Capítulo 78: Chapter 78: Opening Day Box Office
[Chapter 78: Opening Day Box Office]
Eric nodded, said goodbye to Jeffrey and the others, and walked with Jobs to a nearby cafe.
"Standing by the Ganges, I was struck by a profound sense of stillness. There I was, half a world away from Silicon Valley, realizing that technology should empower people -- not control them. That experience taught me about simplicity, about peeling away the unnecessary to find the essence, something I saw in Zen Buddhism.
It wasn't unlike how Edison thought, creating for humanity, inventing things that mattered. Edison didn't just invent to invent; he changed lives. I wanted Apple to be like that -- to make products that empowered, connected, and uplifted people in the same way he'd lighted up their lives.
After returning to California, I chose the electronics industry as my lifelong goal. A year later, I started Apple with a few friends in an abandoned garage..."
Inside the cafe, Eric gently stirred his coffee, patiently listening to Jobs' eloquent talk. Such an opportunity didn't come around often. Though Eric wasn't fond of Jobs' personality, he greatly admired his talent.
After a good ten minutes, Eric couldn't hold back any longer. "Steve, have you ever reflected on yourself?"
Jobs' annoyance at being interrupted flashed across his face before he shot back, "Reflect? Why should I reflect?"
"For instance, why were you pushed out of Apple?"
Jobs responded seriously, "No, Eric, I wasn't pushed out. I voluntarily left Apple."
Eric shrugged. "See, that's your character flaw. You refuse to compromise. That's why both you and Apple have hit a dead end. If a few years ago you had made the right compromises with the board, you might still be at Apple. Given your abilities, reclaiming leadership would have been a cinch."
Jobs countered, "Once I made one compromise, they would force me into a second, a third, and so on."
Eric chuckled softly and shook his head, recognizing that convincing an arrogant young genius was impossible. With Pixar now in his hands, he wasn't sure if Jobs would ever return to Apple.
In his past life, Jobs achieved such dazzling successes not only due to his talent and determination but also a hefty slice of luck. If he had sold Pixar earlier, there would have been no Toy Story and its subsequent brilliance, and it was more likely he would have been mocked instead of celebrated. In that scenario, a struggling Apple might have preferred bankruptcy to calling Jobs back.
Eric wasn't trying to convince Jobs. He decided to shift the conversation to the reason for their meeting. "Let's talk about Pixar, Steve. Since you sought me out, you've accepted my offer, right?"
Jobs hesitated. The reason he arranged this meeting was to see if he could persuade Eric to raise his offer during face-to-face negotiations. He was quite confident in his oratory skills.
Unfortunately, after speaking so much, this young man either kept interrupting him or showed no signs of being swayed. Ultimately, he knew that if he mentioned a price increase, Eric would walk away just like during their last phone call.
"Eric, I'll accept the $20 million offer, but it has to be paid in full."
"Not a problem," Eric said, setting down his coffee cup and snapping his fingers cheerfully.
Jobs regarded Eric, who had appeared composed the whole time but was suddenly displaying excitement. In that moment, he wondered if he had unknowingly made a huge mistake.
But having made a decision, Jobs wouldn't back down. He was someone who rarely had regrets. So he immediately asked, "Eric, are you interested in personal computers?"
Eric raised an eyebrow, quickly grasping Jobs' intent. "You want me to invest in your Next computer company?"
"Exactly. Personal computers are a highly promising electronic product. Just look at the development figures of IBM's personal computer business over the past few years. Just last year..."
"Hold on, Steve, I'm not interested in those professional statistics. I'll only ask this: if I invest in Next, will you accept my suggestions regarding company operations?"
"Ah... Eric, you only need to invest $50... no, $30 million, plus the $20 million for Pixar, and I'll have enough funds to implement a really excellent idea I had in mind. I'm certain it will yield substantial profits for you."
"So, I'd only be in charge of investing and sharing in the profits, without any say in managing the computer company?"
Jobs nodded. After the Apple incident, he wouldn't forfeit his absolute leadership again. "Eric, you're an excellent director, but I believe I understand electronics far better than you ever could."
Initially, Eric was tempted. However, after Jobs laid it all out, he could only shake his head. "Then, I have to decline!"
"Uh, Eric, I have a project proposal here. Maybe you could take a look -- it's actually..."
