Chapter 410: Movie Release

Ryan Kavanaugh's party started normally but gradually became more indulgent. There was alcohol, drugs, and stripper performances, with money being thrown around. Kavanaugh even personally introduced two actresses to Link, hinting that he could do as he pleased on the yacht. Link declined. After dating a few girlfriends, his aesthetic standards had improved, and ordinary beautiful actresses held no attraction for him. Instead, when he saw unfamiliar women, he would automatically keep his distance to avoid misunderstandings.

Link and the Ellison siblings watched the performances for a while, and when the yacht approached the dock, they took the initiative to say goodbye. David Ellison originally wanted to stay overnight on the yacht, but Megan kicked him off.

"How was the party today?"

"Not bad!"

When it was time to get off work, Link happened to have time and personally drove to the Lionsgate office building to pick up CEO Ivanka Trump. Ivanka was wearing a sea-blue women's shirt tucked into a straight skirt, revealing her full and sexy figure. Combined with her cold and intellectual face and temperament, Link only needed one glance to feel that she could outshine all the women on the yacht.

"Kavanaugh is not a decent person, you'd better not get too close to him," Ivanka said, her ample hips pressing against the seat as she untied her golden hair in front of the mirror, letting it cascade over her shoulders. The air filled with the fragrance of her hair.

"I know!" Link nodded. He had also seen some gossip about Ryan Kavanaugh in the newspapers. Kavanaugh changed girlfriends frequently and was said to often engage in orgies in his office. He had even offered a $200,000 reward on the yacht for several female models and actresses to strip. He was a typical Hollywood player. Although Link was also fond of women, he didn't play that way.

"How's the company doing?"

"Not bad, much better than I expected," Ivanka said with a slight smile and began to tell him about the company's situation.

After taking office, Ivanka didn't interfere much with the company's projects, but spent over half a month familiarizing herself with the company's situation, including the production department, distribution department, television department, international department, as well as the company's debts and losses in the previous quarter.

Link had also wanted to get a clear picture of these things when he was in charge, but the workload was too heavy, and it was time-consuming, labor-intensive, and mentally taxing. He had handed this task over to Ivanka.

Ivanka said that Lionsgate was in good shape. Since 2000, Lionsgate had acquired several production and distribution companies, and also bought the rights to the films and TV series produced by those companies. Now, Lionsgate had over 12,000 film and TV episode copyrights in its library, similar to the album copyrights of music companies. Every year, they could earn over 100 million dollars in cash flow from the licensing fees of these films and TV shows on TV, the internet, and other channels.

After acquiring MGM's distribution channels, Lionsgate's film distribution capabilities had significantly improved, not much worse than Paramount's. Lionsgate's television department was continuing to produce the fifth season of "Mad Men," the third season of "Nurse Jackie," and three other TV series. The first two series had good ratings, and the company earned about 30 million dollars annually from TV series distribution and advertising revenue.

The film production department also had good production capabilities, releasing 22 films last year, 16 of which were released in theaters and 6 through DVD and videotape. Although most of them were low-budget films with generally low box office numbers, their production capabilities were among the best in the independent film industry.

The only problem now was the lack of money. Lionsgate hadn't made much profit from films this year and had a debt of 180 million dollars. The monthly interest and salaries were also a significant expense. The remaining funds available for film and TV production were less than 160 million dollars, while the production cost of "The Hunger Games" alone was as high as 8.5 million dollars. The remaining funds could only produce four or five low-budget films.

Including the four films already in production, Lionsgate would only have ten films released next year, less than half of the number in 2010.

Link thought for a moment. Ten films were fine. As long as "The Hunger Games," "The Conjuring," and "Mama" were made well, Lionsgate's box office figures wouldn't be bad next year.

"If you come across any promising film projects, don't let them go. If we lack money, we can continue to take out loans. A debt of 180 million dollars isn't a big pressure for me," Link said.

Ivanka smiled, "We've just entered the film industry and don't understand many things here. It's better to be cautious with investments in the early stages and not take too big of a step."

"You're right," Link said, kissing the back of her hand.

Ivanka smiled at him and leaned her head on his shoulder.

After the "Limitless" celebration party, Link accepted Paul Walker's invitation to attend the "Fast Five" celebration party. The film was released on April 29th and earned 82.6 million dollars at the North American box office in its opening weekend, setting a new record for the same period. In ten days, it grossed 300 million dollars worldwide, becoming the first film of the summer to surpass 300 million dollars globally.

