The promotional tour for the hangover lasted over a month, with its final stop in Japan.
However, Reese Witherspoon ultimately did not get to meet Princess Diana.
The crew only stayed in the UK for three days before leaving in a hurry, as the hangover was indeed not a film suitable for a princess to attend.
After all, when the film premiered in the UK, Diana had not yet divorced Prince Charles; their official divorce was on August 28, 1996, six days after the film's release.
By the time the divorce news was officially announced, the crew had already flown to the next country.
However, when they returned to the United States, Reese was still very surprised by the overwhelming news of Diana and Charles' divorce.
"Phew… let me rest for a bit."
As soon as Kazir returned to his accommodation, he lay on the bed, closed his eyes, and didn't want to move a muscle.
For the past two months, they had been on a non-stop promotional tour, flying around the globe again and again, and were utterly exhausted.
As August ended, the summer box office season officially concluded.
Although there were new films released in September, they generally didn't make much of a splash—studios usually relegated uncertain films to September, just as Se7en was released in September last year.
Speaking of Se7en, the film finally ended its theatrical run, with global box office surpassing 400 million.
Now, its videotapes are already on sale, one can buy a copy for thirty dollars, and a deluxe edition hasn't even been released yet.
"Blank videotapes are very cheap; a few years ago I bought ten for seven dollars. But prerecorded movie tapes are expensive, about forty-five times the price of blank tapes."
This is also why studios make big money from videotape distribution; the profit margin is much higher than the cost.
After all, Theater Alliance takes a significant cut of the box office, and studios usually only get sixty to seventy percent.
Take napoleon dynamite, for example: its North America box office reached 149 million, and Theater Alliance (including major players like AMC, Regal Cinemas, and Cinemark, plus a bunch of smaller theaters) took 59.6 million, leaving Fox Searchlight Pictures with 89.4 million.
It's worth noting that they spent 2.3 million on buying the rights and another 5 million on promotion and distribution, which means they were left with 82.1 million—for a new company like Fox Searchlight Pictures, this figure was already astonishing enough.
However, they signed an agreement with Kazir, where he would receive 5% of the box office—not profit, but pure box office revenue sharing.
So, Fox Searchlight Pictures had to give him 7.45 million, leaving a net profit of 74.65 million, before taxes… It's no exaggeration to say that the videotape market saved Hollywood.
Without the invention of the VCR, how many studios would have gone bankrupt?
"If I remember correctly, Fox Searchlight Pictures priced napoleon dynamite's videotape at 27 dollars, and sold 3 million copies in the first two months, which is already 81 million…"
This number will continue to grow throughout the year, meaning the company has a stable additional income, not to mention the revenue share from videotape rentals.
Kazir opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling, feeling a bit dazed; in just two years, he had reached such a level.
After his rebirth in November 1994, he first went to New Line Cinema to sell screenplays, working there for almost five months, then asked his brother to invest in filming napoleon dynamite, selling the rights to Fox Searchlight Pictures, and earning his first pot of gold.
"I bet some people will be sour, saying that half of napoleon dynamite's profit went to Allan… Let them say what they want. Without his help, I wouldn't be where I am today. Besides, he's my older brother."
But the hangover is different.
Kazir couldn't help but laugh out loud at this thought; 10% of the North America box office was all his.
He had already received 5 million in remuneration and was considering buying a house!
Warner Bros.'s contract clearly stated that if the hangover's box office exceeded 100 million, he would automatically receive a 10% share.
It was late August, and the movie had been released for over sixty days, with a box office of 261 million.
This meant he would get another 26 million!
"Not bad… No, this is absolutely perfect! Haha!" He lay on the bed, laughing out loud again.
Money, some people always say it's the root of all evil, that money can't buy happiness.
But one thing is certain: he has money now, and he is genuinely happy.
"What should I do next…" Kazir knew his next project was a risk.
In fact, quite a few studios had already inquired.
"Terry Semel has been unhappy for a while, saying I shouldn't not make comedies, and should just do the hangover 2. He has a point—making comedies is indeed safer, especially since I've never made an action film. But I just want to make an action film… Damn it, I even have a complete cinematic universe in my head!"
Kazir yawned, his consciousness gradually blurring.
No rush, there's plenty of time to think.
Anyway, the first two films were hits, so there will always be discerning people willing to work with him.