"No need," Eric interrupted, waving away Jobs' words. "Steve, I know you're imaginative, and I believe in your talent. But I won't pour my money into something I can't control at all. Just as you stubbornly believe in your ideas, I'm stubborn too. When our philosophies don't align, conflicts like those at Apple from a few years ago might resurface."
Jobs stopped reaching into his bag for documents. He had thought persuading an eighteen-year-old would be a piece of cake with his silver tongue. Unfortunately, Eric wasn't buying it, which sparked a fraction of anger in the proud Jobs.
"Well, that's quite unfortunate," Jobs replied calmly, holding back his frustration. "Do you need to visit Pixar first? I hope we can finalize our deal soon."
Eric pondered for a moment. "I can't tomorrow; Pretty Woman just premiered, and I have to fly to New York the day after for my girlfriend's birthday..."
In Jobs' mind, a movie premiere stood as a significant event, but a girlfriend's birthday seemed less pressing when it came to the Pixar deal. "Eric, maybe you could just send a gift to your girlfriend. After all, it seems you don't just have one girlfriend."
Eric looked at Jobs with disbelief. "Well, perhaps I might..."
But Jobs immediately tapped the table lightly to cut Eric off. "Fine then, let's do the day after. A girlfriend's birthday is quite important!"
...
While he claimed to have things to do the next day, the truth was Eric had nothing pressing to tend to. Yet, every director wrestled with the anxiety that came with a film's release, and at that moment, Eric couldn't shift his focus to Pixar.
Fox had arranged everything perfectly. Since the premiere was far larger than the critics' screenings, the reviews for Pretty Woman started to polarize the next morning.
Apart from his usual newspaper subscriptions, Eric picked up over a dozen papers first thing and read every review about Pretty Woman. Out of the seventeen total reviews, there were nine praises, five mixed with both praise and criticism, and the remaining three were brutally critical.
Calculating in his head, Eric determined that the favorable review rate was about 75. In the realm of movie review websites in his past life, this score could be considered quite high.
With the positive reviews maintaining, Eric finally eased his worries. After breakfast, he drove to Fox's headquarters in Century City. Because it wasn't the busy movie season, Fox easily secured 1900 screens for Pretty Woman, a number considered blockbuster status in those days.
...
For his previous two films, Eric had only received box office data a week later. Now, he had reached the point where he could get daily box office figures from inside Fox.
Starting at dawn, Eric, Jeffrey, and several high-level executives gathered anxiously in a meeting room, even Fox's president Barry Diller stayed against the odds. Though the room was large and the windows were wide open, the air was thick with cigar smoke. Meanwhile, seven or eight staff members busily made calls outside, taking notes on box office numbers.
After an hour, the day's box office finally came in. The statistician handed the data to the executives, and they all crowded around to see.
Carlin Hunt, sitting at the outer edge, was the first to glimpse the numbers. "Whoa, $4.36 million! Another Home Alone!"
Upon seeing the figure of $4.36 million on the report, Eric finally breathed a sigh of relief and let the tension ease.
Cheers erupted in the meeting room, and everyone shook off their drowsiness entirely.
Jeffrey noted, "With this, tomorrow's box office should be even higher, maybe reaching $5 million. The weekend could pull in $15 million, and next Tuesday is Valentine's Day; the box office could really surge then. On weekday's we might also rack up $10 million."
Carlin smilingly countered, "Jeffrey, you're being a bit conservative in your calculations. Valentine's Day box office will overshadow the weekend. I believe the first week's box office will easily surpass Home Alone."
Seeing everyone so overly excited with their sights set on Home Alone, Eric knew that was impossible. Perhaps due to the massive promotional push, the first week's box office would indeed be high, but there was no way it could sustain itself the following week.
Thinking of this, Eric couldn't help but bring them back to reality. "The key is that the box office drop next week will be substantial; after all, this isn't the holiday season. So let's not compare ourselves with Home Alone. That one had six consecutive weeks grossing over $20 million."
Everyone present were professionals, well aware that Eric was speaking the truth.
Barry Diller said, "Eric, just focus on preparing your next film. Fox will fully support you if you need anything."
Feigning ignorance of Fox's intention to involve itself in his next film, Eric smiled. "If possible, let Fox handle the celebratory banquet."
Barry Diller didn't mind Eric's act and replied, "Haha, Fox is happy to cover that expense. We'll set it up for next week at the Beverly Hilton."
*****
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