On June 22nd, the first week's box office for windtalkers in North America was released, a mere $24.37 million. Compared to the $300 million investment, this was a figure that sent shivers down the spine of everyone at MGM.
Moreover, media reviews for the film were terrible, filled with a large number of negative critiques.
This refers to print and television media. As for Rotten Tomatoes, while it would become a barometer for judging a film's quality 20 years later, it was still far from developed at the time.
In this era, netizens could only vent their frustrations on forum-like websites and did not have a systematic base of operations.
The New York Times: "windtalkers is clearly a mediocre work. John Woo doesn't seem to know how to direct war scenes, and he wasted Nicolas Cage's acting talent."
The Washington Post: "I don't know what kind of authority MGM gave John Woo, but producing such a dull and boring film is definitely due to both parties. I don't understand why the film is called windtalkers, because it only spends a very small amount of time focusing on the real windtalkers."
The Los Angeles Times: "This is a tiring film. Too many war scenes easily lead to aesthetic fatigue. And Yazi is willing to brave a hail of bullets to transmit codes for the America military, yet we are to silently turn our guns on him? This is simply too absurd!"
Media reviews influence public perception of a film. With a flood of negative reviews, windtalkers can be said to have died a terrible death. At most, it would collect another ten million dollars, and its North America box office would pretty much be at its end.
As for overseas box office, with the huge market of China not yet developed, if a film fails in America, it almost means a shipwreck.
Although countries like Japan and Europe also show good box office performance, due to population limitations, it can only go so high.
Eric hadn't spoken to his father for several days because his father's brows were always deeply furrowed, and he often roared on the phone. At times like these, it was better not to get close.
In the early hours of June 23rd, the match between South Korea and Spain began. Eric didn't watch it, only checking the news on MSN.
Although he told Judy and the others that they didn't have to watch if they felt uncomfortable, they had, after all, invested a lot of money. The four couldn't help but watch, then cursed as they watched.
The match ultimately ended in a penalty shootout, and the shameless South Korean team won again through the referee.
Although everyone felt indignant for the Spain team, who could refuse green dollar bills?
However, because the previous match had shown everyone the extent of the South Korean team's shamelessness, even though Spain's strength was clearly superior to South Korea's, the odds for the South Korean team had dropped significantly, to only 1:1.5.
Ultimately, Eric bet $30 million, turning it into $75 million in one match.
And through these five matches, his assets officially entered the $1 billion club, achieving his goal.
Judy: "Eric, My Sugar Daddy, I never dreamed that a month ago I was agonizing over whether to go to Goldman Sachs or Morgan, and a month later I would have $5 million. This is simply unimaginable. I need to seriously consider how to spend this money."
Billy and Bordeaux also chattered about their plans.
Warren, from the most ordinary family, had long made up his mind: "I truly envy you all. My capital was too small; I only won less than a million dollars. I've decided to pay off my student loans first, and then get my parents a bigger house, especially since they just had their third younger brother."
Warren's idea immediately gained the approval of the others. Instead of considering vague matters, this was indeed a more practical choice.
Among the five, only Eric did not have student loans; the other four carried debts ranging from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of dollars.
It's exaggerated, but this is the cost of education in America.
In America, public university tuition is roughly $30,000 per year, which is $120,000 for four years. The specific fees depend on the chosen courses.
For example, at the University of California, Los Angeles, where Eric attends, his tuition is $39,000 per year based on his courses.
This was the price in 2002. If it were 20 years later, it would have increased by at least another $10,000.
And this is just tuition. If you add in book fees, room and board, etc., it's another $30,000 per year, $120,000 for four years, totaling $200,000 to $300,000 to attend university.
Of course, if one is frugal, doesn't participate in various activities, or socialize, it's possible to save a lot of money, but few people do this because student loans are available.
Therefore, most college graduates are burdened with heavy loans upon graduation. Obama himself took 21 years to pay his off, which illustrates what a heavy burden this is.
In this country, the largest category of loans is mortgages, and the second is student loans.
Without Eric, Warren would have needed at least 10 years or more to pay off his loans, assuming he found a good job.
Judy: "So, should we continue? I've run the numbers for you. You've already made $1 billion. Continue or stop?"
"And I've noticed that the odds are getting closer and closer. Even for the South Korean team, they probably won't get odds higher than one-to-one in the next match."
Judy's question was also what the other three were concerned about. Without Eric's guidance, they wouldn't dare to bet recklessly.
Eric thought for a moment and typed on the keyboard: "South Korea versus Germany in two days. Prepare to bet on the Germany team to win. This will be the last time."
Billy typed a question mark: "Shouldn't it be the South Korean team? They clearly bribed the referees."
Bordeaux: "Yes, although it's shameless, it's effective in terms of results."
Billy typed a question mark: "Shouldn't it be the South Korean team? They clearly bribed the referees."
Bordeaux: "Yes, although it's shameless, it's effective in terms of results."
Judy: "Is it because the South Korean team is going to be interfered with? After all, cheating in front of the whole world, such overly shameless behavior, FIFA wouldn't allow it."
Eric couldn't help but admire Judy's speed of thought: "You're right. The Germany team is not to be trifled with. With Spain and Italy as precedents, they won't repeat the same mistakes. I've received news that the Football Emperor, Beckenbauer, is going to make a move."
All four simultaneously typed question marks: "Who is Beckenbauer?"
Eric was too lazy to explain: "Don't worry about who he is. Just know he's German, and he has a lot of influence. Once he steps in, the South Korean team is doomed to lose."
"But those betting companies were already badly burned by the South Korean team in the previous two matches, so in this upcoming match, the odds for the Germany team will be much higher than for the South Korean team. What we need to do is reverse the harvest and make one last killing."
According to his memories from his previous life, Beckenbauer forcefully demanded a change of referee 30 minutes before the match started. In such a short time, the betting companies couldn't react.
In the early hours two days later, the match between the South Korean team and the Germany team was about to begin. Both teams' players were preparing to enter the field when FIFA suddenly announced a change of referee.
Outside the stadium, numerous betting companies were all stunned, because the odds for the South Korean team were 1:1.5, while the odds for the Germany team were 1:4. This would be another night of spitting blood.
As expected, Germany easily defeated South Korea 1:0. Eric once again harvested $80 million.
The reason it wasn't over a hundred million was because some small betting companies had already declared bankruptcy, leaving no place to bet.