章 29: Chapter 29: The Final Box Office
In the following days, Duke communicated more with Zack Snyder, who, during his time off, shared some of the commercials and scenic clips he had shot, along with his work diary from various advertising teams. Duke began to recognize his capabilities to some extent.
After attending a gala hosted by the Lancome Group with his mother, Duke returned to Los Angeles. He first registered as a member of the Screenwriters Guild and formally copyrighted his script. Then he negotiated with Nancy Josephson. After lengthy discussions, he finally signed a contract with ICM in June.
Meanwhile, his second script was handed over to Nancy for handling, which was the role of an agent.
*Speed* was now in its eighth week of release in North America. During the fierce summer season, the film's potential had nearly been exhausted, with daily box office numbers dropping below $300,000. The number of theaters showing the film had shrunk to less than 400, mostly in remote areas. Mainstream commercial theaters had better choices during the summer season, and in the seventh week, when the film's box office took a significant dip, it was almost entirely pulled from theaters.
However, the total North American box office for the film had reached $124.78 million!
This made it the second film to break $100 million at the North American box office this year, aside from *Basic Instinct*. More importantly, halfway through 1992, *Speed* temporarily became the highest-grossing film in North America!
"Over the past period…"
As the head of CAA, Michael Ovitz coldly scanned the people sitting around the conference table. "We have made a significant mistake. Not only did we let *Speed*, a film that could have been a classic case of CAA's packaged services, slip through our fingers, but we also encountered failures with *Alien 3*!"
His wrath was directed squarely at Lovett, who sat at the end of the table. "Why did Duke Rosenberg sign with Nancy Josephson and not you? Do you know what a director in the $100 million club means for CAA?"
"And your idiot Rick Solomon needs to be sidelined! Just look at his ridiculous performance in *Alien 3*; it's like watching a clown from a circus!"
Lovett shrank back, afraid to say a word.
During this time, Lovett had sensed his standing in the company quietly shifting. Once the brightest among the newcomers, known for his sharp eye, now he felt he could be sent back to the mailroom at any moment.
Thinking of this, Lovett regretted not using the resources available to him and CAA to sabotage *Speed*.
However, this was just a fleeting thought. Lovett knew the company wouldn't risk a fallout with Fox over a project produced by Lucasfilm. There was no question about which was more important: CAA's relationship with George Lucas and the Star Wars series, or Fox.
Initially, Lovett had hoped to become one of Mel Gibson's co-managers, but that now seemed unlikely.
"Martin…" Michael Ovitz spoke again. "Are the theaters still unwilling to extend *Alien 3*'s screening time?"
"Yes," replied Martin Bob, the project manager for *Alien 3*, his tone tinged with suppressed disappointment. "The film has been out for four weeks, and it hasn't even reached $35 million at the North American box office. The Emperor Theater and AMG have already sent a final notice to Fox, stating that the film can only remain in their theaters for two more weeks."
CAA's packaging strategy wasn't without failures, but for a series like *Alien*, which had such a high reputation and audience base, encountering such a setback was bound to affect their future promotional efforts for bundled projects.
During this period, 20th Century Fox underwent a new round of personnel changes. With the immense success of *Speed* and persuading George Lucas to restart the Star Wars series, Tom Rothman, after fierce internal competition, finally secured the position of CEO at 20th Century Fox.
In Rothman's freshly renovated office, Duke's new agent, Nancy Rosenberg, was making an impassioned plea.
"Tom, do you think the script isn't good enough? Or that Duke's performance in *Speed* isn't convincing?"
Leaning forward in his chair, Nancy displayed a hint of pressure. "*Speed*'s final North American box office is likely to exceed $130 million. This performance absolutely qualifies it for the top ten or even the top five of this year! And Duke's new script continues the thrills, excitement, and stimulation of *Speed*, with even deeper themes—this is Duke's specialty. *Speed* has proven this, and there's no reason it won't succeed!"
