Chapter 303

Chapter 303

Most of the big movies have already been released and so far only one movie has been a massive flop worldwide.

Yes, Walt Disney was still delusional and couldn't accept that their movie failed miserably. So they ended up promoting the movie, John Carter, in different countries.

In total, they spent over $200 million on promotion. Together with the production costs of $150 million, John Carter wasted $350 million.

So what was the worldwide gross of the movie? The answer was $284 million... Yes, Walt Disney just lost their money.

Even with DVD sales, it would take them decades to recoup their loss. They screwed up very badly.

So to make up for it, Walt Disney decided to join the acquisition battle to get Grey Pictures.

Unlike Warner Brothers and Sony-Colombia, Walt Disney offered a stock swap instead. There were already a bunch of shareholders and adding one was no problem.

Steve Jobs, Harvey Weinstein, Roy Disney and even Michael Eisner had shares in Walt Disney, so adding Kazir Grey was not a problem.

For 30% of the stock, Walt Disney was willing to give Kazir 1.2% of Walt Disney stock.

Mind you, Walt Disney's total assets were huge and their net worth was $105 billion. Walt Disney owned ABC Studios, ESPN, Disneyland, part of Pixar since Steve Jobs was still alive, Touchstone, part of Miramax, and Hollywood Records.

In some ways, Walt Disney was comparable to Time Warner and News Corporation. Moreover, this company would become stronger once it acquired LucasFilm, Marvel Entertainment, and 20th Century Fox itself.

If not for Kazir's bad experience with Walt Disney, the director might agree.

However, Kazir was still waiting for another party to join the fun. Kazir felt like another studio was cooking.

......

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The theaters went dark and the movie began. The Grey Pictures and 20th Century Fox logo greeted the audience first.

On the other side of Hollywood, at Grauman's Chinese Theater, Miramax was in crisis. Just like Mr. And Mrs. Smith, Miramax began the premiere of Spy Kids 2: The Island Of Lost Dream.

Based on audience reaction, the movie was mediocre at best. Miramax invested $38 million in this movie and it would be a disaster if it failed.

Miramax was not Walt Disney, which could shoulder hundreds of millions in losses. In the first place, Miramax used a safer way to make money.

As everyone expected, Mr. And Mrs. Smith easily won first place that week.

On August 7, 2002, Mr. And Mrs. Smith grossed $17.47 million on its first day. Something that made 20th Century Fox and Grey Pictures very happy.

As for Spy Kids 2, the movie made $4.67 million on the same day. Considering the fact that Spy Kids 2 had a strong opponent, this kind of result was already good.

By the first weekend, both movies were doing well on their own. Spy Kids 2 earned $25.04 million, while Mr. And Mrs. Smith earned $50.34 million.

In a way, Miramax was worrying for nothing. Even though both movies were about spies, their plots and genres were different.

Spy Kids focused on family comedy and a light-hearted plot.

As for Mr. And Mrs. Smith, it was more of a serious action movie with a dash of romance and comedy. Maybe that's why the two movies didn't have much of an impact on each other.

Even though August was the last month of the summer season, the release of movies didn't stop. Next week, a strong contender could trouble Mr. and Mrs. Smith.

The title of the movie is xXx.

It sounds like a porn site or something, but I swear it's a real movie.

xXx is an action movie starring Vin Diesel.