Chapter 32 Box Office Reception
"Boss, will Universal Studios agree to your conditions?"

Ryder asked eagerly after leaving Universal Studios.

In Hollywood, compared to independent film companies like Lionsgate, the Big Eight studios do not have a very good reputation, and stubbornness and xenophobia are also their traditions.

When Gu Wei initially cooperated with Warner, China Film Group acted as the middleman, and Warner agreed to the deal considering the domestic market.

Now that it has switched to Universal Pictures, Gu Wei is unsure whether the cooperation will be successful.

"This is not a problem we need to consider. If they don't agree, I will shoot the movie myself."

After saying that, the two drove away.

In Hollywood, news spreads very fast. As soon as Gu Wei left Universal Studios, the news of his meeting with Universal Pictures spread, and Warner also learned of the situation.

That afternoon, Mike, the head of Warner, called to inquire about Gu Wei's going to Universal Pictures. They now pay more attention to Gu Wei's subsequent films.

Gu Wei did not hide anything and told Universal Pictures that they had taken a fancy to the script of "Taken". After Warner learned about the type of film, they did not ask any more questions as they were not very interested in this type of film.

.........

"The Accidental Murderer" has been released in North America for more than half a month, according to the statistics released by Warner every day.

The North American box office has now exceeded 7 million, and it is only a matter of time before the box office exceeds million before it is released.

In addition to North America, the film has also been released in other regions. Warner is now very confident about this film. It has not only increased its investment in publicity and promotion, but also chosen global distribution.

Gu Wei directly handed the domestic distribution over to Warner Bros. According to Warner Bros.' feedback, the discussions are almost complete and the film will be released in China by the end of August at the latest.

Warner Bros. released not only Gu Wei's film but also the film "Day and Night" directed by Christopher Nolan in the first half of the year. This film was released on May 5, a month earlier than Gu Wei's film, and has now been taken off the screen.

This film is adapted from the 1997 Norwegian film "Insomnia". It was filmed in Alaska and British Columbia, Canada, which is different from the filming location of Gu Wei. Therefore, the two did not have any intersection during the filming.

However, the box office of this movie was average after its release, with only 6735 million in North America. Including other regions, the final total box office was only 1.13 million. Based on the box office sharing ratio, it can only be considered a break-even. The production cost of the movie reached 4600 million US dollars.

Since "A True Detective" was released in North America on June 6, domestic news media have been updating the latest box office data every day.

3000 million, 5000 million, 7000 million, until the day the movie was taken off the screen, the box office officially exceeded million US dollars.

The domestic media was in an uproar. The news that the movie box office exceeded 100 million yuan was pinned to the top of all major media outlets, and the Chinese people felt extremely excited.

Especially when domestic films are still struggling to win Oscars and hoping for a breakthrough, a Chinese director has already achieved such great success in Hollywood.

During this period, the Chinese people had an almost obsessive admiration for foreign countries, especially North America, and they longed to be recognized, praised, and successful.

A large number of netizens left messages on major portal websites.

"Fuck, it's hard to believe that this is a movie made by a domestic director in Hollywood."

"Director Gu Wei is awesome, I only admire you."

"He went to Hollywood alone, and his first movie made over 100 million at the box office, that's amazing."

"Did no one mention how much US dollars Director Gu earned? I heard that the film cost only 50."

"You bastard, you're so fucking tough. You made the Americans' money without doing anything."

"I heard that Director Gu was banned from directing in China for five years."

.........

Not only netizens, but also various domestic celebrities and artists are asking when Gu Wei will return to China and about his next movie.

Most people don’t have Gu Wei’s contact information and can only call Xingchen Film and Television to inquire.

"Boss, the company's phone has been blowing up these days, and actors from all over the circle are asking about you."

When Gu Wei heard what Wang Chen said on the phone, a smile appeared on his lips.

"Boss, why are you planning to return home?"

Wang Chen continued to ask.

"Wait a few more days. Although the movie has been taken off the screen, there are still some other things that need to be dealt with."

"At least we have to wait until the box office revenue from this movie is shared."

Gu Wei then added.

"Okay, boss, how much is the share? The box office has exceeded 100 million US dollars, so I will definitely get a lot of money."

Wang Chen's voice was a little excited.

"I haven't thought about it that much. The specific amount cannot be determined yet. The movie has not been released in other regions except North America, and it is uncertain when the subsequent box office revenue will be received."

There is no fixed release date for Hollywood movies in other regions except North America. It is common for them to be released in other regions within a month at the fastest and one or two years at the slowest.

Speaking of the share amount, Gu Wei could not hide his excitement. This was the largest sum of money he was ever going to get, either in his previous life or now. With this money, he would have the confidence to face whatever happened in the future.

"Okay, that's it. I'll go back before the end of the month and we'll talk when we meet."

After saying that, Gu Wei hung up the phone.

"Boss, it's time for us to set off."

Ryder's voice rang out.

"Let's go straight to the cocktail party."

