Affected by the impact of *Jurassic Park*, the box office performance of other films in North American theaters during the first week of the Christmas season was disappointing.
Usually, as the holidays approach, most movies around Christmas experience a reverse decline, but this did not happen this time. Even *Home Alone 2*, which best fit the holiday theme, saw a significant 17% drop in box office data during the week of December 18 to December 24.
In its fifth week of release, *Home Alone 2* grossed $10.29 million, bringing its cumulative box office to $132.05 million.
Because of this, the Daenerys Entertainment distribution team had to lower its domestic box office expectations for *Home Alone 2*. The original highest expectation of $200 million was certainly difficult to achieve, and in the best-case scenario, it was estimated to only reach around $170 million, similar to its original timeline.
Robin Williams' fantasy comedy *Toys*, which opened at the same time as *Jurassic Park*, was a direct flop, with only $5.31 million in box office revenue during its first seven days.
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In the same week, on Monday, December 21, the nominations for the 50th Golden Globe Awards for Film and Television were officially announced.
Daenerys Entertainment's *The Crying Game* received three nominations: Best Picture – Drama, Best Supporting Actor, and Best Screenplay. *Scent of a Woman*, a key film for the 1993 awards season, received six nominations: Best Picture – Drama, Best Actor – Drama, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor, and Best Screenplay.
With the announcement of the nominations, both films once again garnered media and public attention.
*The Crying Game*, which opened on September 25, had been in theaters for 13 weeks as of December 24, with a cumulative North American box office of $51.63 million. Its weekly box office had also fallen below $4 million, with only $3.13 million in revenue during the seven days from December 18 to December 24.
High Gate Pictures had already shifted its promotional focus to *Scent of a Woman*. Therefore, taking advantage of the awards season and appropriately expanding its screening scale, *The Crying Game* was expected to earn another $15 million, with its final North American domestic box office projected to be between $65 million and $70 million.
Compared to the film's production cost of $3 million, this was already a miracle.
*Scent of a Woman*, which opened on November 13, officially expanded its screen count on November 27 after two weeks of limited release.
As of December 24, after four weeks of wide release, *Scent of a Woman* had accumulated $30.11 million at the box office.
Considering the awards season in the coming months, *Scent of a Woman* would become the focus of Daenerys Entertainment's awards campaign. This literary drama starring Al Pacino was expected to achieve a domestic total box office at least comparable to *The Crying Game*.
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On December 25, the second week of the Christmas season, three new films continued to open in North American theaters.
Warner Bros. Pictures' *Forever Young*, starring Mel Gibson, opened on 1,710 screens.
In Simon's memory, the original female lead of the film was Jamie Lee Curtis. This time, the female lead was replaced by Meg Ryan.
This was clearly the influence of Simon, the great butterfly.
However, Simon did not personally interfere. He had hoped that Jamie Lee Curtis would still be the female lead, but thinking about Curtis, who was full of tomboyishness, it was impossible for her to create any sparks with Mel Gibson. And since it wasn't a Daenerys Entertainment film, the worse it was, the better.
Of course, even if the female lead was replaced by the more likable Meg Ryan, *Forever Young* was destined to be crushed by *Jurassic Park* in this year-end slot.
The other two new films:
Paramount Pictures' *Leap of Faith*, starring Steve Martin, told the story of a con artist touring the country performing. It opened on 1,554 screens.
20th Century Fox's *Hoffa*, a biographical crime drama starring Jack Nicholson, was clearly aimed at the awards season, opening on 1,066 screens.
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New York, Long Island.
Inside a synagogue in East Hampton.
The date was December 27.
At ten o'clock in the morning, Steve Ross's funeral was held here.
The Jewish rabbi introduced Ross's life, followed by relatives, friends, and colleagues who successively gave eulogies. The funeral lasted until noon, and everyone returned to the Ross family's estate in East Hampton for a meal.
Lunch was served buffet style, and the atmosphere was somewhat solemn.
"Simon, I've been thinking about something recently. I hope to dedicate *Schindler's List* to Steve as well."
In the living room of the estate villa, Simon and his wife once again offered their condolences to Ross's widow, Courtney Ross, when Steven Spielberg suddenly said this.
*Schindler's List* in memory was a Universal Pictures production, but the end of the film also specifically marked "Dedicated to Steve Ross."
