Huayu Entertainment 1995 started with hijacking.

Chapter 238 A good start

Just as the media has said, Disney is being stubborn and refuses to admit that Pearl Harbor was a failure.

To be honest, a film grossing 4825 million in its opening weekend is actually a pretty good result, and it can't be called a failure. The problem lies in the fact that Disney made a lot of boastful claims before the release of *Pearl Harbor*, setting expectations for the film too high.

It boasted about breaking opening weekend box office records, grossing over 5 million in five days, and engaging in a war of words with "The Pirate King," making "Pearl Harbor" seem like an epic blockbuster. But now, not only has it failed to break records, it's also been completely outmatched by "The Pirate King," naturally making it a laughing stock.

However, everyone understands that it has only been three days, and Disney cannot declare Pearl Harbor a failure.

With such a large investment, Pearl Harbor can't just give up because of its poor opening weekend box office performance. It has to struggle a bit. There aren't any big movies being released for almost a month, so maybe it can still improve.

As for Wu Yuchen, he no longer pursued "Pearl Harbor" as aggressively as he had before the film's release. Before the film's release, he relentlessly targeted "The Pirate King" to maximize its promotional impact. Now that "The Pirate King" has won, gained a huge advantage, taken the top spot in its opening weekend, and received rave reviews, there's no need for him, the director, to continue the fight. Now, he needs to act with grace and avoid leaving the public with an arrogant and triumphant image.

Moreover, his top priority right now is to work with the film crew to promote the movie and boost the box office of "The Pirate King" as much as possible. Everything else can wait until the film is a complete box office success.

On Monday night, Peter Schreid was already restless, personally waiting at the company for the firsthand data. He no longer hoped that "Pearl Harbor" could surpass "The Pirate King," he just hoped that "Pearl Harbor" would do well at the box office.

As long as Pearl Harbor can recoup its costs, he should be able to keep his position. Because he is one of Eisner's confidants, if the project can break even, the shareholders won't have too much of an opinion. If he flatters Eisner a bit, Eisner should give him a hand and he won't be dismissed.

As for any bets or anything like that, what's the point? Can you eat your face?

When the staff brought over the fresh Monday box office figures, Peter Schreid immediately glanced at them:

Pirate King: 1352 million.

Pearl Harbor: $503 million.

Only 503 million?!

Peter Schreid's pupils contracted, then he felt dizzy, his legs went weak, and he slumped into his chair, feeling that the future was bleak. He might really have to write his resignation letter... No, he had to try. He was Mr. Eisner's confidant, and he was sure he could save himself!

Meanwhile, Wu Yuchen saw the numbers and a smile spread across his face. He wasn't happy that *The Pirate King* outperformed *Pearl Harbor* at the box office—that was only natural, wasn't it? He was happy that *The Pirate King*'s drop in box office was healthy!
In reality, big-budget special effects productions like *Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales* don't have much depth; they're just popcorn blockbusters. It's normal for these kinds of popcorn movies to see their weekday box office drop by half compared to Sunday. The fact that *Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales* has managed to keep its drop below 40% is actually quite good!

Wu Yuchen asked the publicity manager, "Hey Jimmy, this drop is good. Have you analyzed the reasons?"

Jimmy smiled at Wu Yuchen and said, "In many ways, for example, the movie has received very good reviews. It has been hailed as a classic work that has reshaped the pirate theme and aroused the interest of many people. Cinemascore also gave the movie an A rating, which is a very high rating for a popcorn movie!"

Furthermore, theaters have increased the number of screenings for "Pirate King" starting today.

Originally, *Pearl Harbor* had a higher number of screenings than *Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales*, but because *Pearl Harbor* is 183 minutes long, a full 40 minutes longer than *Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales*, the number of screenings throughout the day was actually about the same. However, now that the opening weekend box office results are in, theaters are no longer concerned about Disney's pressure; they want to make money!
Wu Yuchen nodded upon hearing this; it was all within his expectations.

"Also, starting from the end of May, elementary schools in America have already started their summer vacation! Therefore, even during the weekdays, many parents are taking time to bring their children to see our 'Pirate King'!"

Upon hearing this, Wu Yuchen's eyes lit up. Now that makes sense, it was the kids who helped! Kids are indeed the cutest!
Wu Yuchen couldn't help but sigh that choosing the right release date is indeed very important for American movies.

