[Chapter 421: Independence Day Revenue, An Opportunity]
The celebration at the estate had lasted for three full days and nights. Linton and his girlfriends kept the party going nonstop for the entire duration, with moments so wild and unforgettable that words could hardly do them justice.
Three days later, Cristiana Reali, Sophie Marceau, and Monica Bellucci temporarily set aside all their work commitments to stay at the estate, focusing on their hopes of starting families soon.
The other women gradually left to return to their own projects.
After 16 days in theaters, Final Destination's North American box office had surpassed the $100 million mark. With September hitting and the school season starting, the summer blockbuster craze began to cool, and the film's box office was bound to take a significant dip. Still, it was certain to cross $120 million eventually.
Starting in its second week, the film rolled out in overseas markets. Thanks to the momentum from North America and smart Universal Studios' marketing, international box office numbers looked very promising -- it had already earned $73 million in just nine days.
With two consecutive box office hits, Jennifer Connelly's star soared, boosting her market value and cementing her status as a rising star on the cusp of one A-list.
Noriko Sakai also made a strong impression on North American audiences. Most importantly, starring in two successful Hollywood films back-to-back made her a huge sensation in Japan and across Asia. She had become the top new film talent in Japan.
With the estate parties wrapping up, the group split off for overseas promotion tours for Final Destination.
Jennifer took charge of UK, France, Germany, Italy, and Spain.
Noriko focused on Asia -- mainly Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and Hong Kong.
Christian Bale handled Australia, Brazil, and Mexico.
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Inside the new Linton Tower, four state-of-the-art post-production suites were installed, allowing simultaneous post-production on four films.
After nearly two months of post-production, The Long Kiss Goodnight, The Sixth Sense, As Good as It Gets, and Scream were all finalized.
Following the estate parties, Linton returned to the studio to gather key team members for review sessions of the finished films.
Fortunately, the directors hadn't pushed too much personal style and had stuck mostly to the scripts. Only minor tweaks were needed, and overall, the films were exceptionally well-crafted.
The distribution department proposed release schedules for five films. Scream, being a horror movie, was deemed perfect for an October Halloween release.
The Sixth Sense and As Good as It Gets blended commercial appeal with artistic depth, ideal for a Christmas release -- but there was no need for special award-season campaigning. Their wide release would start in mid-to-late December, with a limited run for a select number of theaters after eight weeks.
These two films would be the PR focus for this year's awards season. If either picked up accolades from the Oscars or Golden Globes, their theatrical run could be expanded again to capitalize on last-minute box office boosts before moving into ancillary revenue streams.
Mission: Impossible and The Long Kiss Goodnight were pure summer popcorn flicks and would best be reserved for next summer's blockbuster season. Given the company's strength, releasing two films at Christmas was already the limit.
...
Linton then gathered Mission: Impossible's assistant directors Anna Slater and Phil Dulin to focus fully on wrapping up post-production on the movie, settling into a reliable nine-to-five routine.
During the day, they sifted through footage with editors, checked visual effects, and oversaw cuts alongside cinematographers. Evenings were for relaxing at the estate with Madonna, little Lina, and of course, Cristiana, Sophie, and Monica -- who were eagerly trying to get pregnant.
Coming home each night to see little Lina's innocent, happy face filled Linton with a deep sense of contentment.
Naturally, his attentions toward Cristiana, Sophie, and Monica stepped up significantly at night...
Sky Digital Studio had completed the visual effects for Mission: Impossible long ago, and since the film itself wasn't complex, post-production went smoothly.
After more than 20 peaceful days passed, Mission: Impossible was finally ready.
---
Meanwhile, Linton's cousin Judy finished her internship at Netscape and officially enrolled at Stanford University's Computer Science department.
A particularly joyous milestone was that, under Linton's devoted care, Cristiana, Sophie, and Monica had all successfully become pregnant.
The very night their pregnancies were confirmed, Linton threw a grand celebration at the estate honoring the happy news.
He encouraged them to stay at the estate to rest and ensure the fetuses developed healthily, especially since a dedicated women's health medical team was on site.
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After a two-month run, Independence Day officially ended its North American theatrical release, finishing with a record-breaking $361 million domestic box office.
However, overseas audiences still flocked to theaters, and the international box office had already topped $460 million.