Simon, at this moment, naturally didn't mind and nodded, saying, "Of course, no problem, Steven. *Schindler's List* is entirely up to you."
Spielberg originally wanted to explain his specific ideas, but seeing Simon say this, he no longer said much, only a few more glances of gratitude in his eyes.
Courtney Ross also had a touched expression: "Oh, Steven, and Simon, thank you so much."
"It's what we should do, Ms. Ross."
"Well," Courtney Ross looked at Simon and said, "Simon, next month, I'm planning to organize a memorial service for Steve. Can you find time to attend?"
Simon paused, and facing Courtney Ross's eager gaze, he still nodded: "Okay, just let me know then."
Janet, standing quietly beside Simon with a plate, heard this conversation and imperceptibly pursed her lips.
Speaking of which, Courtney Ross was Steve Ross's third wife, more than twenty years younger than Ross, a classic example of an older husband and younger wife. Compared to Steve Ross's high emotional intelligence in dealing with people, Courtney Ross seemed less likable in this circle.
For example, the recent invitation.
Given Simon and Ross's not-so-deep friendship, being able to specifically rush back from Australia to attend this funeral was already a great gesture.
Ross's memorial service should ideally have been invited privately. If Simon had time to attend, that would be great. If not, a quiet refusal would not hurt feelings. Bringing it up at lunch after the funeral, in front of others, Simon could only agree to avoid obvious awkwardness.
Moreover, in front of Spielberg, who had an almost father-son relationship with Ross, Courtney Ross was a bit too enthusiastic towards Simon, which inevitably made her seem somewhat opportunistic.
Courtney Ross apparently did not realize this.
This woman perhaps only saw that with Simon's current wealth and status, his attendance at Ross's memorial service would certainly add a few points of glory to the event. As for Spielberg beside her, she probably thought that even if she didn't mention it, he would naturally attend Ross's memorial service.
A moment later, Robert Daly and Terry Semel, two of Ross's confidantes, came over to say hello.
Everyone chatted softly for a few moments, and Spielberg, with good sense, voluntarily walked away.
Janet glanced at Courtney Ross, who was still standing motionless, and had no choice but to step forward and say, "Court, could you introduce everyone to me?"
Courtney Ross, hearing the previously somewhat cold Janet initiate conversation with her, quickly nodded and smiled, "Oh, of course."
After the two women also left, Robert Daly was the first to speak: "Simon, I've seen some information about Fashion TV. Frankly, the cable television industry truly lacks a professional fashion channel. This plan should be very promising, and Warner will certainly do its best to cooperate to get this channel online as soon as possible."
As Ross's two deputies, Terry Semel was mainly responsible for film business, while Robert Daly oversaw Warner's cable television operator business, primarily Warner Cable. As for HBO, a cable television station, it actually belonged to the Time Inc. system.
Daenerys Entertainment's plan to launch Fashion TV would certainly require the cooperation of cable television operators.
Simon, of course, understood Robert Daly's intention to show goodwill through Fashion TV. He smiled and said, "Actually, Fashion TV is mainly to assist in promoting brands like Gucci. I'm not confident if it will succeed. By the way, how have things been for you two these past few days?"
The two exchanged glances, and Terry Semel said, "The board of directors plans to hold an extraordinary general meeting on January 5th, where the company's management will be determined."
Today is December 27th, more than a week away from January 5th.
Simon did a quick mental calculation and then said, "Actually, Steve discussed this with me in the first half of the year, and he should have informed you both. I also don't want the current good cooperation between Daenerys Entertainment and Time Warner to be damaged. Therefore, I will do my best to support both of you in jointly serving as co-CEOs of Time Warner. If you need any help, you can contact me anytime."
Steve Ross's successor, Gerald Levin, had been somewhat downcast these days due to the leaked internal meeting. Especially with the massive box office success of *Jurassic Park*, Gerald Levin, who had confidently vowed to renegotiate with Daenerys Entertainment, became even more passive.
Coupled with the recent sharp decline in Time Warner's stock price caused by a series of events such as internal power struggles and Ross's death, the Warner board of directors and major shareholders had many complaints about Gerald Levin.
If Simon could wholeheartedly support Robert Daly and Terry Semel at this time, it was not impossible for the two to fully take charge of Time Warner.
And the method was very simple.