Take "Titanic" for example. Its release period covered Christmas and Valentine's Day, and then it swept the Oscars. With the support of the Oscars, it also gained a long-term box office success. In retrospect, its release date was just right.

Undoubtedly, a large portion of the audience for "Pirates of the Caribbean" consists of teenagers and children who are highly inquisitive and fascinated by adventure stories. With the arrival of summer vacation, elementary, middle, and high schools, as well as universities, will gradually begin their holidays, which is enough to ensure the long-term healthy box office performance of "Pirates of the Caribbean."

Over the next three days, "The Pirate King" garnered 1278 million, 1211 million, and 1153 million yuan respectively, bringing its total box office to 1.15 million yuan in just one week. It also surpassed "Jurassic Park 2" to set a new box office record, exceeding 6 million yuan on its sixth day of release.

The following weekend, "The Pirate King" grossed $4738 million in three days, almost matching the opening weekend box office of "Pearl Harbor." Thus, after ten days in theaters, "The Pirate King" easily surpassed the $1.5 million mark, reaching $1.62 million!
Although everyone witnessed the ferocity of "Pirate King" during the first weekend, they still couldn't help but exclaim in amazement when they saw that it was really this powerful!
This reminds many people of the unstoppable success of Jurassic Park when it was first released. While the later stages of Pirate King may not be as long-lasting as Jurassic Park, its current performance is in no way inferior!
DreamWorks naturally seized the opportunity to heavily promote the film: "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End is dominating the summer box office, outperforming Jurassic Park!"

That's right. The Pirate King franchise no longer bothers with Pearl Harbor as a rival; the latter is no longer of any use to them. Now, they need to create even more formidable historical adversaries to attract audiences!
If someone else were to make this claim, they might hesitate, because *Jurassic Park* is Spielberg's signature work with countless fans. But *Pirates of the Caribbean* is a DreamWorks production, and with so much money to be made, Spielberg wouldn't care if *Pirates of the Caribbean* puts *Jurassic Park* down!

He himself even stepped forward and said: "The Pirate King is a classic masterpiece that spans the centuries, and it is in no way inferior to Jurassic Park!"

Cinemascore has once again given its box office prediction for "The Pirate King," projecting $3.5 million in North America.

On the other hand, Pearl Harbor fared poorly. After ten days of release, it only grossed $8991 million. It didn't even reach $90 million, let alone $100 million.

Some media outlets also issued another sarcastic remark:

"Breaking 100 million in 5 days? Not even 90 million in 10 days! Pearl Harbor is a complete flop!"

"They wanted guns and roses, but Disney ended up with nothing!"

With no hope of recouping its costs, will the bet on Pearl Harbor be honored?

Reporters also approached Wu Yuchen: "Hey Wu, do you remember that bet you made with Disney? Now that 'Pirates of the Caribbean' has won big and 'Pearl Harbor' has lost a fortune, do you think they will honor their bet?"

Wu Yuchen was still promoting the film with the crew last week, but now that things are settled, he has put aside the promotion of "The Pirate King" and can now respond.

He smiled at the reporter: "Of course I remember. I don't know if Peter Schreid will honor the bet, but I wouldn't be too surprised if Disney broke the contract. I don't have high expectations for Disney's credibility."

Upon hearing this, the reporters immediately showed excited expressions. It seems that this great director Wu is about to start firing away again!
"Wu, what do you mean by that? Could you explain in more detail?"

"Wu, do you mean Disney will renege on its promise?"

"Wu, do you mean Disney is facing significant problems right now?"

Upon hearing the question, Wu Yuchen looked directly at a reporter, his expression turning serious as he said, "Of course, I think Disney does indeed have some significant problems right now."

In fact, I had previously collaborated with Disney on "The Sixth Sense" and helped them earn a considerable amount of profit, but this collaboration was not so pleasant.

The reason I chose DreamWorks instead of Disney for "Pirates of the Caribbean" is because I have some reservations about Disney's management. Disney is in a bad state now, which has made me lose trust in them, so cooperation is naturally out of the question.

I think that the failure of a big project like *Pearl Harbor* would certainly be taken responsibility at other studios, but I'm not so sure about Disney. After all, Disney is Eisner's domain, and he's always been known for nepotism.