Looking at the script on the desk, Tom Rothman admitted it was indeed better than *Speed*'s script, but a great script doesn't necessarily translate into a blockbuster film, especially since the projected budget for Duke's script was far higher than that of *Speed*.
When facing investments in the tens of millions, any company would be cautious.
"Nancy…"
After some consideration, Tom Rothman said, "I personally think highly of this script, but you know, 20th Century Fox has a strict project review process. I will expedite the script's review phase, but you and Duke will need to wait for the final outcome."
Upon hearing this, Nancy leaned back in her chair. This was exactly the result she wanted.
As an experienced agent, she knew that getting a film greenlit in a studio was never simple. The larger the company, the stricter the review process. It wasn't uncommon for a script from a well-known Hollywood screenwriter to take months to get a response from one of the big six or second-tier studios.
She was pushing Tom Rothman to speed up this process so they could enter substantive project negotiations.
Of course, Duke and Nancy wouldn't rely solely on Fox.
Leaving the Fox building, Nancy quickly used her connections at ICM to schedule meetings with leaders from Paramount, TriStar, Universal, and Warner Bros. to present the script to these giants. With *Speed* as a foundation, even if Duke's new work didn't gain much attention, it wouldn't be left to gather dust.
Although some showed interest, no company was willing to make any commitments. No company would make a snap decision without a risk assessment or preliminary market research. Even if the CEO made a promise, it wouldn't hold much weight.
For example, Warner Bros. had an eight-person project review committee. Scripts or projects that reached the review stage must pass the majority vote from seven of the committee members before being sent to the company's higher-ups for discussion and decision.
If a CEO or other executive attempted to make a unilateral decision outside the review committee, the company's board could trigger accountability measures, forcing their dismissal.
Even independent films faced similar complexity in getting greenlit.
Of course, if an investor was willing to be the "fool," taking on two-thirds or more of the investment in a project that some within the studio believed in, the process could be greatly expedited, similar to how Duke's mother, Leah Rosenberg, invested in *Speed*.
Even then, Leah had first signed a $2 million minimum profit-sharing agreement, ensuring that no matter the outcome of *Speed*, Lucasfilm wouldn't lose money. This was how *Speed* managed to get the green light.
When Leah's investment became known, people like Annie Spielberg mocked her for being foolish. Now, no one would say that, especially when Duke heard rumors that his mother had run into Annie at several parties after returning to Los Angeles and that Annie had avoided her and left early every time.
Fortunately, only Duke and his mother knew about this little dispute, and neither of them was one to gossip; otherwise, Annie Spielberg would have faced severe embarrassment in the industry.
As time slowly moved into late June, *Alien 3*'s box office showed no signs of recovery. After just six weeks of release, it was forcibly pulled from North American theaters, ultimately grossing over $45 million—barely enough to recover its production costs. The losses didn't just impact 20th Century Fox; they also temporarily shelved another CAA bundled project, *Interview with the Vampire*.
In contrast, *Speed*, which had premiered four weeks earlier, had lingered in theaters for an additional week, with its North American box office finally surpassing the $130 million mark, stopping at $130.02 million. Although *Sister Act*, which released the previous month, was catching up quickly, *Speed* still retained its title as the highest-grossing film in North America for 1992—at least for the time being.
With the film leaving theaters and under strong demands from Lucasfilm, preparations were made to divide the spoils of *Speed* regarding production, investment, and distribution.
According to North American regulations, a film that screens for an extended period will have the theaters pay the distributor for the first revenue split after 28 days, with subsequent splits varying according to agreements and screening duration. Most films receive their box office shares within a week of leaving theaters.
However, once the distributor receives this money, when they choose to pay the production team and other investors remains uncertain.
Especially for personal producers, distributors can delay payments for months or even years. Even the most reputable major studios often engage in questionable practices regarding payments, leading to numerous cases reaching the Delaware Commercial Court.
In other words, never overestimate the moral standards of Hollywood companies.
This was also why Duke sought to partner with production companies or well-known producers. When it came to negotiations with Lucasfilm, 20th Century Fox would never let a few million dollars lead to a greater loss.
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