After Spider-Man 3 broke The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King's first-weekend box office record, this summer season was destined to be extraordinarily lively.
On May 18, Shrek 3 was released, earning $121.62 million in its first weekend, becoming the second film of the summer to surpass $100 million in opening-week box office.
However, the excitement caused by this milestone was not as explosive as Spider-Man 3, and in recent years, big commercial films seemed increasingly likely to reach around $100 million in their first weekend.
Regardless, ever since DreamWorks was divided, Paramount's acquisition of DreamWorks Animation's value was fully reflected in this summer season.
Moreover, the profit focus of animated films has never been the box office; merchandise has always been the major source of revenue.
However, Shrek 3's dominance did not last long. The following weekend it faced a heavyweight competitor: last year's massively successful Pirates of the Caribbean sequel was arriving.
Before this film's release, there were some side events. Warner Bros. explicitly informed Disney and Melon Studios that after completing the third installment of the series, Warner would not participate in any subsequent sequels.
Upon hearing Warner Bros decision, Disney executives were partly shocked at Warner's reasoning, partly amused and applauding.
Would the series belong solely to Disney in the future? Not quite—Melon Studios was still involved.
Currently, Warner Bros and its parent company, Time Warner, were orderly exchanging their shares in Melon Studios to regain the Warner shares held by Gilbert.
It was rumored that some investors had offered large sums to buy Melon Studios' shares and participate in the venture. However, Kelly Ross's plan was to completely remove Gilbert's influence from Warner Bros so she refused.
Indeed, if all of Gilbert's Warner shares were not reclaimed, how could one even talk about eliminating his influence?
Of course, Warner currently only stated they would not participate in the sequels for Pirates of the Caribbean or The Lord of the Rings, but they did not mention the Harry Potter series.
Perhaps the profitability of Harry Potter was too strong for Warner to give up, so they continued to maintain their expected share.
In the original timeline, there were no fourth or fifth installments of Pirates of the Caribbean. In fact, if the first film had failed, there would have been no sequels at all.
However, the box office was far too high, and the returns were exceedingly lucrative.
Unable to bear the actors' exorbitant salaries, Disney simply cut out the other two characters, keeping only Captain Jack Sparrow as the central protagonist for the subsequent series.
Of course, Johnny Depp could sometimes be difficult. Not only was his pay high, but his temperament was unusual.
After Warner decided to withdraw, Gilbert called Robert Iger, stating that the series could continue as long as Captain Jack Sparrow remained the core character.
Robert Iger complied readily. Although the third installment had not yet been released, plans for the fourth film were already under Disney's consideration.
The separation of Warner and Melon Studios was not limited to films; it also included related merchandise.
For instance, the Disney–Warner mega theme park, already under construction in Shanghai, became a Disney-only investment due to Warner's withdrawal.
Of course, aside from a portion bought by local Chinese investors, the remaining shares fell into Gilbert's hands.
Warner's series of moves were so significant that they could not escape notice. Many people wanted to get involved to see if there was profit to be made.
However, Warner and Melon Studios acted swiftly. Almost as soon as one party sold, the other immediately took over, leaving little opportunity for outsiders to intervene.
What puzzled many was why Warner was in such a hurry to complete the separation from Gilbert. After all, Gilbert was a guarantee of Warner's performance. Wasn't this like cutting off their own arms?
Recently, David Ellison, though losing Megan Fox to Gilbert and watching Andrew Garfield practically flee to Gilbert's side, had been remarkably restrained, showing no sign of retaliation, behaving unlike himself.
In reality, David Ellison had been warned by his father, Larry Ellison, to keep a low profile and avoid unintended consequences.
In past conflicts with Gilbert, the battles had been generally controllable, fair competition.
However, the struggle between Gilbert and that faction was essentially a fight to the death. If David Ellison had blindly jumped in, he could have been the one to perish.
David Ellison had also observed the recent Hollywood situation of the Smiths. Even people acting on their behalf could be abandoned on a whim.
Although David Ellison operated in Hollywood, he was still an old Silicon Valley capital figure, a "squid person."
Even if he personally disliked Gilbert, he had to remain neutral in such situations, preventing unnecessary trouble for the Ellison family.
Sure enough, Gilbert had turned a dangerous situation into a safe one, but David Ellison felt that the matter would not end so easily. Warner and Melon Studios' separation was just the next foreshadowing, hiding something much bigger.
Michael Ovitz basically agreed with David Ellison's analysis. He said, "On the surface, Warner's actions do seem foolish.
But behind this apparent foolishness lies a much larger plan.
I've already heard news that a private equity group on Wall Street has approached Warner Bros probably targeting the remaining Melon Studios shares in Warner's hands, along with the copyrights to so many premium series films."
David Ellison had been around for a few years and was not stupid. He immediately said, "So these people want to get involved with Melon Studios?
But will that work? To interfere?
Everyone knows that while those film copyrights are quality assets, Melon Studios' most important factor will always be Gilbert. Given the current situation, those people basically cannot control Gilbert.
If Gilbert cannot be controlled, even controlling Melon Studios' shares means nothing."
"Exactly," Michael Ovitz shook his head. "This is not just a Hollywood-level war; it may involve Silicon Valley, Wall Street, and conflicts among old financial conglomerates.
We know too little to do anything but remain observers. David, only people at your father's level have the qualification to get involved."
David Ellison felt a little resentful. Ovitz meant that Gilbert was also a person at his father's level.
But after calming down and thinking it through, it was true—they were not on the same plane.
Still, David Ellison remained unconvinced. On other fronts, fine but in the film arena, I, David Ellison, am Gilbert's only true opponent.
Only I have the qualification to defeat him; no one else does.
After thinking for a moment, David Ellison said to Michael Ovitz, "Keep an eye on Mel over the next period. Don't let him interfere.
Things are too sensitive right now—if he shows his head, he'll be treated as a target and taken down."
Michael Ovitz nodded. "Don't worry. I've already told him. The Australian will behave."
Mel Gibson clearly held a grudge against Gilbert, after all, due to Gilbert, he had spent more than a decade behind bars. But now was not the time for revenge. Mel Gibson had to remain calm.
...
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