On December 18th, as the first week of the Christmas season began, the box office results for the past week were officially released.
From December 11th to December 17th, the weekly box office champion was once again claimed by *Home Alone 2*, which earned another $12.39 million in its fourth week of release.
The sequel to this phenomenal children's comedy has accumulated a total box office of $121.76 million during its run over the past month.
Considering that the weekly box office base is still above $10 million, *Home Alone 2* is expected to earn at least another $50 million in the future, with its total North American box office projected to be between $170 million and $200 million.
If it weren't for *Jurassic Park*, *Home Alone 2* would definitely be the hottest movie of this year-end season, spanning Thanksgiving and Christmas.
However, that could only be "if."
As the potential dispute between Daenerys Entertainment and Time Warner regarding the DC Extended Universe rapidly escalated in the media, the box office data for *Jurassic Park* also began to attract significant attention.
On December 18th, in addition to *Jurassic Park*, another fantasy comedy starring Robin Williams, *Toys*, was released in North America, opening on 1,272 screens. The film tells the story of two heirs to a toy factory who compete for control using toys.
Compared to *Jurassic Park*'s comprehensive media score of 9.3 after its premiere, Robin Williams' new film's reputation could only be described as disastrous, with a dismal comprehensive media score of only 3.2.
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Inside a high-end apartment in Manhattan's Upper East Side.
Ever since his remarks at the Wednesday meeting were exposed, Gerald Levin had been in a state of anxiety. The overwhelming success of *Jurassic Park* after its opening yesterday only added to Levin's vexation.
As expected, Steve Ross would likely not survive this Christmas. If he had known this earlier, he would not have been so eager to seize power.
Unfortunately, what's done is done, and it's too late for regrets.
Now, he could only hope that the power transition within Time Warner would proceed without any hitches.
Moreover, the biggest variable in this situation lay with a certain young man.
Gerald Levin, of course, understood the importance of the DC Extended Universe to Time Warner. His remarks at the last meeting were merely a rhetorical strategy to squeeze Ross's faction. At least, deep down, he had no real intention of renegotiating with Daenerys Entertainment. If the DC Extended Universe project were to be jeopardized, even if he successfully became the CEO of Time Warner, he could very likely be ousted.
He just didn't expect someone to directly expose this matter.
Gerald Levin was almost certain that Terry Semel was behind it.
However, he couldn't attack the other party for it.
Firstly, he had indeed said the things exposed in the media. Even if they were somewhat distorted, most of the facts could not be refuted.
Secondly, there was no evidence. Even if the other party broke the rules, without evidence, he couldn't do anything to Terry Semel.
Daenerys Entertainment's reaction to this matter didn't seem particularly intense, yet Gerald Levin remained uneasy.
The key was the young man's silence.
Although he had called Simon Westeros a "young punk" at the Wednesday meeting, he understood what it meant to be a "young punk" with a fortune of $65 billion.
Gerald Levin also remembered *The Bodyguard* soundtrack incident from back then, and thus understood that the young man, who always seemed to lack aggression, often struck without mercy once he made a move.
If the other party intervened in Time Warner's internal power struggle because of his remarks at the Wednesday meeting, it was hard to say what would happen.
Steve Ross's ability to maintain his position as the head of Time Warner for so long was, to a large extent, due to the support of a large number of top Hollywood filmmakers. During the most difficult years for Warner Bros. in the 1980s, the board of directors also initiated action to remove Ross. The result was that a large group of Hollywood bigwigs, including Steven Spielberg, Clint Eastwood, and Barbra Streisand, collectively voiced their support for Ross in the media, ultimately leading to the removal attempt fizzling out.
Simon Westeros's influence in Hollywood at this time absolutely far surpassed that of Spielberg and others.
Moreover, Daenerys Entertainment and Time Warner have a very close relationship due to their collaborations on the DC Extended Universe and other projects.
