Burbank, California. Disney headquarters.
The tyrant of Hollywood, Michael Eisner, sat gloomily upon his own Iron Throne, listening to the report.
"Harry Potter officially released on November 16th. From that day forward, our Monsters, Inc. has been stuck at second place on the North American box office chart. If nothing unexpected happens, within a few days, it'll slip to third…"
"Based on projections, Monsters, Inc. still has another $50–60 million left in domestic potential. We expect it to end up around $250 million in North America. As for worldwide gross… it should break half a billion."
Monsters, Inc. had opened on November 2nd.As of today, it had pulled in $192 million domestically.
Technically, it hadn't gone head-to-head with Harry Potter—that would've been suicidal, releasing against a book franchise with over 100 million copies sold. Still, even after "stealing" some box office before Potter's debut, Disney wasn't happy.
The reason was simple:
They hadn't stolen enough… yet they had stolen too much.
And the film pulling in those impressive numbers belonged to Pixar.
The second reason has already been explained earlier. As for the first… that had to do with DreamWorks.
That summer, DreamWorks had released Shrek. In just 60 days, it had raked in $269 million domestically. Worldwide, it stood at $420 million and was expected to finish around $450 million.
The moment those numbers hit, the media had declared: Disney's animation kingdom was dead.
Once upon a time, they had reigned supreme. But now, two new powerhouses had risen: Pixar and DreamWorks.
And who was to blame? Disney's tyrant himself, Michael Eisner.
He was the one who'd dismissed computer animation as "not the future"—the one who, after a single failure, had axed Disney's CGI research division.
He was the one who'd pushed Jeffrey Katzenberg out—his brilliant lieutenant—out of fear he'd become a threat. Katzenberg went on to form DreamWorks, creating the very studio that now rivaled Disney.
So when the world doubted Disney's future, Eisner had no choice but to deliver results. Otherwise, the shareholders would unite to toss him out. And truthfully… the world wasn't wrong. Disney had indeed lost its ability to dream.
Without in-house CGI, their animation branch now leaned entirely on Pixar.
And depending on Pixar's success? Ha! That was like handing Steve Jobs a free shot to slap Disney across the face.
Which was why Eisner now muttered that Monsters, Inc. had both stolen "too little" and "too much."
In the two weeks before Harry Potter launched, Monsters, Inc. hadn't managed to surpass Shrek. That meant the "DreamWorks beats Disney" narrative continued unchecked. Pixar couldn't even silence Katzenberg's green ogre.
Yet in the week after Potter opened, Monsters still grossed $30 million—enough that its total might eventually top Shrek.
On one hand, this proved DreamWorks had overtaken Disney. On the other, it meant Sulley and Mike had become a bona fide new IP.
Harry Potter had crushed Star Wars and Toy Story 2. And still Monsters refused to die. Didn't that show its strength?
The truth was, Eisner wanted Pixar strong—just strong enough to bolster Disney's books. But not too strong, because then Disney would lose leverage in upcoming contract negotiations.
So…
"Why couldn't Harry Potter just kill Monsters, Inc. outright?" Eisner ground his teeth, imagining Steve Jobs preening in front of him.
He turned to his aide. "So. What's Pixar's stance?"
"Any thoughts on renewal?"
"Uh… they haven't made any statements regarding the renewal yet."
Eisner narrowed his eyes. "What?"
The aide explained, "Jobs doesn't have time to deal with Pixar right now. He's busy negotiating with the Big Five record companies. He wants to launch an online music store. Warner is on board. Universal is hesitant. Sony is firmly against. EMI and BMG are wavering…"
The online music store was, of course, iTunes. Eisner knew about it. He also knew Jobs wanted to upend the entire music industry.
The explanation was reasonable enough. But Eisner only snorted coldly.
To him, no matter how busy Apple was, Jobs would never neglect Pixar. If he stayed silent, it was only to force Eisner to bow first.
"Fine," Eisner snapped, waving his hand irritably. "If he's too busy, let him stay busy. I don't believe Steve can drag out negotiations with Sony for a whole year."
Eisner's strategy was to wait him out. Jobs could act calm only because Pixar had no film next year. But come 2003, they planned to release Finding Nemo in the summer.
That meant Jobs had maybe six months before he'd be forced to bend. Big releases needed a year of marketing. And for Pixar, Disney's distribution network was still the best resource available.
Why? Because Jobs' digital music dream was already threatening the traditional record labels. The last thing he'd do was hand Pixar's films to Warner, Sony, or Universal—why give the enemy a weapon?
Fox? Paramount? Their animation distribution muscle couldn't match Disney's.
Just as Eisner dismissed his aide, thinking he might finally enjoy a moment's peace, the aide hesitated.
"Boss… there's one more thing."
"What now?" Eisner frowned.
"It's also about Harry Potter. Its impact on us goes beyond Monsters, Inc."