Universal projected that global box office revenue could reach $900 million, making Independence Day only the third film in history to break that $900 million milestone worldwide.
Thanks to its record-setting North American intake and popularity as the season's top sci-fi and action blockbuster, the film's post-theatrical licensing and merchandising revenues soared accordingly.
Just last week, the two companies involved completed their financial reconciliation for Independence Day.
First, from domestic box office revenue, the distributor's share from theaters amounted to $198.55 million.
Per Linton's revenue-sharing deal, he personally received $19.855 million from this box office share.
The Independence Day studio received $98.28 million.
Second, TV rights were sold for $45 million to cover seven years, with UPN TV Network purchasing the broadcast rights for $25 million. The studio's share was $36 million.
Third, home video rights, covering a seven-year period, sold to MasterVideo for an upfront transfer fee of $50 million plus 30% rental and sales revenue share. The studio's base transfer fee share was $40 million.
Fourth, merchandise sales -- aside from action figures of Linton, Cristiana, and Nicole Kidman -- the alien and spaceship models also sold extraordinarily well. Total merchandise revenue reached $110 million with a 40% profit margin. The company gained $44 million, with $22 million going to the studio.
Fifth, overseas distribution rights were bought by Universal for $169.67 million, the highest rate of 47% of North American box office revenue.
Adding all five revenue streams, the studio received a total of $387.95 million. Additionally, they also got 24% rental and sales revenue shares from home video on a quarterly basis.
After receiving $387.95 million in settlement funds, plus the $20 million in advertising sponsorships and $8 million from in-film product placements collected before filming, the total income reached $415.95 million.
One other big advantage was that the film was granted tax-exempt status by the White House before production began, meaning these profits were entirely tax-free.
Though this tax policy was no longer beneficial to Linton's studio -- since his three major financial incentives from the government had already been fulfilled -- it definitely benefited Universal.
Linton's company was exempt from taxes for two years and had already secured two important government funds: $50 million in key cultural support funds and $50 million from the International Development Agency.
According to the companies' partnership agreement, Linton's studio had the priority to draw a 10% production management fee, totaling $41.595 million.
The remaining $374.355 million was split according to investment stakes, with Linton's studio earning $219.213 million.
Since the film's North American release was jointly distributed, Linton's share was 50%.
Marketing and promotion costs totaled $25 million, with Linton's studio covering $12.5 million.
After expenses, his studio's share of promotional income was $65 million.
Altogether, Linton's studio earned $284.213 million from this project.
This did not include soundtrack sales or quarterly revenue sharing from home video rentals and sales. Thanks to Independence Day's popularity, home video income alone was expected to top $100 million within a year, with even greater long-term returns.
Production and marketing costs combined were only $51 million, so profits were enormous.
Above all, these earnings were all tax-free.
Linton himself received $20 million in acting fees, $19.855 million from box office shares, and $20 million in royalties from merchandise licensing -- totaling $59.855 million.
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Just as Linton was pondering how best to invest and grow his movie company's huge earnings, he got a shocking phone call from Izumi Sakai in Tokyo.
She told him astonishing news: Matsushita Electronics just announced its midyear financial report, revealing a loss of $800 million in the first half of 1995 and expressing intent to sell its stake in Universal Studios.
After so long, the day had finally come.
Linton immediately asked Hillary to investigate and verify the details.
Hillary quickly reported back.
In the early 90s, U.S. foreign industrial policies had significantly changed. Backed by American support, South Korea's electronics industry surged.
Brands like Samsung, LG, and Daewoo rapidly grew, aggressively taking over global markets and fiercely competing with Japanese electronics firms.
Following the death of founder Konosuke Matsushita in 1989, Matsushita Electronics' business direction shifted, moving into diversified investments.
Research and development in its core home electronics division stalled, relying mostly on legacy products, leading to successive losses against domestic rivals like Sony and Toshiba, and intensifying competition from Korean brands.
Additionally, the forced appreciation of the yen under U.S. pressure caused Japan's economic bubble to burst, and many diversified investments plummeted in value.
All these problems culminated this year with the reported $800 million loss in six months, with expected further declines through the rest of the year.
To save itself, Matsushita Group's top priority became selling off Universal Studios -- a non-core asset outside their control -- to maintain cash flow.
Naturally, this became the preferred move.
*****
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