The emotions of everyone at Sha Hai Entertainment were stirred up, and the success of this film also meant that the company was on the right track.
After quickly tidying up, Ronan returned to his office and dealt with several documents, including an email from Gray Enric of Lionsgate, informing Sha Hai Entertainment that the number of theaters screening "The Purge" would increase to around 2400 by the next weekend.
Due to the limited number of theaters during the opening weekend, both Lionsgate and the theater chains believed that this film still had untapped market potential.
In addition, Lionsgate would further increase advertising spending and prepare to arrange media events involving the main cast and crew.
Ronan forwarded all of these to Robert for handling. James Huang, Robert Knapp, Amanda Seafried, and Mohammed, among other key personnel, were all willing to appear in the media.
Ronan didn't intend to personally oversee the follow-up publicity matters. With limited time and energy, micromanaging everything would quickly lead to burnout.
For the sake of their own interests, Lionsgate would also continue to push for more revenue from this film.
Checking the time, Ronan called Saleh.
As soon as the call connected, Saleh's voice came from the other end, "Hello, Ronan."
"Hello, Saleh," Ronan smiled and asked, "Are you enjoying yourself in Abu Dhabi? When are you coming back to Los Angeles?"
Saleh's laughter was unusually cheerful, "I'm doing very well. Let me tell you some good news. Yesterday, I met the president, and he said I've been doing an excellent job in Los Angeles."
Ronan played along, "Are you getting another promotion?"
"Yeah," Saleh sounded delighted, "I might be promoted to Deputy Minister of the Investment Bureau as early as next week. Thanks to you again, the Investment Bureau invested in your movie, and the Embassy in America has collected relevant reports and sent them to Abu Dhabi. Al Jazeera also had a special report. The president is very satisfied with the Investment Bureau's ability to break into Hollywood."
Ronan, as if talking to an old friend, "Glad I could help. But, it has also caused some controversy."
Saleh's laughter rang out again, "That's a normal reaction." He then asked, "Ronan, I watched the film you sent, and it's really good, much more enjoyable than the script."
It was a version specially edited for the Arab region. Ronan smiled and said, "We couldn't have finished this film without the funding from the Investment Bureau."
Saleh asked, "When are you coming to Abu Dhabi again?"
Ronan thought for a moment and said, "I'll bring the film to Abu Dhabi for its premiere next month."
"Great!" Saleh immediately said, "I'll host you properly then."
His voice suddenly lowered, "Let me show you the prosperity of Abu Dhabi."
Ronan was equally straightforward, "It's a deal!"
Saleh reminded, "Brother Mansour wants to introduce this film as soon as possible. He has a few representatives in Los Angeles, and they'll probably contact you soon."
Was it for an audit? Ronan raised an eyebrow, hinting, "Are they here specifically to discuss acquiring the movie?"
Saleh casually replied, "No. Brother Mansour wants to buy a large Hollywood film company."
Ronan switched the phone to his other hand, relieved but also cautious. He deliberately asked, "Is there anything I can help with?"
Saleh seemed to have no guard against him and said directly, "You don't need to worry about this. They've approached the six major Hollywood companies and some medium-sized ones, but no one is willing to sell. Ronan, you're right, there's a strong force in Hollywood resisting us Arabs."
Ronan followed his lead, "Indeed, it's quite obvious."
Saleh was undoubtedly a qualified ally.
After hanging up the phone, Ronan processed the latest information he had received.
The fact that Mansour and the Abu Dhabi Investment Bureau wanted to acquire a large Hollywood film company was surprising.
Fortunately, it didn't happen, or it would have been difficult to seek investment from Abu Dhabi again.
It just showed how difficult it was to target the six major companies. They had already become the possessions of large conglomerates, and most medium-sized film companies had been acquired in recent years, becoming subsidiaries of the big six.
In fact, the mid-to-late 1990s was the period when the six major companies monopolized Hollywood the most.
Lionsgate had just been established, Top Entertainment was still lurking in Santa Monica, and Relativity wouldn't appear for a few more years...
Looking at the medium-sized companies that had once flourished in the early 1990s, Orion and Carolco had become subsidiaries of the big six, Miramax of the Weinstein Brothers had long leaned towards Disney, New Line Cinema and Castle Rock Entertainment had surrendered to Warner Bros., PolyGram joined Universal Pictures, and TriStar Pictures merged into Sony Columbia.
If the timing wasn't right, even with money, it would be difficult to buy a suitable film company.
Moreover, if the Arabs really wanted to buy a company of the big six, there was a high chance that Washington would intervene.
Of course, without restrictions, it would be relatively easy to buy a medium-sized film company. But Ronan had dealt with Abu Dhabi before, and those people weren't fools.
Ronan gradually inferred Mansour's intentions from this news. It was clearly a backup plan.
The money invested in "The Purge" wasn't the main concern for them. The main goal was probably to acquire a large film company. In case that failed, Sha Hai Entertainment would still be the best choice for the Abu Dhabi Investment Bureau.
With "The Purge" already released, it was time to go back to Abu Dhabi next month to catch up with the "Arab brothers".
After all, the investment in "Final Destination" had not yet been finalized.
But there was a problem.
Ronan had considered the financing of "Final Destination" early on. It wasn't easy to establish a relationship with the Arabs for this film, which was full of various massacres and the high-profile presence of Death itself...
Could he set Arab characters as the ones killed by Death?
Ronan wasn't impulsive and instead carefully considered it.
"Final Destination" was the foundation of the subsequent plan. The higher the popularity of this film, the more attention it would attract from the Arabs in the future.