power of the Westeros System, which controlled trillions of dollars in assets.
That was truly terrifying.
Unless Danelys Entertainment made a massive internal error, it was nearly invulnerable.
Other studios could no longer scheme to undermine Danelys Entertainment. They were just grateful that Simon Westeros hadn't retaliated against them.
The only thing they could do now was to produce the best films they could and let the market decide.
But that was easier said than done.
Many studio executives, seeing their own companies' dwindling film divisions, were once again tempted to give up.
Malibu, Danelys Studios.
It was March 8th.
Simon had arrived at the office at 8:00 a.m. He spent the first hour going through paperwork, then met with the team for Charlie's Angels, which had just wrapped filming and was set for a year-end release, before joining the production meeting for Independence Day. Finally, he had a meeting with Amy Pascal and other top executives to discuss the design plans for Universal Studios Italy.
Before he realized it, it was already noon.
As the meeting wrapped up, Simon and Amy left the conference room together. He told her, "For next month's trip to China, Jeff from Egret, Chambers from Cisco, and Raymond from Verizon will be coming with me. As for Danelys, you should know I've decided to take Ella. There's no need for you to come; it's unnecessary. The entertainment industry over there won't reach any significant scale for another decade. For now, we're just laying the groundwork."
Amy smiled and nodded as Simon explained. "I understand, boss. Ella is the right choice."
Ella Deutschmann, head of Highgate Films, was primarily responsible for art-house films. Since China's film industry was currently focused on winning international awards, Deutschmann's presence was fitting, especially since Highgate had distributed several Chinese films in recent years.
Through negotiations between Chen Qing, the Westeros family team, and Chinese officials, Simon's China visit had been fully scheduled.
The official itinerary would cover April 22nd and April 23rd, focusing on Beijing. After that, the rest of the visit would be more personal and less formal.
In response to China's invitation and to further the Westeros System's expansion there, Simon would be bringing a strong delegation, including Jeff Bezos of Egret, John Chambers of Cisco, Raymond Smith of Verizon, Ella Deutschmann of Highgate Films, Leon Black of Apollo Management under Cersei Capital, and Francis Levison of the Levison Group.
From Australia, Anthony Johnston—Janet's older brother and the current head of Johnston Holdings and BHP—would also be part of the delegation.
Each individual had been carefully chosen for a specific purpose, primarily to support the Westeros System's ambitions in China's technology, finance, steel, and real estate sectors.
Simon would never engage in such a high-profile visit without something in return.
Initially, Simon had planned for his second trip to China to be a private one, just for fun. But when he accepted the official invitation, the Chinese government requested that he bring along key figures from his empire, which would elevate the significance of the visit several notches.
While China had experienced rapid economic recovery and implemented a series of reforms in recent years, its need for foreign investment was still immense. The severe inflation of the past few years had made it clear that relying solely on printing money wasn't sustainable. Attracting foreign capital was crucial.
However, since China's economic reforms began in 1978, its policies had often been erratic, leading to hesitancy among foreign investors. Although investment had increased in recent years, most of it came from Southeast Asia, especially Chinese expatriates with deep ties to the region.
But that wasn't enough.
The real target was Western capital. Despite the Westeros System's aggressive push into China in recent years, Western investors remained largely indifferent.
If Simon Westeros could lead a high-profile delegation to China, it would break the deadlock.
If Simon Westeros was betting on China, wouldn't others be foolish not to follow suit?
In their eagerness to secure the Westeros System's visit, the Chinese government had offered an extraordinary package worth over 10 billion yuan, including deals in telecommunications, finance, real estate, and steel. These were typically closed industries, and while foreign investment had always been possible, the barriers to entry had been sky-high. This time, however, the doors were wide open.
Despite his deep-seated ambivalence toward China, Simon agreed after careful consideration.
While Chen Qing was primarily coordinating Simon's private schedule, acting as his personal steward, the real business negotiations were being handled by Westeros Company and its various subsidiaries in discussions with the Chinese government.
Back in North
America, the Westeros System wasn't sitting idle either.
As the world's first trillionaire, Simon's every move had far-reaching implications. More so, the U.S.-China relationship, though publicly harmonious, was fraught with behind-the-scenes tensions. Unlike the Bush family, who had been more openly supportive of China, President Clinton was a far more cunning figure.
To ensure that nothing went wrong during the visit, the Westeros System engaged in extensive negotiations with Washington.
Arms sales? Halt them.
For the next few months, no one in the White House or Congress was to make any inflammatory statements. If anyone dared to disrespect Simon, there would be consequences later.
Additionally, Simon had invited several key figures from Washington to accompany him on the trip. Knowing that Simon was the biggest private backer of the White House and the Democratic Party, President Clinton was highly accommodating, even personally calling Simon to suggest sending the Secretary of Commerce.
Naturally, there were agreements behind the scenes that the public didn't need to know about.
In the office building at Danelys Studios, Amy understood Simon's reasoning for bringing Ella along. Even if Simon hadn't explained anything, she wouldn't have minded. Now that he had taken the time to clarify his decision, Amy felt even more valued.
The two continued chatting as they entered the elevator. While Amy and the others headed to lunch, Simon returned to the Dume Point estate.
Anthony Johnston was visiting today, and they had planned to have lunch together at home.
There was also a more pressing matter to discuss.
When Simon arrived home, he found Anthony by the glass wall of the Shell Villa, chatting with Janet while holding little Nick, who was gnawing contentedly on Anthony's thumb. Anthony didn't seem to mind, smiling as he played with the baby.
Seeing Simon return, Anthony handed Nick to one of the maids and stood up to embrace Simon.
After the greetings, Janet smiled. "You two chat. I'll go check on lunch."
With that, she left with the staff, leaving Simon and Anthony to sit on the couch. Anthony picked up a silver briefcase that had been by his side and handed it to Simon. "This is what you asked for. We managed to bribe three experts from Ukraine's Yuzhnoye Design Office. The case contains over 2,000 files on rockets, nuclear energy, satellites, and other technologies. I don't understand it, but it's definitely real. Dad had some people verify it himself."
Simon took the briefcase, noted the code Anthony provided, and opened it.
With over 2,000 pieces of cutting-edge technology inside, the briefcase couldn't possibly hold all the paper documents. Instead, it contained a variety of items—film reels, CDs, hard drives, and more.
Simon closed the briefcase after a quick glance and asked, "What about the people?"
Anthony replied, "That part's a bit trickier. It'll take some time before they can immigrate to Australia. Don't worry; if Ukraine tries to investigate, they'll first suspect Russia. Plus, given Ukraine's current political state and the influence of the Westeros System, even if it's discovered, no one has the energy to pursue it. Many people are doing this, not just us."
Simon nodded, knowing this to be true.
These efforts were part of his recent plans. If it had been Russia, Simon wouldn't have attempted such a move. While Russia was in chaos, its foundation remained strong.
Ukraine, however?
There was no reason for concern.
Anthony, seeing Simon put the briefcase aside, shifted the conversation. "Also, before I came, Dad mentioned your upcoming trip to China. He thinks you might not have considered everything."
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