In early August, the box office of "Accidental Murder" exceeded 8 million yuan, and Warner held a celebration party for the movie at the Beverly Hills Hotel. Gu Wei, the film director, was also reminded by the person in charge of Warner to arrive early, because he heard that many guests were invited today.

In addition to celebrating box office success, Hollywood movie cocktail parties are also places where major companies, directors, famous stars and filmmakers get to know each other, discuss cooperation and talk business. As for the cocktail parties themselves, not many people pay attention to them.

At six o'clock in the evening, Gu Wei, wearing a suit, came to the hotel with Reid.

At the reception, in addition to the head and several executives from Warner, there were also many people from Universal Pictures, Columbia Pictures, Disney Pictures and Lionsgate.

"Gu, we meet again."

Brown, the head of Universal Pictures, came over to say hello.

"Oh, congratulations again, Gu, the movie box office has exceeded 100 million. It is such a memorable day. I have to say, you are a genius."

"Thank you. I appreciate the compliment".

Gu Wei said while holding the wine glass.

"Gu, I wonder if you have time tomorrow. The senior executives of our company are very interested in you and would like to talk to you."

Brown took a sip of champagne and said to Gu Wei.

"If it's about the script, then there's no problem."

"Of course, this matter is also included."

"Ok, see you tomorrow".

The two men clinked their glasses again, and then Brown walked towards the others.

Gu Wei was holding a glass of wine, and people kept greeting him, and he responded one by one.

"Hello, Gu, I'm Leonardo Dicaprio, nice to meet you."

An unexpected person appeared in front of Gu Wei and spoke first.

"Hello, I'm Gu Wei, nice to meet you too."

After saying that, Gu Wei stared at the person in front of him. Yes, it was Leonardo DiCaprio. At this stage, he was still at the peak of his appearance. It must be said that he was indeed very handsome.

"Gu, congratulations on your success. I also went to the cinema to see this movie. It is really good. I heard that you are also the screenwriter of the movie. That's amazing."

Leo is very talkative, or rather, he is very talkative to people he is interested in.

Gu Wei held up a glass of wine and started chatting with him, which also attracted the attention of many people around.

As Gu Wei communicated with him, I learned the reason why Leo appeared here. In the second half of this year, Leo will star in the movie "How to Get Away with Murder", also known as "Cat and Mouse Game", and the filming has already started at this stage.

According to Gu Wei's memory from his previous life, this movie was directed by Spielberg, who won the Best Actor Award at the 03 Golden Globe Awards and also won the Best Supporting Actor Award at the 75th Academy Awards.

The two chatted for about ten minutes before Leo left. They exchanged contact information before leaving. Leo also expressed his hope to have the opportunity to work with Gu Wei in the future.

Gu Wei nodded. He was also one of the representatives whose acting skills were overshadowed by his good looks. From "Titanic" to "The Wasteland Hunter" which won an Oscar, he spent decades to prove his acting skills.

"Gu, why are you here? Come over here and let me introduce someone to you."

Mike, the head of Warner, came to Gu Wei with a glass of wine.

Hearing his words, Gu Wei nodded, and the two of them walked to the side.

This was the first time that Gu Wei met director Nolan. At that time, he was still relatively young and full of vigor and vitality. Starting from this year's movie "Day and Night", in the next nearly 20 years, Nolan and Warner have collaborated on a total of 9 works.

He also supervised the production of Warner's works including "Man of Steel", "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice" and "Justice League", and the relationship between the two parties can be said to be very close.

"Hello, Gu, nice to meet you."

Nolan saw Gu Wei coming and stretched out his hand.

Gu Wei also stretched out his hand and shook hands with him, saying, "Hello, Director Nolan."

"Oh, you are so unbelievably young".

Gu Wei has heard this more than once. Age is not a problem for him, but the achievements he has made at this age have made him a common phrase among others. Whenever others learn about his age, they will sigh.

"Gu, I forgot to congratulate you on the huge success of your movie. Compared to yours, the box office of my movie is just average."

Nolan looked at Gu Wei and said something.

Nolan is not yet in the stage of filming Batman, but has achieved success. His personality and temper are very gentle, and he is still very polite to Gu Wei.

"I believe you will succeed. The box office of this movie is affected by the type of movie. Don't take it to heart, Director Nolan."

Gu Wei knew he was talking about the movie "Day and Night", but he still spoke politely.

After listening to Gu Wei's encouragement, Nolan felt better. The young man in front of him did not have the arrogance of other successful directors, but was very humble.

After all, in Hollywood, where money is everything, anyone who can bring money to others will be treated as a guest of honor. Gu Wei has not only achieved financial success, he is also a Golden Bear Award-winning director, which is a rare talent in Hollywood.

Gu Wei had a very pleasant chat with Nolan and several senior executives of Warner. The two are now in the same company and look forward to working together in the future.

The cocktail party lasted for several hours, and Gu Wei met many people in the film industry, including directors, actors, and other filmmakers.

After the cocktail party, Gu Wei got in Warner’s car and went straight back to the hotel.

(End of this chapter)