When Wu Yuchen directly targeted Disney's head, Eisner, many reporters were extremely excited. Was another war about to break out?
"Wu, can you tell me about your unpleasant experience with Disney?" "Wu, can you tell me what exactly happened?"

"Wu, do you mean Eisner should be held responsible for the failure of Pearl Harbor?"

However, Wu Yuchen didn't utter a single word at this point, and simply walked away. The matter of being tricked by Disney at the Oscars was definitely something that couldn't be discussed openly.

While it's common knowledge that the Oscars allow for public relations efforts, have you ever seen a director openly admit that their film won thanks to extensive PR? Or complain that their film didn't win an Oscar because of a failed PR campaign? Only a fool would say something so damaging to their image.

That's enough. Those in the know understand. As for how the media wants to write it, let them.

However, this time he directly targeted Eisner. Even if he doesn't oust him, he'll likely have to find someone to take responsibility. If he can clip Eisner's wings and further damage his prestige at Disney, that would be a success.

At this moment, Wu Yuchen remembered the little old man Roy Disney, whom he had met once before. The opportunity had been created for him, and he hoped that he would not let him down!

Roy Disney certainly didn't disappoint Wu Yuchen. In fact, he was far more proactive than Wu Yuchen had imagined in dealing with Eisner. Just a few days after the release of "Pearl Harbor," he had already applied to convene a board meeting as a director, and the meeting was held this week.

In fact, many people were well aware of the purpose of this board meeting. Normally, they might not have agreed to attend, given Eisner's high prestige within the company and the respect they would receive. However, this time, everyone unanimously attended the board meeting.

Sure enough, not long after the meeting began, Roy Disney launched an attack on Eisner: "Eisner, don't you have anything to say about the failure of Pearl Harbor?"

Eisner had anticipated this: "What can I say? Pearl Harbor has only been in theaters for 10 days. It's too early to say whether it's a success or a failure."

Roy Disney pointed at the other person and pressed him for an answer:
“Eisner, you don’t need to bring your media-style rhetoric here. Everyone here knows movies! With less than 9000 million in ten days, Pearl Harbor is destined to be a complete financial disaster!”
This was a project you personally spearheaded two years ago, for which you mobilized a significant amount of Disney's resources. On the day of the premiere, you confidently sent an email to Disney's 11.7 employees worldwide, urging everyone to join in promoting it and sharing in its future success. Now, given this situation, do you still intend to shirk responsibility?

Eisner's face darkened upon hearing this, and then he actually laughed: "How ridiculous! Just because of the failure of 'Pearl Harbor,' you want me to take responsibility? Then why aren't you grateful to me for leading Disney from the brink of bankruptcy to its current market value of 200 billion over the past 18 years? Roy Disney, are all the people in your Disney family this mean? Or have you gone blind?"

“Eisner, you don’t need to keep using this excuse! Disney’s rise from its low point to where it is today isn’t just because of you! Frank Wells, Katzenberg, and many other people have contributed to it! But look at what you’ve done now, you’ve driven away many talented people like Katzenberg!”
Disney's animation industry, on which it relies for survival, is declining and it has to rely on Pixar to keep it afloat. Meanwhile, Katzenberg has been producing a series of successful animated films in the past two years, with "Shrek" being a huge success!
And Wu Yuchen, don't think we don't know what you did to him! The Pirate King project was originally the most suitable family-friendly movie for Disney, it's a favorite among children!
And because of your willful and reckless actions, these talented people and these films are all constantly flowing out of the country. You are now a dictator resting on your laurels, a foolish tyrant!

With a bang, Eisner slammed his hand on the table, interrupting Roy Disney. His face was cold as he looked at the group of people present and slowly said, "Do you all think so too?"

There was a moment of silence, then someone spoke up:

“Eisner, we all know that you led Disney to where it is today. However, the failure of Pearl Harbor is not a small matter. It is not just a loss of money, but also represents the failure of Disney's live-action film division in the past two years. It is a blow to Disney's reputation and the confidence of shareholders. Market investors will also have a negative view of us as a result. Someone must be held accountable.”

As soon as this person spoke, someone else immediately followed up: "Eisner, you personally promoted Schreid to be the chairman of Disney Studios, but in the 18 months he was in office, the box office 'bad egg' wasn't just Pearl Harbor. Last year's '102 Dalmatians' and 'The King's Avatar' were also loss-making projects."

