Universal Pictures Group.
"What?!"
"Our new film didn't even win the weekend box office championship?"
"'The Sixth Sense' grossed over $93 million in its first three days of box office over the weekend?"
Eric Langella, the chairman of the board of directors, a skinny old man, frowned as he looked at the report in his hand.
"Raymond, what's the background of this Page Pictures? How could they beat Universal Pictures' "The Last Jackal" and win the weekend box office championship?"
Chairman of the board Eric Langella asked, "Is it a subsidiary of Columbia or a subsidiary of Disney?"
Upon hearing this, Raymond Chevarane, president of Universal Pictures, immediately shook his head.
"Neither!"
"Oh?" The little old man Eric instantly became interested. "It's not a subsidiary of the Big Six. Can you explain it in detail?"
At this point, Eric was indeed interested.
How could a film company independent of the Big Six actually win the weekend box office championship, and even take the lead by stepping on its own Universal Studios? As a veteran capitalist, how could Eric not be curious?
His interest comes from profit.
His current idea is to ask if he can acquire it!
Raymond Chevarane, president of Universal Pictures, got the message.
He said solemnly, "Boss, the producer of 'The Sixth Sense' is called Page Pictures. It was established at the end of 1995. Its predecessor was Hughes Films."
"After acquiring Hughes Films, its owner, um, that is, Kyle Page, was an extremely young man, only 18 years old at the time. Shortly after the acquisition was completed, he personally served as the screenwriter and director, and completed page Films' first theatrical film - Run Lola Run."
"After its release in North America, the film grossed nearly $14 million."
"Its production cost is said to be less than $1 million, making it a classic example of a small investment with a big payout."
"Of course, the most crucial thing is that Paramount spent only a few million dollars to purchase the overseas screening rights and copyright of the film. In just a few months, the film grossed over 100 million US dollars in the European market alone."
After the words fell, even the little old man Eric showed a hint of shock.
Small investment for big win?
Achieving overseas results worth hundreds of millions of dollars is a typical example of making a big investment with a small investment!
It's not, so what is?
For a moment, Eric almost couldn't help but ask Raymond: "Why didn't you buy it in the first place?"
Of course, Eric didn't say that.
Because the past is the past, and there's no point in dwelling on it now. Well, it only makes you look foolish.
"And what happened next?"
Even the talent at a large company isn't perfect, and missing out on profitable films every year is commonplace. However, missing out on hundreds of millions of dollars at the box office still pains little old man Eric.
Later?
At this moment, Universal Pictures President Raymond Linglie's face was filled with shock. He said in a deep voice, "Later, Page Pictures released three more films: 'Hard Candy,' 'Wrong Turn,' and 'Juno.'"
"Hard Candy didn't do well at the box office, but it received good reviews and was a big hit in the offline market."
"'Wrong Turn' grossed over $32 million in North America and nearly $40 million overseas, all on a production budget of just $1 million. It's another example of a small investment yielding a big payout."
"The most impressive one is the movie 'Juno.' It grossed over $63 million in its first three days of release, and its global box office has exceeded $200 million."
Oh shit!
Little old Eric,
He immediately jumped up from his seat in shock.
Logically speaking, even if these box office figures doubled, Eric, who had seen many big scenes, would not be so shocked.
However...
The speed at which Page Pictures rises is truly terrifying!
Page Pictures, which was established only a year ago, has actually released two movies in a row with global box office exceeding 100 million US dollars. How can people not be shocked?
Looking at all the major Hollywood film studios, none of them has been able to rise so quickly!
....
In the following period, Raymond, president of Universal Pictures, gave a detailed introduction to the subsequent actions of Page Pictures.
Acquired UPN Television Network and launched the hit variety show "America's Got Talent";
Established Waterworld Animation Studios and produced SpongeBob SquarePants, an animated series that took America by storm;
It owns the largest peripheral chain in downtown Los Angeles - SpongeBob SquarePants House;
Merged several subsidiaries to form a small media group - Golden Dawn Entertainment Group;
Its subsidiary, Golden Dawn Music, recently launched a new album by its signed artist Eminem, which has sold over 30 million copies;
Moreover, Page Pictures has a comprehensive distribution network that can cover the entire United States;
....
All these deeds shocked the little old man Eric again and again!
"Buy him!"
"We must acquire him!"
The old man Eric's eyes were bloodshot, and he almost roared in a roaring tone, "Such an excellent film company must have a great parent company. We at Universal Pictures absolutely cannot miss out on it."
"Boss, we tried before, but were rejected by Kyle Page." Raymond shook his head and smiled bitterly.
Reject?
"Snort!"
The old man Eric snorted coldly, "Dare to refuse? Doesn't it know how great our Universal Pictures is and how powerful it is?"
The implication is obvious!
Do you dare to refuse?
Well, don't blame me for suppressing you!
In terms of media opinion, theatre scheduling, film ratings given by the film review and rating committee... and so on, you will be hit from all angles!
Is it despicable?
Yes! This is just normal business practice, at least that's how big companies understand it.
"Boss, there are many collaborations between Page Pictures and Paramount," reminded Raymond, president of Universal Pictures.
"Well?"
The little old man Eric was speechless for a moment.
In other words, Paramount is backing Page Pictures. This way, when it comes to cinema scheduling, the film review and rating committee, controlled by the six major Hollywood studios, won't be so easily blocked in rating Page Pictures' films.
Especially the film review and rating committee!
The Film Rating Board, as the name suggests, is an organisation that assigns ratings to films produced by major North American film studios. These are the ratings we see every day: G (Mass), PG (General), PG-13, R, NC-17...
The Film Ratings Board, affiliated with the Motion Picture Association of America, is a non-governmental organisation, but due to its long history and the influence of the Big Six in Hollywood, it almost determines the rating of a film.
Mandatory regulations are set for the audience groups that can watch the film, mainly in terms of age.
At the same time, it is also a symbol of Hollywood's six major powers and unrivalled status!
Are you against the Big Six?
Well, if there is just a slight delay in your rating, you will suffer huge losses!
However, now that Page Pictures has the support of Paramount, it is not so easy for Universal Pictures to control Page Pictures in terms of the film ratings committee.
"Is that so? Then we'll use real money to officially purchase it!"
Old man Eric wasn't one to hold back. He immediately said, "Raymond, go talk to them and find out how much they'd like to pay for the acquisition. Hehe, a young man under 20 would definitely jump at the chance to buy it if he heard we were going to buy it."
How much does it cost to acquire?
Suddenly, Raymond shook his head and smiled bitterly.
"Boss, don't look at Kyle Pageer's youth, but he really is not short of money."
Raymond smiled bitterly and said, "Besides being the boss of Golden Dawn Entertainment Group, he also owns 2% of Yahoo, 12% of ICQ, and 8% of Amazon. The shares of these three companies alone are worth over $600 million!"
"Plus, Kylepage also has California Standard Bank, LinkedIn, and a series of investments, so..."
So what?
Of course, it's Kyle Page, he's not short of money at all!
The old man Eric was stunned for a long time before he sighed, "Are all young people so amazing nowadays?"
Kyle would never know that it was precisely because of his excellence that the little old man Eric felt old, and that the French Vivendi Group would acquire Universal Pictures in the future.