Simon returned to Los Angeles just as the summer blockbusters were kicking off with Steven Spielberg's "Indiana Jones 3."
"Indiana Jones 3," released on Wednesday, May 24, defied traditional opening days. It debuted on 2,327 screens and earned $9.9 million in just Wednesday and Thursday, easily surpassing United Artists' action movie "Dragon Attack," which also premiered the same week.
"Dragon Attack," released on May 19, earned $8.24 million in its first week, with an estimated total North American gross around $30 million. Although it couldn't compare with "Indiana Jones 3," it was still a decent return against its $17 million budget.
Interestingly, the lead in "Dragon Attack" was Patrick Swayze, who starred in the original "Ghost."
To ensure the success of "Ghost," Simon decided not to replace its lead actors. During his time away from Los Angeles, Danelys Entertainment had finalized contracts with Demi Moore and Patrick Swayze for this classic romance movie.
Patrick Swayze, a top-tier actor who rose to fame with the global blockbuster "Dirty Dancing," was paid $5 million for his role in "Ghost."
Demi Moore, mostly known as Bruce Willis' wife, had no significant works to her name. If not for Simon's insistence, Amy would not have considered her. Consequently, Demi's pay was limited to $300,000, slightly above a newcomer's rate, plus an option for one more movie contract.
With Hollywood actresses eyeing the project, Demi, lacking leverage, quickly agreed to the terms after minor negotiations.
Furthermore, African American actress Whoopi Goldberg also agreed to play the psychic Oda Mae Brown in "Ghost."
On May 29, Danelys Entertainment officially announced the main crew of "Ghost," scheduled to start filming in August with a budget of $20 million and a preliminary release date for the next summer.
However, due to Danelys Entertainment's launch of a series of movies in recent months, this announcement didn't make a significant impact in the media. Hollywood was more focused on the upcoming release of Danelys Entertainment's summer movie "The Bodyguard."
In the past few months, Danelys Entertainment's releases hadn't achieved remarkable box office success. If "The Bodyguard" continued this lukewarm trend, the studio's rapid rise in 1988 would undoubtedly fade.
Moreover, rumors suggested that internal screenings of "The Bodyguard" weren't favorable.
Danelys Entertainment keeping a tight lid on "The Bodyguard" until a week before its release, with no public media or fan screenings, seemed to confirm these rumors.
In Los Angeles, at the Century City Hotel in Beverly Hills, the press conference for "The Bodyguard's" soundtrack was held on May 31. The album would be released on June 4, three days after the movie's premiere. Before this, Whitney Houston, the lead actress in "The Bodyguard," had thoroughly prepared for her screen debut and third album.
After the press conference, Danelys Entertainment hosted a lunch at the hotel for the movie's main crew and the attending media.
At the luncheon, Clive Davis, president of Arista Records (Whitney's label), chatted warmly with Simon but turned serious when he approached Whitney.
Arista Records, established in the 70s with the support of Columbia Pictures, changed hands several times over a decade, now a subsidiary of Germany's Bertelsmann Music Group. Davis had been president since its inception and steered Arista to success largely due to Whitney Houston's rise four years earlier.
Whitney's collaboration on "The Bodyguard" was also heavily pushed by Davis.
Now, he was having second thoughts.
Since the end of last year, Danelys Entertainment's shine had dimmed, with no blockbuster releases in the first half of the year. But worse, "The Bodyguard" faced a series of quality criticisms even before its release.
For the soundtrack collaboration, Arista made significant concessions, co-producing with Danelys Entertainment's fledgling record division, and Simon Westeros as a consultant.
As part of the deal, Danelys Entertainment would receive 50% of the album's gross profit.
Davis initially hoped Simon would provide a hit song like Madonna's "Celebration." However, the album turned out to be a mix of covers and Whitney's old songs, with the lead single being Dolly Parton's 70s hit "I Will Always Love You."
With Whitney's first two albums each selling over 10 million globally, Davis now worried this trend might end. He took Whitney aside to instruct her on how to deflect blame if "The Bodyguard" flopped.
Considering the album's uncertain prospects, Davis hoped to shift responsibility onto Danelys Entertainment, protecting Whitney's career.
Elsewhere in the banquet hall, Amy Pascal approached Simon with concerns about both "The Bodyguard" and "The Sixth Sense," releasing in June. However, she brought up another matter: "Bob visited New York last Monday. It wasn't unusual, but he was seen dining with a Sony America executive."