"What do you mean?" Eisner's brow furrowed deeper.
The aide pulled out a folder and handed over a report.
"Marketing wants you to see this. Harry Potter is hitting our live-action division hard—because Hermione Granger has become a phenomenon."
Disney, to the public, was synonymous with animation. That wasn't wrong. Their animated films were legendary.
But in truth, they'd entered live-action back in the '60s. At first, they stumbled. But by 1984, they'd begun to release real gems—Splash with Tom Hanks, Adventures in Babysitting directed by Chris Columbus. By 1988, their live-action division was even the most profitable in the industry.
The catch? Those successes weren't branded "Disney." They came under the Touchstone label.
But after '88, things slid downhill.
Why? Mostly Eisner himself. His paranoia drove away talent.
At first, no one cared. So long as animation held steady, Disney could afford weaker live-action. But when Katzenberg left and animation collapsed, the tide went out—revealing who had been swimming naked all along.
Desperate, Eisner tried to save face. In animation, he pushed Dinosaur. In live-action, he gambled on Pearl Harbor.
Both blew up spectacularly.
Still, not everything failed. One bright spot remained: The Princess Diaries.
"Marketing used to believe a sequel to The Princess Diaries was a guaranteed success. Anne was our chosen live-action princess. But now… with Harry Potter, they think Anne can't compete with Isabella."
"Because Hermione Granger is too dazzling. As long as the Potter franchise doesn't collapse, no one can beat Isabella in the teen-girl market. There simply isn't another young actress that radiant."
On the surface, Anne Hathaway and Isabella Haywood weren't even the same "type." Anne was eight years older—born in '82, while Isabella was born in '90.
But in Hollywood terms, both were "Young Adult" actresses. Harry Potter was YA. The Princess Diaries was YA. Which meant they were in the same lane.
And The Princess Diaries told the story of an ordinary American teen who suddenly discovers she's a European princess. Anne may have been 18 at filming, but she was playing 15.
Now? With HP slaughtering Star Wars at the box office, who could possibly rival Hermione in the YA market?
It wasn't that Hollywood couldn't make YA films anymore. It was just… every time someone thought of YA, they'd think of Hermione Granger.
"So what's Marketing's position?" Eisner asked flatly.
"They… don't recommend Production pursue a Princess Diaries sequel," the aide admitted.
He hesitated, then added, "They also suggest suspending the entire Princess Project."
"You're telling me to abandon Anne Hathaway?" Eisner's brow knotted tightly.
"…Yeah," the aide nodded.
Eisner's mind churned.
History would later remember Alice in Wonderland as Disney's first live-action princess hit, the film that launched a billion-dollar franchise.
But in truth, The Princess Diaries had been first. Anne Hathaway was Disney's original live-action princess.
It was that crown which catapulted her to overnight stardom.
Why hadn't Disney simply leaned on its existing princess IPs? Because in that era, Disney was a mess.
Animation had fallen behind DreamWorks. Pixar was keeping them alive on life support. Live-action was imploding. The company was teetering on the edge of a hostile takeover.
In times like that, the Princess line was Disney's ace in the hole. Eisner could've risked rebooting old IPs—but if they flopped, the shareholders would toss him into the Pacific to feed the fish.
Just for that reason, Disney's early live-action Princess Project could only move forward in a roundabout way.
The Princess Diaries was their first experiment. When it succeeded, their second attempt wasn't even a sequel but Ella Enchanted. The thinking was simple: if that too worked, it would prove there was a real market for live-action princess films.
Only then would they feel confident about mining their classic IPs.
But all of that… was now in the past.
When the selling points of Disney's princess line were "magical worlds," "female leads," and "coming-of-age stories"—
Tell me, what magical world could compete with Harry Potter right now? Tell me, who embodied a true strong female lead better than Hermione, the overachieving prodigy? Disney princesses still had to chase romance!
And tell me this: even if a film was brilliant, at most it could explore one tiny slice of adolescence. But Harry Potter? Everyone in the industry already knew J.K. Rowling planned seven novels, and David Heyman wanted seven films.
So I ask you: what "coming-of-age exploration" could possibly compete with watching actors actually grow up before your eyes?
To put it bluntly—once Harry Potter appeared, Disney's live-action princess films, no matter how well they performed, could at best be permanent runner-up. And when a film loaded with special effects cost $100 million or more, who would spend that much just to fight for second place?
Tell that to Larry Bird and he'd laugh himself silly.
"Ughhh—"
Eisner squeezed his eyes shut in pain. He leaned helplessly back into his chair.
Disney already had too many headaches.
He had truly not expected that Potter's explosion would blow away his princess film strategy.
As for doubting Marketing's judgment? Forget it.
He wasn't blind. He could see Harry Potter's market response with his own eyes. Hell, he'd even watched the film himself—because it was simply too popular to ignore.