Even though Levin was widely considered by most to be the successor to the Time Warner chairman, there were still competitors within the company. Although Terry Semel and Robert Daly had slightly less experience than him, they would still be qualified to serve as Time Warner chairman if they had support.
These past few days, Levin had more than once wanted to proactively inquire about the other party's thoughts, yet he couldn't let go of his reserve and pride as an executive of a media group.
Unconsciously, another sleepless night passed.
Around four in the morning, the phone rang. Levin sat up directly in the large bed and picked up the receiver.
Ignoring his wife's disgruntled grumbling, Levin spoke a few words to the person on the other end, then got out of bed, went to his study, opened his computer, and logged onto the *Ygritte* portal website.
The bolded headline on the website was exceptionally eye-catching, even somewhat glaring.
*"Jurassic Park" earns $21.76 million on opening day, breaking Spielberg's box office record.*
Without clicking on the detailed news page, Gerald Levin felt a bitter taste in his mouth.
With $21.76 million on opening day, the first weekend's three-day box office should be around $60 million, and the first seven days, $90 million.
$90 million... Imagine that.
Spielberg's *Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade* three years ago only had a first-week box office of over $46 million.
*Jurassic Park*'s first-week box office reaching $90 million had already completely met the blockbuster level for a DC Extended Universe project.
At the Wednesday meeting, Levin's confidence in renegotiating with Daenerys Entertainment stemmed from the fact that Daenerys Entertainment also heavily relied on the DC Extended Universe and would not easily turn hostile.
Now, a single *Jurassic Park* completely overturned his argument.
More importantly, unlike the jointly owned DC Extended Universe, *Jurassic Park* was entirely Daenerys Entertainment's own project, with all profits going to them. In other words, a *Jurassic Park* with a box office volume comparable to a DC Extended Universe film would actually bring Daenerys Entertainment revenue equivalent to two DC Extended Universe projects.
Gerald Levin also knew that from the very beginning, Daenerys Entertainment's plan for *Jurassic Park* was a trilogy.
If we talk about reliance, Daenerys Entertainment, which has consistently occupied numerous spots on the annual box office charts in recent years, already had a less intense reliance on the DC Extended Universe than Time Warner.
Now, with *Jurassic Park* in the picture, the next question would likely be whether Daenerys Entertainment would want to renegotiate to share more profits from the DC Extended Universe plan.
After sitting in a daze in front of the computer for a moment, Gerald Levin finally picked up the phone and asked his assistant to arrange a call with Simon Westeros.
---
Simon, though in Melbourne, had been closely following the recent "excitement" in North America.
After Gerald Levin's remarks at the internal meeting were exposed, Simon quickly received a call from Terry Semel, who earnestly stated during the conversation that as long as he could continue to lead Warner Bros. Pictures, the DC Extended Universe project would absolutely not encounter any problems.
Subsequently, when the opening day box office for *Jurassic Park* was released, Levin's call also came in.
Simon's attitude towards this was mostly one of detached observation.
Having lived two lives, how could he not see through the intricate machinations?
Although, if he were to leverage his current influence, it would indeed be very hopeful to derail Gerald Levin's plan to succeed Ross, Simon couldn't think of any reason to do so.
Daenerys Entertainment and Time Warner are, after all, competitors in the media industry.
Anyone with a modicum of sense should understand that keeping a competitor in a state of unstable internal strife is far better than having a unified enemy.
Therefore, although Daenerys Entertainment appeared very aggressive in the media, showing no signs of backing down, privately, Simon's instructions to Amy Pascal were simple: just enjoy the show.
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The matter continued to stir until Sunday, December 20th, when another piece of news arrived.
Steve Ross passed away on the evening of December 20th at his East Hampton estate, at the age of 65. This media mogul, a contemporary of Rupert Murdoch and Sumner Redstone, largely succumbed to time.
North American media was inundated with news of Ross's passing, and a large number of Hollywood filmmakers expressed their condolences.
