Chapter 118: Chapter 118
Capet Pictures, Charles Capet, sitting in his boss chair, couldn't stop smiling, making people want to slap him.
"Boss, are you that happy?" Phyllis Jones asked deliberately while massaging Charles' shoulders.
"Happy? Look, Saw II has made 88 million dollars in the North American box office already. By the time it's out of theaters, it's expected to hit 90 million dollars. Overseas, it's already over 30 million dollars," Charles had every reason to be happy.
Based on the revenue split, Capet Pictures' earnings from the North American box office were 47 million dollars. After deducting 10 million for distribution and promotion costs, they had 37 million dollars in revenue left!
And how much was the budget? Only 5 million dollars! The North American box office net earnings alone were 32 million dollars!
Oh, the creators need their share? Given that they self-distributed and took a 30% commission, that meant 27 million dollars went to the distribution company. The net profit for the production company was 32 million dollars minus those 27 million, leaving a base of 5 million dollars.
Charles was quite generous; the creators got to share 25% of the production company's total revenue, which meant they could share 1.25 million dollars!
"Saw series is our ace series now. Matrix Pictures is releasing the horror movie Hostel next year. I wonder if it will be as successful!" Phyllis Jones quickly thought about the developing Hostel.
Charles tilted the woman's chin with his hand and smiled, "You're really greedy. A series like Saw is rare and hard to encounter."
"Knock, knock, it's Dona!" A knock on the door followed by Dona's voice interrupted them.
"Come in!" Charles called out.
Dona Williams pushed the door open, gave a casual glance at Phyllis, then handed an invitation to Charles, explaining, "Director Ridley Scott invites the boss to the 20th Century Fox screening room to watch the medieval epic war film Kingdom of Heaven!"
"He's back in Los Angeles," Charles was not interested in Kingdom of Heaven; he wanted to discuss The Departed with Ridley Scott.
"Also, there's trouble with the early screening of Brokeback Mountain in Utah. The public release next week might face a lot of issues!" Dona reminded him.
"Utah again, what did they do this time? Are they going to ban the film in the entire state?" Charles frowned, clearly showing his displeasure.
"The chairman of the Utah Eagle Forum expressed the opinion that the screening of this film should be canceled and advised young people that some contents of the film are highly problematic!" Dona Williams explained to Charles.
Charles shook his head and said, "These guys are always causing trouble. By the way, how many theaters did Focus Features secure for the opening?"
"There were 15 during early screenings; for the weekend, it should reach around 200, including our own Pacific Theatres," Dona replied.
"Relying on word of mouth again!" Charles sighed. Was Focus Features not optimistic about this film's box office potential, or was the pressure too much?
The next day, in Los Angeles, Century City, 20th Century Fox headquarters.
In the screening room, Charles, along with 20th Century Fox's co-chairmen Gianopulos and Tom Rothman, 20th Century Fox president Jeffrey Godsick, executive vice-president Emma Watts, and other senior execs, as well as the main creators of Kingdom of Heaven, including director Ridley Scott, watched the director's cut of Kingdom of Heaven.
In the 12th century, the Kingdom of Jerusalem, Baron Godfrey of Ibelin (Liam Neeson) went to France to find his son Balian (Orlando Bloom), guiding him to become a knight and join the Crusades to Jerusalem.
Godfrey was injured by his own brother's plot and, after returning to Jerusalem, transferred his title and lands to his son Balian before dying.
During his time in Jerusalem, Balian met the masked leper King Baldwin IV and the beautiful princess Sibylla, as well as the ambitious Grand Master Templar and Sibylla's husband, Guy.
Balian bravely fought, embodying knightly virtues, and managed his Ibelin land well, winning the princess's heart.
After Baldwin IV's early death, Guy inherited power and launched a disastrous war against the Muslims, losing badly to their leader Saladin.
Saladin led the Muslim army to besiege Jerusalem, determined to recapture it from the Christians. Balian, given the urgent mission, led the remaining forces to defend Jerusalem.
Charles watched with great interest because the war scenes were indeed well done. The realistic portrayal of Templar Knights, Hospitaler Knights, and Mamluk cavalry, along with siege towers, made for an exhilarating experience.
In the end, after Balian repelled Saladin's attack, he agreed to surrender Jerusalem as long as Saladin promised not to massacre the city, which Saladin agreed to.
Balian asked, "What is Jerusalem?"
Saladin responded, "Nothing!" then as he turned to leave, walked a few steps, and turned back, smiling at Balian, saying, "Everything!"
The ending saw Balian and Sibylla returning to France to live a secluded life, while Richard the Lionheart led the Crusades for the third invasion of Jerusalem.
"Bravo!" After the movie ended, Charles joined everyone in applause.
*****
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