Batman Begins grossed 14 million in midnight screenings and 87 million on its opening day.
As an original film without any prior installments, this was undoubtedly an astonishing achievement, almost breaking the record for original films.
As Betty said, much of it was thanks to Tony Stark.
If they hadn't used Tony's fame to promote the film, even if the movie had been decent, it wouldn't have performed this well.
Professional movie websites predicted the final box office numbers.
Around 500 million domestically, and at least 200 million overseas, with the global box office potentially exceeding 700 million.
Considering the 100 million investment, the revenue from the box office split would exceed 150%. And when factoring in IP operation, the movie company's profits from DVD sales, streaming, and video-on-demand, the return would easily surpass 200% – it was incredibly profitable.
And this was only Anton's first film as a director.
When Jameson learned about this, even he, as a retired boss, was envious, not to mention others in the age of self-media.
Wealth is always a hot topic.
Anton, as the central figure of the topic, was immediately hailed as a genius director.
At the same time, the higher Anton's fame, the more the fame of the film he directed would rise, and vice versa; the two complemented each other.
A week after the film's release, Batman Begins's fan value quickly surpassed 5 million, and the box office stayed at 270 million.
At this time, the growth of the box office clearly slowed down, and the curve softened.
Many film websites saw this and lowered their predicted box office record to 460 million.
Even so, Anton had already recouped his costs, and everything else was pure profit.
According to the agreement, he didn't even have to give Tony a share.
Not counting the box office, Anton's personal return on investment had reached an astonishing 400%. Jameson felt for the first time that his years of hard work weren't as good as Anton making a few more movies.
But Batman's rising popularity was suddenly interrupted by a sensational piece of news.
Tony Stark, the largest shareholder and chairman of Stark Industries, was attacked in Afghanistan while demonstrating a new type of missile and is currently missing.
Missing meant they didn't even know if he was alive or dead.
Anton was stunned.
This was the plot of Iron Man 1.
It's hard to believe how quickly time flies; Tony is about to "grow up."
From one extreme to another.
The final sacrifice is a pity.
However, Anton wasn't worried about Tony's safety at all.
If Superman is DC's golden child, then, correspondingly, Iron Man is the Marvel Cinematic Universe's golden child.
A character blessed with such destiny won't fall at a crucial turning point in life.
When Tony returns, he'll be Iron Man.
Anton stroked his chin, and suddenly an idea popped into his head.
He called Betty.
"Boss, what can I do for you?"
At The Daily Bugle, Betty sat at her desk, staring at the boss's closed office door, and hated Anton for skipping work.
Is this what the boss's life is like?
If you don't want to go to work, you don't have to!
Enviable!
"Do you know that Tony is missing?"
Anton spoke frankly.
"Of course."
Betty was puzzled: "This news has already caused a sensation nationwide, even sparking discussions worldwide. It's about Tony Stark, a major arms dealer."
"Don't forget, Batman is a movie that Tony Stark invested in."
Anton clarified the matter: "The idea for Batman didn't just come from me; Tony's ideas were also involved. It's Tony Stark's final work."
"Final work?"
Betty was taken aback.
"Boss, you're truly a genius."
She gasped: "I really want to cut open your heart to see if it's black."
"Making money isn't shameful."
Anton snorted, "Hurry up with the hype. If I don't see a box office increase tomorrow, you're fired."
"Your heart is definitely black. I don't even need to cut you open to know that." Betty sighed.
Anton happily opened the system's fan value interface.
8.8 million.
This already met Anton's expectations.
Based on his estimates, at the earliest tomorrow, and at latest the day after, the Batman armor would be his.
San Francisco.
Drake received a message from his head bodyguard. Looking at the name of the director, hailed as a genius, on the computer screen, a pleased smile appeared on his face.
"Genius director?"
Drake murmured to himself, "Soon, the same people who praised you will be the ones regretting it."
At the same time.
New York, Manhattan's financial district, Wall Street.
Continental Hotel.
Winston looked at the photo his subordinate handed him, and a hint of surprise flashed across his face.
As the operator of the Continental Hotel, he had worked diligently for over thirty years, establishing a vast network of connections in the New York underworld and knowing many of New York's celebrities very well.
The person in the photo was the focus of discussions across the entire United States.
However, considering who had issued the order, Winston wasn't surprised at all; in fact, he thought the retaliation had come too late.
"A bounty of 10 million."
He squinted, then sighed, "Even when in trouble, he's still so loaded."
"Winston, you wanted to see me?"
John Wick approached Winston.
At this point, he had already arranged his retirement date with the Continental Hotel.
"John, this is your last assignment before retirement."
Winston chuckled.
John Wick looked at the photograph of the young man.
He took the file Winston handed him, flipped through it carefully for a few minutes, and said with a blank expression, "Should I say thank you?"
"No need, I'll take it as you already did."
Winston waved his hand, his tone gentle. "After all, it's your last assignment. I hope it lets you experience the boredom of retirement in advance. If you want to come back later, you're always welcome."
"I won't be back."
John Wick replied calmly and turned to leave. "Goodbye, Winston."
"Goodbye."
Winston's gaze was distant, sitting on the sofa like a king watching his knights go to war.
And that's exactly what it was.
For him, who controlled the Continental Hotel, John Wick, the King of Assassins, was one of his knights, and the most powerful one at that.
Unfortunately, the best tool was retiring.
It was time to find some new talent!
Winston fell into thought.
On the other side, after leaving the Continental Hotel, John Wick got into his car, with his dog in the passenger seat, and arrived at an upscale villa area.
Any one of these houses here is worth tens of millions.
John Wick had worked for the Continental Hotel for so many years, diligently killing so many people, and he probably could only afford one of them, and that would be the cheapest one.
But John Wick felt no emotion.
People like him, in most cases, had discarded superfluous emotions.
Especially envy and anger.
Thinking that this would be his last job, John Wick's eyes shifted slightly.
As a benchmark in the assassin world, Winston hadn't asked him to complete an almost impossible task for his last job, which was already considered merciful.
Neither a gangster, nor a retired agent, nor a veteran soldier.
A mere, unprepared, and defenseless genius director? To a man hailed as the King of Killers, it was child's play.
------------------------
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(End of Chapter)