Most of the big movies have already been released and so far only one movie had a massive flop worldwide.
Yes, Walt Disney was still delusional and couldn't accept that their movie failed miserably. So in the end, they promoted their movies in different countries.
Overall, the money they spent on promotion was over $200 million. Together with the $150 million production cost, John Carter wasted $350 million.
So what was the result of the movie worldwide? 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 fucked up very badly.
So to make up for that, Walt Disney decided to join the acquisition battle to get the Grey Pictures.
Unlike Warner Bros and Sony-Colombia, Walt Disney offered share exchange instead. There were a bunch of shareholders anyway and adding one was not a problem.
Steve Jobs, Harvey Weinstein, Roy Disney, and even Michael Eisner had shares of Walt Disney stocks so adding Kazir Grey was not a problem.
For 30% shares, Walt Disney was ready to give Kazir 1.2% of Walt Disney's shares.
Mind you the total assets of Walt Disney were huge and their net worth was $105 billion. Walt Disney owned ABC studios, ESPN, Disneyland, partially of Pixar since Steve Jobs was still alive, Touchstone, a partial portion of Miramax, and Hollywood Records.
In a way, Walt Disney was comparable to Time Warner and News Corporation. Furthermore, this company would become stronger once it acquired LucasFilm, Marvel Entertainment, and 20th Century Fox itself.
If not for the bad experience that Kazir suffered from Walt Disney, perhaps 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 release of Mr. And Mrs. Smith was extravagant as many actors from CCU showed up. Most of them appeared in the premiere to promote their own movies and Kazir had no problem with it.
In fact, this was also the reason why he attended the premiere.
After the reconciliation, Kazir and Angelina became close again and showed their affection to each other in front of the public.
They were hand in hand when they attended the premiere of Mr. And Mrs. Smith.
"Kazir!"
Brad Pitt greeted Kazir and his partner Angelina.
... Actually, Kazir felt awkward seeing Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie together. He knew that he changed the timeline but he could not forget that these two actually became a couple and married.
Anyway, Kazir was mature enough to understand that. Brad Pitt didn't stay longer after greeting them. He knew that Kazir and Angelina wanted their own time.
Brad Pitt met Kazir back in 1994. At that time, Kazir was still nothing but an unknown director/scriptwriter.
Honestly, Brad Pitt accepted the role in Se7en because the salary was enticing. He also knew the consequences if he joined Se7en, a mystery thriller.
Yet he didn't expect that his choice was the right thing. Se7en was a success.
Since then, every project that Kazir touched become a success.
Everyone in Hollywood had high expectations for the man and Kazir always made sure to deliver. Once his name was added to the movie, the chance of this movie being a box office hit was higher.
Kazir also saw Jennifer Connelly in her dress... He immediately averted his gaze when he sensed that the woman next to him was staring with a cold gaze. He chuckled and kissed Angelina's forehead to calm the woman down.
Kazir felt bad that Angelina was not part of Mr. And Mrs. Smith. After all, Angelina was actually the female lead in this movie. But because Kazir added this movie to CCU and since Angelina and her role in CCU as Fox, it would be impossible to recast her again as a different character.
Kazir promised that he would make up to her. He knew that How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days was a box office hit and Angelina would maintain her stardom.
The theaters turned dark and the movie started. The logo of Grey Pictures and 20th Century Fox greeted the audience first.
On the other side of Hollywood, Grauman's Chinese Theater, Miramax was having a crisis. Just like Mr. And Mrs. Smith, Miramax started the premiere of Spy Kids 2: The Island Of Lost Dream.
From the reaction of the audience, 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 that could shoulder hundreds of millions of losses. In the first place, Miramax used a safer method to earn money.
Just as everyone expected, Mr. And Mrs. Smith easily won first place this week.
On August 7, 2002, Mr. And Mrs. Smith grossed $17.47 million on its first day. Something that 20th Century Fox and Grey Pictures were happy to hear.
As for Spy Kids 2, on the same day, the movie got $4.67 million. Considering that Spy Kids 2 was facing a strong opponent, this kind of result was already good.
When the first weekend arrived, both movies performed well on their own means. Spy Kids 2 grossed $25.04 million while Mr. And Mrs. Smith grossed $50.34 million.
In a way, Miramax worried 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 sprinkle of romance and comedy. Perhaps this was the reason why both movies didn't affect each other much.
Even though August was the last month of the Summer season, the release of movies didn't stop. Next week, a strong contender might trouble Mr. And Mrs. Smith.
The title of the movie was 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.