And yes, he had to admit it: that little beaver on the big screen was adorable.
"What about Bob? What's his take?"
After brooding for a while, Eisner finally voiced the question on his mind.
The "Bob" he referred to was Robert Iger, Disney's President and COO at the time—the number two man running day-to-day operations.
If Eisner had already seen Marketing's report, then of course Iger had too.
And Iger's response was—
"Oh, Michael. My view is: put the Princess Project on hold.
Because I've watched Harry Potter, and it's fantastic—especially Hermione Granger. That girl Isabella gave a wonderful performance. I'd even say she was the most impressive of the trio.
With her in the picture, our princess line has little chance of true success.
And by success, I don't mean just breaking even at the box office. I mean being the one and only, the first place, the winner-takes-all."
Hollywood was a zero-sum game. If your IP ranked number one in the world, you got all the premium returns.
But if you were number two?
Forget everything else—your toy sales alone would take a massive hit.
With their old animation catalog, Disney's princess IP could still coast without live-action.
But if they did attempt it…
If it succeeded, fine. But if it failed? All it would take was one rival headline—"Disney's old IPs can't board the ship of a new era"—and Disney would instantly look like fools.
"Okay. I get your point."
After sending his aide away, Eisner picked up the phone and dialed Iger.
As Iger laid out his reasoning, Eisner slowly nodded. "So… Production's next move is—?"
"All resources must be redirected toward Pirates of the Caribbean."
"You're certain this project will succeed?"
"No."
"…"
"But what choice do we have?"
Sitting back in his own office chair, Iger stared up at the ceiling. "Besides Pirates, we've got nothing. So… we have to gamble."
Eisner drew a deep breath. He had to admit: Iger was right. He had no cards left to play.
But—
In this world, there was always one trick left: creating new cards from thin air.
"Okay. I generally agree. All of Disney's production resources will go to Pirates.
As for the Princess Project, I still want to give it a try. The Princess Diaries brought us a fivefold return, after all. So… let's hand Ella Enchanted over to Miramax."
"Let the Weinsteins pay for it. If it succeeds, we profit. If it fails, no big deal—because Miramax's books aren't consolidated with ours."
Iger had no objections. He didn't dare.
At Disney, anyone who didn't listen to Eisner was kicked out.
But when passing down assignments, he did give Marketing one "private" instruction of his own:
"From today onward, keep a close watch on Isabella Haywood.
Any updates to her profile, I want to know immediately."
Marketing didn't question it.
Monitoring actors was standard practice in Hollywood. Collaborations shifted constantly—today you might star in Warner's project, tomorrow in mine.
In this industry, friendships existed, sure. But above all… it was business.
After hanging up, Iger reopened Isabella's file.
When he saw that she'd approached Warner on her own after her father's death, he chuckled softly.
"What a shame…"
Shaking his head, he sighed. "The Mickey Mouse Club is gone… and we've fallen out with Warner… Otherwise I'd already be working to poach you."
He let out a long sigh.
Disney's pain was invisible to outsiders. And even if the outside world learned of it, only the gossip-hungry media—or rival studios hoping Disney would collapse—would be thrilled.
Meanwhile, as Disney's tyrant Michael Eisner brooded over Hermione Granger's sudden rise, and as Robert Iger reshaped the company's production strategy because of her dazzling performance…
The very girl they both obsessed over was happily filming as if none of it concerned her.
"Oh, Isa—stop giggling! It's your turn!"
Chris Columbus cupped his hands around his mouth like a megaphone.
"Coming, coming~"
The little girl, who'd been chatting with someone off to the side, muffled her laughter, tugged her Hogwarts robe tighter around her shoulders, and scampered onto the set.
At the center of the stage…
A bedraggled Harry stood awkwardly next to Hagrid.
Notes:
① Katzenberg had been Eisner's protégé for years. He led Roger Rabbit, The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, and Aladdin.
② Eisner's lust for power stemmed partly from his own past. He'd long been Barry Diller's deputy at Paramount, always expecting Diller to step aside and pass him the throne. But it never happened.
③ Barry Diller pioneered the "TV movie" concept, starting at ABC, then running Paramount as CEO in 1974, before leaving for FOX in 1984 to found the FOX network.
④ After Eisner drove Disney into decline, Roy Disney (the family scion) led the "Save Disney" campaign in 2002–2003. Katzenberg's earlier departure also tied back to Roy, who fiercely guarded the animation division from interference. Eisner even had to create a separate company just to produce Dinosaur, because he couldn't touch those resources.
⑤ Disney and Warner fell out in 2001, when Disney pulled away from Warner's television network. Before that, the two had collaborated.
⑥ As early as the 2000s, Comcast had already tried to acquire a faltering Disney. Only Disney's shareholders blocking the sale prevented it—so Comcast turned and bought Universal instead.