Chasing Stars in Hollywood

When Simon returned to the United States, the 1994 North American summer box office had already concluded, and the film market entered a slow period with weekly total revenues falling below $50 million.

Coincidentally, during the week of September 16th to 22nd, the blockbuster of the summer, "Batman: The Dark Knight Rises," in its 16th week, grossed an additional $3.95 million, pushing its cumulative box office past the $400 million mark to $400.31 million. 

This made it the second film in the DC Cinematic Universe to surpass $400 million domestically, the first being "Batman: Dawn of Justice." Based on its current weekly earnings, the film was expected to bring in another $10 to $20 million, with a final domestic gross of between $410 and $420 million.

Internationally, recent statistics showed "Batman: The Dark Knight Rises" had already reached $513 million in overseas earnings, significantly exceeding expectations. Major international markets like France and Germany, which had delayed the film's release until after the summer to protect their domestic industries, had only recently opened, with another $200 million expected from these territories.

This meant that not only would "Batman: The Dark Knight Rises" become the first film to break the $1 billion global box office milestone, but it could also raise the bar to over $1.1 billion.

Such an impressive box office performance was no accident. First, the success of "Batman: The Dark Knight Rises" was the result of Daenerys Entertainment's five-year meticulous cultivation of the DC Cinematic Universe brand. The film was not only the conclusion of the Batman trilogy but also a culmination of five years of groundwork, leading to a concentrated burst of popularity.

Secondly, while the domestic box office remained strong at $400 million, there was no significant breakthrough. However, the overseas earnings, projected to reach $700 million, were largely due to Daenerys Entertainment's globalization strategy in recent years.

In fact, Daenerys Entertainment's global strategy had been initiated earlier than even Melisandre Company's. Mark Belford, Vice President of Global Operations at Daenerys Entertainment, held a position within the group second only to Nancy Brill and Robert Iger, even higher than the heads of the two subsidiary labels, Highgate Films and New World Pictures.

Mark Belford had spent most of the past few years traveling overseas, establishing Daenerys Entertainment's film distribution network across Eastern Europe and former Soviet states like Poland, the Czech Republic, Russia, and Ukraine.

This monumental task of navigating various channels was proving to be incredibly fruitful. Currently, Daenerys Entertainment had a well-established distribution network in Latin America, Europe, Asia, and Australia, with most countries and regions able to release films under the 'Daenerys' banner through its own subsidiaries. In all of Hollywood, only Daenerys Entertainment had achieved this level of global distribution.

Although "Batman: The Dark Knight Rises" was still distributed internationally by Warner Bros., many of these overseas markets relied heavily on Daenerys Entertainment's resources and channels, which explained the $700 million overseas box office projection.

Apart from Warner Bros., who were strictly adhering to their contract out of concern about what Simon might do, other Hollywood studios had fewer reservations. For example, this summer's collaborations between Daenerys and Fox on "True Lies" and MGM's "Speed" were both distributed in many overseas markets by Daenerys Entertainment. If other major studios had similar needs, Simon was generous in offering help, charging only reasonable fees.

People, including businesses, tend to take the path of least resistance. When there's a ready-made distribution network available, they often hesitate to build one themselves, and by the time they realize they should have, it might be too late.

The average cost of Hollywood films was only increasing, especially for blockbuster movies. Five years ago, there were only a few with production costs over $50 million; now, it was common for films to cost over $100 million. As production costs continued to rise, the importance of overseas markets in recouping investments and turning a profit became increasingly evident.

With the establishment of the World Trade Organization, many in Hollywood were beginning to realize this. However, apart from Daenerys Entertainment, none of the other major studios, including Warner Bros., had the resources to support a global distribution network.

If they didn't invest heavily now, they would only become more reliant on Daenerys Entertainment in the future. And Simon was certainly no herbivore. When necessary, for the sake of Daenerys Entertainment's interests, other studios would naturally be pushed aside.

Another blockbuster from this summer, "Forrest Gump," had also crossed the $300 million domestic mark two weeks ago. From September 16th to 22nd, it grossed $3.61 million in its 12th week, bringing its domestic total to $311.37 million. It was expected to bring in another $20 to $30 million, including re-releases around the Oscars, with a final domestic gross of around $330 million.

Thanks to its phenomenal word-of-mouth, "Forrest Gump" had also grossed $220 million overseas, with a global total of $530 million. It was expected to earn another $150 million internationally, with a final global box office close to $700 million.

Aside from these two blockbuster films, many other summer hits had entered their final stages since May.

"Stargate," which kicked off the summer season, had already left North American theaters, with a domestic gross of $112 million.

MGM's "Speed" also concluded with a domestic total of $109 million.

"The Conjuring," the first in the Conjuring Universe, closed after 13 weeks with a domestic total of $129 million.

"True Lies," Daenerys' collaboration with Fox, grossed $1.22 million from September 16th to 22nd. After 11 weeks, it had a cumulative gross of $141 million and was expected to exit theaters within four weeks with a final domestic total of around $145 million.

Thanks to the 'God Watches Movies' craze sparked by Daenerys Entertainment, both crime thrillers "Romeo Is Bleeding" and "Heat," which attracted large audiences due to their high quality, had crossed the $100 million mark.

As of September 22nd, "Romeo Is Bleeding" had grossed $102.96 million domestically, earning $1.16 million in the past week. It was expected to leave theaters in about four weeks with a final domestic gross of around $105 million.

"Heat," starring Robert De Niro and Al Pacino, had performed better than "Romeo Is Bleeding" both in terms of box office and longevity. Despite being released a week later, it had already grossed $112.17 million domestically, earning $3.11 million in the past week. It was expected to bring in at least another $10 million, with a final domestic total of around $120 million.