Paul Walker also became a world-renowned star thanks to this film, with his salary for a single commercial film now approaching 10 million dollars. Link was happy for Paul and even beat him soundly in a car race.

While "Fast Five" was enjoying its success, "Bridesmaids," "Thor," and "Seeking Justice" were also starting their pre-release promotions. Because Link also starred in these films and his image appeared on the posters, he had to participate in several promotional events with the team.

"Mr. Baker, based on your psychological expectations, how much do you estimate the box office of this movie will be?" the host asked during a TV interview.

"I estimate it should be around 400 to 500 million," Link thought for a moment and said.

"400 to 500 million?!" The host's eyes widened in surprise.

The "Bridesmaids" crew members were also taken aback by this figure and looked at him in astonishment. The film's production and promotion budget was 32.5 million dollars, and the distribution department expected a maximum box office of 80 million dollars. Everyone originally thought 80 million dollars wasn't bad, but now Link was directly mentioning a box office of 400 to 500 million dollars, which was quite shocking.

"Boss, keep a low profile," Emma Stone said, her expression unchanged but her mouth moving slightly.

"I've seen this movie, and its quality is no less than the 'Hangover' series. It's also the best of its genre, so 400 to 500 million is a very reasonable figure," Link said with a smile.

"Mr. Baker, I hope you're right. Also, there are many entertainment news reports that 'Bridesmaids' and 'Seeking Justice' have been competing since the promotion started. Are you confident about this competition?" asked Rose, the host of Starz Movie Channel.

"I've also seen relevant news, but these two films have different themes and target different audiences, so there's no competition. I think the competitors for 'Bridesmaids' in the same period should be 'Fast Five' and 'Thor.' I hope 'Bridesmaids' can catch up to them in terms of box office performance," Link said, spreading his hands.

Beside him, Emma Stone lowered her head, her toes constantly tapping the sole of her shoe. It was too embarrassing. The production budgets of "Fast Five" and "Thor" were both over 100 million dollars, with expected global box office revenues of over 300 million dollars. "Fast Five" had already been released, and based on the current situation, it might even reach 600 to 700 million dollars. "Bridesmaids" was just a small-budget comedy film, how could it possibly catch up to "Fast Five"? The boss was indeed a 'big talker.'

After the film promotion interview, Emma Stone walked beside him, complaining that he was too boastful and that it was embarrassing to do interviews with him.

"This is promotion, you know? The purpose of promotion is to create hype. How can we create hype without creating topics?" Link said nonchalantly.

"But our movie's estimated box office is only 80 million dollars, and there are so many blockbusters released in the same period. It's difficult to even reach 100 million, and you're talking about 400 to 500 million. The gap is too big, aren't you embarrassed?" Emma Stone asked, blinking her hazel eyes.

"No, all the things that make you embarrassed are because you think too much. I only consider the current effect when I speak and don't worry about whether I'll be embarrassed later. Why worry about things that happen later now?" Link said.

Emma Stone looked at him helplessly, secretly wishing she could be as thick-skinned as him. Not worrying about embarrassment, not afraid of social death, doing whatever you want, saying whatever you want, that would be so cool.

"Boss, I have a gossip question. Many people say you bought Lionsgate for Jennifer. Is that true? I've always wanted to ask you in person, but you're too busy and I never had the chance," Emma Stone caught up to him and asked with a smile.

Link stopped in front of the car, turned to look at her, and smiled, "Have you heard a rumor that Harvey Weinstein has said he will not only ban me but also the artists of Palm Bay Talent Agency?"

Emma Stone thought for a moment and nodded. She had indeed heard this rumor in March and was a bit anxious at the time. But after Link bought Lionsgate, her anxiety suddenly disappeared. Every time she thought about her boss being the owner of the eighth largest film company in Hollywood, with more movies than he could make, she wanted to strut around.

Also, after Link bought Lionsgate, her treatment on set improved, and her interpersonal relationships became simpler. Everyone would smile at her when they saw her. It was unlike early March when Harvey threatened to ban Link and his artists, and everyone's attitude towards her was complicated.

"So I bought Lionsgate not just for Jennifer, but for you too. Go for it, Emma. Help me bring back three Oscars for Best Actress. I believe you can do it," Link said, clenching his fist and smiling.

