Irene Lauder flew to Tokyo early the next morning. Duke not only personally went to the airport but also arranged for his private plane to take her there. By the time they returned to the hotel, it was already nearing noon. After a simple lunch, He declined several invitations for events, finally having a free afternoon.
Duke didn't plan to watch the films at the film festival, nor did he have any desire to stroll around Shanghai. He had visited this city countless times, so there was no sense of novelty or curiosity. Perhaps due to his age, his interest in unnecessary social interactions was diminishing, and he preferred quieter environments more and more.
The higher one stands, the further one can see. Coupled with his own personality, his mindset was much calmer than before.
Maybe it was the years of pressure that had shaped him, and he had grown accustomed to living under heavy burdens. He sat quietly in the suite's living room, watching TV, when Duke suddenly lost focus, seemingly drifting back to the past, to those days when he was struggling at the bottom of the film industry. It wasn't until Tina Fey walked out of the study, and the sound of the wooden door closing that his thoughts returned to the present.
Though back in his former homeland, Duke didn't intend to seek anything from it. He had no attachments to the past; it was long gone, and his gaze was always directed forward, never stopping in his march.
He would overcome all obstacles and seize every rare opportunity in this life to move forward.
No one, nor any reason, could make him stop.
"The Duke Studio just sent this over," Tina Fey said as she walked over, sitting beside him and handing him a faxed document. "There are a few items that need your signature to proceed."
Opening the document, Duke quickly skimmed through it. The first item was the North American box office data for Taken.
In terms of raw data, this film was leagues behind the epic Lord of the Rings trilogy, but compared to the film's investment, it still yielded satisfactory results.
In its opening weekend in North America, Taken grossed $51.25 million across 3,624 theaters. CinemaScore audience ratings were 88%, with an average grade of 'A+'. IMDb users gave it a score of 86 from 18,775 reviewers, and the audience's "popcorn score" was 89%. MetaCritic gave the film an 84 from 45 critics.
Overall, the film's market reception, while far from the Lord of the Rings trilogy or The Matrix, was still a high-scoring success within the action film genre.
Apart from North America and China, Taken was also released in the UK and France, where it grossed $16.56 million and $14.11 million respectively in its first weekend, surpassing both Duke's and Warner Bros.'s expectations.
Importantly, the film didn't experience a significant drop in box office sales the following weekday. With $10.85 million in single-day revenue, the film was on a steady path to profitability.
After reviewing the report, Duke was reassured about Taken. Even if the box office drops later, the film was already well-positioned to turn a profit.
Next, Duke turned his attention to two new films co-produced by Duke Studio and Warner Bros., both nearing the final stages of approval—Zack Snyder's 300 Spartans and Wallace Lee's Underworld.
After the Oscars, Zack Snyder ended his half-year break and began preparing for his next project. Having led The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions, which grossed $715.6 million and $733.56 million respectively, he had already proven his capability and earned the full backing of Duke and Warner Bros. His project proposal was quickly approved.
Moreover, the film's actual production costs were not particularly high.
Zack Snyder's project had already been included in Duke and Warner's plans, and Wallace Lee's opportunity to direct was also a result of his hard work.
In the past few years, Wallace had left a great impression on Duke, particularly in the post-production of Return of the King and the planning of Taken. Despite a few shortcomings—such as rumors involving some actresses when he worked as a casting director—these were minor issues in Hollywood.
Underworld was now on track, with just final formalities left.
These two projects were fully supported by Duke, so there was no reason to stop them. He instructed Tina Fey to stay on top of things and maintain communication with Warner Bros.
At the end, there were three business matters related to Warner Bros., mainly concerning negotiations with Pixar, distribution cooperation with Marvel Studios, and Warner Bros.'s renewed attempt to fully acquire Duke Studio.
With The Incredibles releasing in North America, Pixar had fulfilled its animated feature contract with Walt Disney. Due to Michael Eisner's lingering position, negotiations between Pixar and Disney had been stalled.
Steve Jobs, true to his business style, would never hang himself on one tree—especially not Disney. Over the years, Pixar had kept in contact with Duke and Warner Bros., and now, Pixar's future was nearing a conclusion. Within two years, Jobs would certainly find a new distributor.
Distribution was far more complex than it seemed, requiring years of accumulation and support from a huge platform. This was why second-tier Hollywood companies, such as Harvey Weinstein's Miramax, New Line Cinema, Pixar, and DreamWorks Animation, were quick to either sell out to bigger companies or sign seemingly unfair contracts.
Distribution channels were incredibly important.
This was not something a single person could solve, even someone as brilliant as Steve Jobs, who once focused mainly on Pixar, was stymied by distribution issues.
Compared to Walt Disney, Warner Bros. was at a disadvantage when it came to children's content promotion, but it held the advantage in global distribution and marketing channels.
No matter how talented Michael Eisner was, he couldn't change the fact that Disney only transitioned into a media conglomerate in the mid-90s. In contrast, Warner Bros. was already ahead of Disney in certain respects.
However, Pixar was no longer the ugly duckling—it had transformed into Hollywood's swan, and Steve Jobs, holding absolute control, had the upper hand.
For Duke and Warner Bros., a long and challenging negotiation had just begun. Standing out among several powerful competitors would not be easy.
On the other hand, the negotiation with Marvel Studios for distribution was much smoother. With Duke as the go-between, and the massive success of Spider-Man and X-Men, even competitors were willing to set aside differences and cooperate when enough profit was at stake.
Moreover, DC and Marvel had cooperated several times in the past.
The talks were entering the final stages, with only the signing of a formal contract remaining. Both Marvel and Warner had one demand in common—Duke would direct Marvel's flagship project, Iron Man!
Superhero films would dominate the next decade or more, and if the series succeeded even more than before, Duke, as a major shareholder in both Marvel and Warner, would undoubtedly be one of the biggest beneficiaries.
Although wealth was just a number to Duke by now, like any billionaire, once in the game, he had no intention of stopping before he was thoroughly bored with it.
After pondering for a few minutes, Duke said to Tina Fey, "In principle, I agree to direct Iron Man. Please inform Nancy; the details can be worked out with her."
The last item was the ownership of Duke Studio. Even today, Duke Studio remained a small company with a limited scale, and Duke had no intention of expanding it significantly. Management had always been handled by Tina Fey's team.
If we looked only at the number of employees and scale, Duke Studio couldn't even compare to the film studios of Tom Cruise, Drew Barrymore, and Brad Pitt. But unlike the others, Duke Studio held partial or full rights to several blockbuster films.
Not to mention other projects, just the rights to The Matrix, The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, and Harry Potter were enough to make every Hollywood studio drool with envy.
Years ago, Warner Bros. had offered to fully acquire Duke Studio, but at that time, with The Lord of the Rings still in development and Harry Potter not yet a global sensation, Duke didn't sell. Even when Warner offered a stock swap deal, he still refused.
Now, the situation had changed completely.
Duke was clear-headed, knowing that Duke Studio could never grow too large. Other big companies in Hollywood would never allow it. And to become one of the six major studios today, could he really rely solely on making blockbuster films?
He wasn't that naive.
"Tina, when we return to North America, you'll represent me in the negotiations with Warner Bros.," Duke thought for a moment before adding, "Remember, we're not lacking in cash."
Tina Fey nodded. "I know what to do."
After finishing the few remaining documents, Duke left the room and took a walk along the Bund. By evening, he was back at the hotel, revising a speech. This was his first time giving a university lecture, and he took it quite seriously.
After this lecture, Duke's schedule in Shanghai would officially come to an end. It might be a long time before he returned here again, perhaps not until the film market here had fully exploded.