In a year that could truly be called a 'God Watches Movies' blockbuster year, the only film in the $100 million club that wasn't associated with Daenerys Entertainment was "Clear and Present Danger." After 10 weeks, it had grossed $117 million domestically, earning $1.51 million in the past week. It was expected to finish with a domestic total of around $120 million, breaking Daenerys Entertainment's monopoly.

The undeniable fact was that Hollywood was now experiencing the fear of being dominated by Daenerys Entertainment, much like how Disney would instill fear two decades later.

In Simon's memory, at its peak, Disney's global box office surpassed $7 billion in just over half a year, with a full-year target of $10 billion in sight. Meanwhile, Warner Bros., in second place, hadn't even reached $2 billion globally. The combined total of the other major studios couldn't compete with Disney. It was an unmatched dominance.

Daenerys Entertainment had already achieved a level of dominance surpassing that of Disney.

However, while enjoying this sense of supremacy, Simon also had to consider leaving room for other studios to avoid becoming the enemy of all Hollywood.

After returning from Europe, Simon had someone release a statement that Daenerys Entertainment would launch another round of external collaboration projects, once again comprising 10 films. 

In recent years, many media outlets had pointed out that Daenerys Entertainment's external collaboration projects were actually a form of expansion. A reporter from "The Hollywood Reporter" even proposed a widely accepted theory of 'parasitic expansion.' Yet, despite this, Hollywood had no studio that could afford to reject the olive branch extended by Daenerys Entertainment.

Because if you didn't accept it, others would.

The result would only be worse.

In Connecticut, at the Greenwich estate, it was September 23rd.

In the evening, after a busy day preparing for Fashion Week, Sofia Fissi finally returned from the city, landing the Westeros family's Black Hawk helicopter on a slightly smaller estate next to Simon's.

This was the Fissi family's new home. After the incident last time, it was discovered that one of Sofia's assistants in Italy had been coerced by the mafia into revealing the Fissi family's address in Greenwich, which led to someone showing up at their doorstep.

That assistant had, of course, been fired.

While strengthening her family's privacy protection, Sofia had decided to move her new home next to Simon's estate, allowing it to be directly integrated into the Westeros family's security system.

Though it wasn't as large as Simon's 30-acre estate, the Fissi family's new home spanned 12 acres. The main villa was connected to the gate by a long driveway, providing ample security. Combined with the tight security of the Westeros system, this time there was no way for strangers

 to reach the front door of the Fissi villa.

With Simon back from Europe, the Westeros family had come to the East Coast for a stay. Usually, other women would tactfully step back during such times, but Sofia didn't have such concerns. Over the years, she had become well-acquainted with both Janets, and neither Janet nor Jennifer saw her as a threat.

The two families had arranged to have dinner together.

When Sofia arrived at Simon's estate, she saw her daughter Gemma playing on the lawn with three little ones, mainly Melbourne, while the other two were still confined to their strollers, watching their brother and sister frolic.

Nearby, a female assistant and two of the Westeros family's maids were accompanying them.

Sofia pulled aside the Indian assistant and asked, learning that Simon was still in a meeting. Her son Daniel had been called in by Simon to listen in. After some thought, Sofia decided not to say anything.

As Daniel's mother, Sofia was well aware of his precociousness. After the recent incident, even though she hadn't revealed much to her children out of a protective instinct, Daniel had clearly changed a lot in this period.

Although Sofia felt it might be a bit early for Daniel to be involved in such matters, she was more pleased that Simon was willing to include him.

It was already evening.

After chatting with Jennifer for a bit and telling her daughter not to be too wild, Sofia went inside the villa, where Janet was overseeing the dinner preparations. Sofia joined her in the kitchen to help.

In one of the villa's studies, about ten minutes later, Simon, who had just seen off Joseph Schlapp, smiled at Daniel, who had stood up to help tidy up the documents. "What do you think?"

Simon had spent more than three hours that afternoon discussing the Westeros system's various political strategies with Joseph Schlapp. Daniel had already started school after the summer break and had only been called over by Simon to listen in on the last half-hour of the discussion, which had primarily focused on the Justice Department's antitrust investigation into the three tech companies within the Westeros system.

Hearing Simon's question, Daniel, still in his school uniform and looking every bit the school heartthrob, thought for a moment and said, "The Internet industry is likely to be the key to the fourth technological revolution. In the future, it will touch every aspect of the global industrial chain. So, in the current context of globalization, if Cisco, America Online, and Egret maintain their strong positions, it will be very beneficial for the United States' technological expansion globally, right, Simon?"

Simon smiled and nodded. "That's right."

Daniel continued, "In that case, considering American interests, I believe the White House and Congress shouldn't rush to curtail the growth of these three companies. Only if they're strong enough can they have the advantage in the global expansion process, suppressing the technological industries of other countries."

Sofia's two children were born in France and immigrated to Switzerland a few years ago, where they both held Swiss nationality. Though they had lived in the United States for several years, Sofia hadn't yet changed their nationality, but Daniel had unconsciously developed a certain stance.

Hearing this, Simon asked, "So, where do you think the problem lies?"

Daniel thought for a moment but eventually shook his head.

Simon gestured for the boy to leave the documents on the table, then had him sit down on the opposite sofa. "National interest is something every politician in Washington will talk about. Initially, I had thoughts similar to yours. But I later realized that was a big mistake. In reality, every politician in Washington has their own agenda, and very few genuinely adhere to the principle of 'national interest first.' If we try to persuade Washington to end this antitrust investigation by appealing to American interests in the global technology field, many politicians will only see it as a joke. Therefore, to achieve our goal, we must approach this issue from a politician's perspective, not from the standpoint of so-called national interest."

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