Simon knew she referred to Robert Lamm.
At the Cannes lunch, Simon caught Lamm's hints about a raise but didn't respond, only asking Amy to keep an eye on him.
Now, it seemed Lamm had contacted Sony, or perhaps Sony reached out first.
Sony's negotiations for Columbia Pictures were now public, with Coca-Cola, Columbia's largest shareholder, looking to sell its non-core business, and Sony eager to acquire a Hollywood studio.
In this timeline, Sony's takeover of Columbia led to the hiring of Peter Guber and Jon Peters, renowned producers with hits like "An American Werewolf in London." However, their tenure at Columbia was disastrous, leading to Sony's massive write-down and the company's largest loss.
While Simon believed anyone would be better than Guber and Peters, he didn't see Lamm as a match for their Hollywood credentials.
Lamm, strong in distribution but with no major production successes, still only oversaw distribution at Danelys Entertainment.
Considering Hollywood's emphasis on creative talents, studio heads usually rise from production roles, unlike Lamm, who came from distribution.
After a moment's thought, Simon advised Amy, "Keep an eye on the distribution department for now."
Amy agreed, then asked, "Aren't you going to talk to Bob?"
Simon replied, "Remember when he joined? Last August, right? It's not even a year, Amy. Frankly, I'm satisfied with Bob's work. But we offered him fair terms initially—a $3 million bonus, comparable to major studio executives. The company's earned a lot, but I don't think we owe him anything. If he feels it's not enough, he can leave."
Amy nodded, ready to scout for potential replacements.
Changing the subject, Simon added, "Adjust the last month's marketing for 'The Sixth Sense.' Avoid implying the plot twist in talk shows or interviews. Follow standard horror film marketing, and align our media campaigns similarly."
Amy responded with a wry smile, "Simon, that makes the film even less appealing to most audiences."
"De Niro stars, I wrote it; that's appeal enough, Amy. 'The Sixth Sense' isn't a blockbuster with high opening-week numbers. I want it to build a reputation over time."
...
Following "The Bodyguard's" soundtrack release, the movie premiered on June 2 across 2,021 screens. After last year's saturation release successes, a 2,000+ screen opening became common for major studio films.
As "The Bodyguard" debuted, "Indiana Jones 3's" first full-week box office earnings were released.
From May 26 to June 1, Spielberg's blockbuster raked in $46.01 million in North America, surpassing "Star Wars: Return of the Jedi's" $42.16 million record for a single week.
Amid "Indiana Jones 3's" dominance, "The Bodyguard" received dismal media reviews from major outlets like "Entertainment Weekly," "Variety," and "The New York Times."
An infuriated Amy nearly pulled Danelys Entertainment's ads from "Variety" after reading their description of 'a complete mess.'
On a 10-point scale, "The Bodyguard" barely scraped past 3 points, far from passing.
Despite negative reviews, some magazines like "Rolling Stone" praised the soundtrack, but this did little to reverse the movie's reputation.
Affected by the criticism, "The Bodyguard" earned only $16.61 million in its opening weekend.
Though not a failure compared to United Artists' "Dragon Attack," and with an expected first-week gross over $20 million, media predicted a dismal box office trajectory for "The Bodyguard" due to the negative reviews, capping at perhaps $50 million in North America.
With a $20 million production cost and $8 million marketing budget, Danelys Entertainment could recoup its investment from domestic sales alone, making a $50 million gross not a failure. But compared to Danelys' impressive track record last year, this was a definite setback.
Opposite "The Bodyguard," "Indiana Jones 3" maintained strong second-weekend earnings of $21.23 million, a mere 27% drop, totaling $77.14 million in 12 days.
On June 9, Columbia Pictures' sequel to 1984's second-highest-grossing film, "Ghostbusters 2," was set to premiere on 2,410 screens, even more than "Indiana Jones 3."
Columbia, eager to boost its stock price amid Sony acquisition talks, heavily promoted the sequel.
Facing competition from "Indiana Jones 3" and "Ghostbusters 2," and hampered by poor reviews, "The Bodyguard's" prospects looked bleak. Amidst these challenges, "The Bodyguard's" soundtrack officially hit North American shelves on June 5.
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