"No problem, I can definitely do it," Emma Stone smiled and bumped her small fist against his.

After the bump, she suddenly remembered that Link's request was for three Oscars for Best Actress, and she immediately felt embarrassed. It was already quite good for an actress to win one Oscar for Best Supporting Actress. Link wanted her to win three Best Actress awards, which was too much to ask.

"Get in the car, don't just stand there. We have another interview below."

"Alright!" Emma Stone rolled her eyes and got into the car.

After the interview aired, many comments became hot news and even trended on Yahoo. These included: 'Link boldly claims 'Bridesmaids' is the best comedy of the summer, expecting global box office no less than 'The Hangover',' 'Link says 'Seeking Justice' is not a competitor for 'Bridesmaids,' but 'Fast Five' and 'Thor' are,' 'Link publicly discusses the purpose of acquiring Lionsgate, admitting it's related to several rumors in the entertainment industry,' 'Link says he won't give up acting after becoming the owner of Lionsgate and is preparing for a new film,' 'Link claims his fourth album is being recorded and is expected to be released in August or September,' and 'Link refuses to publicly discuss matters related to Taylor.'

Seeing these news headlines online and on TV, Emma Stone secretly admired Link's fame and ability to create hype. Just a few words from him could become hot news on major media and news websites, even trending. One promotional event for him was worth ten for the entire crew. He was too good.

Emma asked her executive agent, Ms. Peggy, if she could learn Link's hype methods.

Ms. Peggy said no. Link dared to say those things because he was worth over two billion dollars, spent eight hundred million to buy Lionsgate, and earned forty to fifty million from a single boxing match. If he estimated the movie's box office at 400 to 500 million dollars and was wrong, people would think he had a grand vision and didn't care about a few tens of millions of dollars. Ordinary people couldn't do that.

Emma thought for a moment and realized that was indeed the case.

After over a month of promotion, "Bridesmaids" was released in 2,520 theaters in North America on Friday, May 8th, ranking fifth in terms of screening rate for the same period. It earned 20.37 million dollars at the box office over the weekend.

It ranked third in the box office for the same period. The box office champion was "Thor," co-produced by Paramount Pictures and Marvel, which was released in 3,644 theaters and earned 66 million dollars in its opening weekend.

The second place was "Fast Five," released by Universal Pictures, which earned 32.52 million dollars in its second week, with a cumulative box office of 1.39 billion dollars. This was a significant drop compared to the previous week. The film's production cost was 125 million dollars, and it had already broken even, fully demonstrating its excellent box office performance.

Ranking fourth was the comedy "The Hangover Part II," released by Columbia Pictures, which was of the same genre as "Bridesmaids" and earned 13.7 million dollars at the box office.

Ranking fifth was the animated film "Rio," which had been released for four weeks and earned 8.2 million dollars this week, with a cumulative North American box office of 115 million dollars.

Sixth was "Seeking Justice," released by The Weinstein Company, which earned 6.8 million dollars in its opening weekend. Considering its 23 million dollar production budget, this was not bad.

Among the top ten films at the box office this week, there was another film that caught Link's attention. It was the comedy "Madea's Big Happy Family," produced and distributed by Lionsgate. In its third week of release, it earned 3.9 million dollars at the box office, ranking eighth for the same period, with a cumulative North American box office of 46.81 million dollars. Its production cost was only 15 million dollars.

It was expected to gross over 60 million dollars in North America, with a return on investment ratio of over 4:1, which was considered a box office success. Seeing the film's success, the production department immediately initiated plans for a sequel. This was a standard practice for all successful films, taking advantage of the popularity of their own films to make money.

After the weekly box office rankings were released, the box office performance of "Bridesmaids" also sparked heated discussions in the media. It was just a slightly innovative film following a trend, but it managed to stand out among the many blockbusters in the summer season, ranking third. This was a very good result.

It also made Palm Beach Pictures, the production company of "Bridesmaids," a hot topic. This small company had made "Easy A" last year, which grossed 160 million dollars worldwide with a budget of less than 10 million dollars. Just half a year later, they had another successful comedy film, making many peers envious.

With two films related to Link in the top ten, many people lamented his good luck. If the success of "Bridesmaids" was attributed to the good judgment of his producers, then the success of "Madea's Big Happy Family" was purely luck. This film had already been completed and ready for release before he bought Lionsgate. Link had simply stumbled upon a gold mine.

Additionally,