Eisner's hands clenched involuntarily, but what they said was all true, leaving him no room for rebuttal. In the past, what did it matter if "Pearl Harbor" lost money? With Eisner's dominance at Disney, few would dare to disagree with him.

However, with the decline in Disney's stock price over the past two years, these people with different shareholders behind them have begun to voice different opinions. This made Eisner angry and he also felt a sense of crisis. His position was being shaken!
He took a deep breath, suppressed his anger, and then said in a deep voice, "I will make Schreid give an explanation for this matter."

Seeing Eisner's words, the group exchanged glances, nodded, and said nothing more. Schreid was a trusted confidant personally promoted by Eisner and held a high position of power within Disney. Eisner's willingness to promote him was a way of giving everyone an explanation.

But Roy Disney persisted: "Hey, Eisner! Don't think you can get away with just blaming Schreid? Don't you have anything to say about this yourself? Aren't you willing to take any responsibility for your own mistakes?"

Eisner stood up abruptly and roared at Roy Disney:
"Old man, don't test my patience again! Don't think that just because you're part of the Disney family I won't dare touch you! If you provoke me again, I'll kick you out of Disney!"

Roy Disney seemed momentarily stunned, perhaps intimidated by Eisner's imposing presence.

Then he glanced at the people sitting around the table: "A company has its peaks and its inevitable troughs; the environment is such that no one can avoid it. And I, Michael Eisner, am the only one who can lead Disney to the top again!"

After speaking, Eisner snorted coldly and left first. Following Eisner's departure, the other delegates also began to leave, while those who were on good terms with Roy Disney came over to persuade him to leave.
"Roy, you should calm down for a while. Right now, Eisner is like an enraged lion. If you continue, he might really make a big move and kick you out."

Roy's face flushed slightly, and he said angrily, "Disney isn't Eisner's Disney, it's Disney's Disney!"

In its third week, "The Pirate King" grossed less than $900 million on weekdays, but earned $3352 million over the weekend, bringing its total box office to $2.27 million.

Spielberg was absolutely overjoyed by this achievement!

This means that "The Pirate King" has already fully recouped its costs based on its current North American box office revenue alone, and every penny generated thereafter will be pure profit for the production company!
Judging from the current trajectory of "Pirate King", 3.5 million is not a problem at all, and 4 million is very likely!

Spielberg lamented, "Wu, I really regret it now. Why did I hesitate for even a second and only invest $8000 million!"

This is his honest opinion. "Pirates of the Caribbean" is arguably DreamWorks' most profitable project to date, surpassing even the hugely successful "Saving Private Ryan" and "Gladiator" from a couple of years ago. Not only did it outperform those two at the box office, but the merchandise was also incredibly popular!
Captain Jack Sparrow's outfit alone could be sold for money, along with the Black Pearl model ship and other related merchandise. The merchandise displayed in the movie theater is currently selling like hotcakes!

"Steven, I gave you a chance, now it's too late to regret it!" Wu Yuchen said to Spielberg with a smile, putting down the newspaper in his hand.

The headline in the newspaper read: "Disney admits Pearl Harbor is a financial disaster; executives resign to quell shareholder anger!"

"...Disney president Michael Eisner admitted that Pearl Harbor, which he claimed could rival Titanic, was beyond saving. There were many reasons for its failure, including: an unsatisfactory cast, insufficient plot tension, excessive running time, and so on."

The box office failure of "Pearl Harbor" has caused Disney's stock to fall by 13% so far. Peter Schreid, an executive who had a bet with director John Woo, announced that he would take responsibility for the matter and resign.
Regarding the box office flop of "Pearl Harbor," president Michael Eisner stated: "Nothing is absolute in the film industry. No one can be 100% successful, and no one can always control the trends in film."

Spielberg, who was already aware of the news, smiled at Wu Yuchen and said, "Wu, you personally ousted a Disney executive, and a close confidant of Michael Eisner, that's quite something! I bet Eisner is furious right now!"

Wu Yuchen said with a smile, "That will make me happy all day!"

"Only one day? I thought you'd be happy for at least a week!"

Wu Yuchen gently shook his head: "He's just Eisner's subordinate. If he himself were to step down, I would be happy for a month!"

“Oh, Wu, your expectations are too high! Taking down Eisner is not an easy task,” Spielberg advised.

"Hehe, anything is possible with human effort. Haven't we already made a good start?"

(End of this chapter)