They only needed to pressure Time Warner's board of directors and shareholders with Daenerys Entertainment's cooperation with Time Warner on the DC Extended Universe.
Since the merger of Time Warner, the most prominent project in recent years had been the DC Extended Universe. This plan not only represented substantial profits but also largely affected market confidence in Time Warner.
Once the DC Extended Universe plan encountered problems, Time Warner's stock price would certainly continue to plummet significantly.
For Daenerys Entertainment, not to mention Marvel, which was in a state of development, just the recently released *Jurassic Park* was enough to show that Daenerys Entertainment's reliance on the DC Extended Universe was far lower than Time Warner's. Therefore, Daenerys Entertainment had a great deal of initiative in front of Time Warner.
However, hearing Simon say this, Robert Daly and Terry Semel both realized that Simon did not intend to interfere too much in the leadership change at Time Warner.
Of course, the two of them were not entirely unaware of some of the intricacies involved.
Daenerys and Time Warner were, after all, competitors. An internally chaotic competitor was certainly more in Daenerys Entertainment's interest than a competitor with stable management.
In addition, there was another point.
The two of them couldn't offer Simon any leverage to help them ascend at this time.
To ensure that cooperation between the two sides did not go awry, Westeros could publicly support them to jointly serve as Time Warner's CEO, but without other benefits, the other party could not do too much more.
As for deeper factors, in reality, even if they truly held complete power at Time Warner, neither of them intended to directly oppose Daenerys Entertainment.
After all, Time Warner was a publicly traded company, and they were merely professional managers.
As professional managers, as long as they could lead the company to its best performance during their tenure, achieve the highest profits, and receive their due compensation, that was already enough. As for a company's long-term planning, neither of them felt they had such an obligation. In fact, for Time Warner, a company plagued by internal struggles, even if they wanted to take on such an obligation, it would be highly unlikely.
Time Warner was not Daenerys; in this company, where factions were numerous, each faction had its own demands.
Simon had already spoken with Gerald Levin once while in Australia, and he had generally expressed his stance during that call.
The three briefly discussed the matter. Simon agreed that Daenerys Entertainment would issue some more statements in the media to ensure that the shareholders' meeting on January 5th would not encounter any other unforeseen circumstances, but Simon did not intend to do anything more.
After a simple lunch and greeting those they needed to, Simon and his wife returned to Manhattan together.
They had a dinner reservation with the Rebould family in the evening, and Robert Iger's family would also be attending.
Although they returned early, they didn't plan to immediately go back to Los Angeles to work. Instead, they intended to spend the New Year in New York, and various activities had been arranged for the following days.
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Unbeknownst to them, the last week of 1992 finally passed.
During the week of December 25th to December 31st, *Jurassic Park* continued its unstoppable momentum. In its second week of release, the film's decline was only 21%, which was an excellent performance compared to its super high opening week box office of $91.38 million. In its second week, *Jurassic Park* continued to rake in $72.17 million, bringing its cumulative box office to a rapid $163.55 million.
*Forever Young*, which ranked second on the weekly chart, earned only $15.18 million in its opening week, far below Warner's expectations. Compared to *Jurassic Park*'s $72.17 million box office, the disparity was staggering.
Considering that the Christmas season would end next week, *Forever Young*, with a production cost of $30 million, might only have a total North American box office between $30 million and $40 million.
*Home Alone 2* ranked third, and due to Christmas, it once again grossed $9.98 million with an ultra-low decline of 3%. After six weeks of release, its cumulative box office was $142.03 million.
Fox's *Hoffa* had an opening week box office of $8.71 million, ranking fourth.
Given the film's final overall media score of only 5.4, this biographical crime drama clearly had little chance of making an impact during awards season.
Paramount's comedy *Leap of Faith*, starring Steve Martin, had an opening week box office of $7.37 million, ranking fifth, also falling short of expectations.
In fact, among the top five films on the weekly chart, the combined box office of *Forever Young* and the other four films was still less than that of *Jurassic Park* alone.
Relying on the momentum brought by *Jurassic Park*, Daenerys Entertainment's statement about the need to ensure a stable transition of Time Warner's management immediately received positive responses from all parties within Time Warner.
Through this incident, Hollywood once again felt Daenerys Entertainment's increasingly powerful influence in the American media industry.