Simon did not return to North America to see Ross for the last time before his death. Although their relationship was good, it hadn't reached that level. However, Simon accepted the invitation from Ross's family and planned to attend his funeral a week later on December 27th.
For this, the return to North America had to be brought forward, meaning he couldn't spend New Year's in Melbourne.
While Time Warner expressed its condolences for Ross's passing, it did not immediately announce Ross's successor.
Clearly, the internal power struggle was still ongoing.
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The year-end box office in North America, however, would not be significantly affected by the death of a media mogul.
After an opening day of $21.76 million, *Jurassic Park* continued its unstoppable momentum, reaching a first-weekend box office of $60.31 million.
Ultimately, when the first week of screenings concluded, this prehistoric monster film, which delivered intense visual shock to audiences, had accumulated an astonishing $91.38 million in seven days.
Even though they were somewhat accustomed to the continuous box office miracles created by Daenerys Entertainment in recent years, most media outlets were still amazed by *Jurassic Park*'s first-week box office.
At the same time, Gerald Levin's remarks at the Warner internal meeting were once again hyped up by some media with ulterior motives.
A first-week gross of $91.38 million virtually guaranteed *Jurassic Park* a North American domestic box office starting at $300 million.
Given the subject matter of this dinosaur film, its overseas box office would not be far behind.
Furthermore, with the massive success of *Jurassic Park* at the box office, the film's merchandise sales quickly boomed. The development of *Jurassic Park* merchandise was directly showcased in the film's gift shop scenes. Moreover, the large number of dinosaur characters appearing in the film were indeed very suitable for merchandise development.
Although there were no official figures from Daenerys Entertainment, many media outlets had already determined that the estimated revenue from the *Jurassic Park* project alone was no less than that of a DC Extended Universe blockbuster.
More precisely, because DC Extended Universe projects were often collaborations between Daenerys and Time Warner, requiring profit sharing, the revenue from *Jurassic Park* could even be equivalent to the earnings from two DC Extended Universe films for Daenerys Entertainment.
Under these circumstances, Daenerys Entertainment should seemingly lean more towards developing *Jurassic Park*, even if it meant suppressing the DC Extended Universe for it, which would be entirely worthwhile.
Not only that, when *Jurassic Park*'s first weekend box office was released, Daenerys Entertainment executives had already revealed plans for a sequel.
This phenomenal dinosaur movie was planned as a trilogy from the very beginning.
The film's leading actress, Rene Russo, in an interview with *The Hollywood Reporter*, also confirmed that she had signed a three-film contract and revealed some more intriguing inside information for fans: just like the DC Extended Universe, Simon Westeros had planned out the trilogy's plot from the start.
Although Steven Spielberg subsequently stated in the media that his next focus would be to diligently complete *Schindler's List*, and he didn't seem particularly keen on directing a *Jurassic Park* sequel, with Simon Westeros himself as the foundation, no one doubted that the *Jurassic Park* series would falter without Spielberg.
Some media even criticized *Jurassic Park* for not being perfect, finding the plot too formulaic and the reliance on a little girl's screams to advance the story too forced. They suggested that if Spielberg opted out of directing, and Simon Westeros himself took the helm for the sequel, the quality might even be higher.
For traditional Hollywood major film studios, a successful trilogy is often enough to sustain them for a decade. Just like Paramount's *Indiana Jones* series in the 1980s, Universal's *Back to the Future* series, and Columbia Pictures' *Ghostbusters* series.
A blockbuster project like *Jurassic Park*, with a domestic box office starting at $300 million — let alone three films — even just this one, through its entire operation of global box office, video sales, television broadcasts, and merchandise development, would be enough to sustain a major film company for five years.
With such a blockbuster as its foundation, coupled with the fact that Daenerys Entertainment has consistently occupied numerous spots on the box office charts in recent years, the question now is whether Daenerys will renegotiate the profit distribution for the DC Extended Universe with Time Warner.