April 8, Monday
10 a.m.
The opening weekend box office numbers for Run Lola Run were in.
As Zucker had expected, Paramount's Primal Fear topped the North American box office this weekend, earning $23.8 million over its opening weekend;
Columbia Pictures' Monkey Trouble came in second with $18.2 million. Paulie and A Man's Day ranked third and fourth, earning $14.903 million and $10.8 million respectively over the three-day weekend.
None of the other films earned more than $10 million over the three-day weekend.
Run Lola Run took in $1.82 million over the weekend, placing twelfth.
"Hey, our movie's doing pretty well at the box office!" Zucker was in a fantastic mood.
Its $1.82 million box office haul wasn't much, but compared with its production cost of just $800,000, it was already impressive.
It had earned back its costs. What more could you ask for?!
"Boss, I've got good news!"
"This morning, I got calls from several theater chains."
At that moment, Victor entered the office, beaming.
"Are they expanding Run Lola Run's theater count?" Zucker asked.
"That's right."
Victor said excitedly, "They're not AMC, Regal Entertainment Group, or Cinemark—the three major North American theater chains—but the chains that contacted us are still pretty substantial. They're expected to offer us at least 300 screens."
Add those 300 screens to the original 355, and the total would exceed 650.
"That really is good news."
It was, of course, good news for Zucker. It meant Run Lola Run could bring in even more box office revenue.
More than 650 screens couldn't compare to the three or four thousand screens that Jurassic Park, X-Men, and The Avengers often opened on. But those were big-budget blockbusters, backed by major Hollywood studios like Universal Pictures, 20th Century Fox, and Disney.
And Wald Pictures? What was that?
Among the hundreds of film and television production companies in Hollywood, it was a minor player, barely noticeable. Securing more than 650 screens was already a remarkable achievement.
"Boss, looks like we'll have to raise our box office expectations for Run Lola Run."
Victor was suddenly brimming with confidence.
His confidence came not only from the opening weekend numbers, but also from the film's strong word of mouth.
That was right—Run Lola Run was getting great reviews!
It had an 8.4 rating on IMDb;
a 75% Popcornmeter score;
and a 92% freshness rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Though the North American internet in 1996 couldn't compare with that of the twenty-first century, more than 40 million people were online. The film's strong word of mouth was bound to draw in some of them.
Of course, Zucker couldn't expect too many people to go out of their way to see Run Lola Run. After all, Americans were famous around the world for being illiterate and uncouth. Most of them preferred the same thing Chinese audiences did: blockbusters!
"Victor, since our film's word of mouth is so good, let's work harder and try to secure a few more screens."
Zucker excitedly swept an arm through the air.
Run Lola Run was exceeding his expectations.
"I remember that in the original timeline, Run Lola Run earned only a little over $7.5 million in North America."
"And the original was in German, which made it a foreign-language film in the United States and put it at an inherent disadvantage. If it could earn $7.5 million, there's no reason my English-language version can't do better at the North American box office."
In the original timeline, Run Lola Run had performed only moderately in North America. But in Europe, it was hailed as "the film that saved European cinema." It did especially well in Germany, France, and Italy, earning more than $100 million across Europe.
A few days passed in a flash, and Friday arrived.
Run Lola Run earned $690,000 on Monday, then $730,000, $520,000, and $490,000 over the following days. Adding those four days to its opening weekend, its seven-day total reached $4.25 million.
Its North American box office was now projected to land between $13 million and $15 million.
Even if that wouldn't be enough to place it in this year's North American box office top 50, it was more than enough for the fledgling Wald Pictures to feel proud of.
"I, Zucker, really am a directing genius—a director with a ten-million-dollar hit. Yeah, I like the sound of that."
Zucker was getting cocky.
His head was swelling.
He was about to explode!
Of course, it wasn't because of Run Lola Run's box office. It was because Yahoo went public that very day!
In 1994, David Filo and Jerry Yang founded Yahoo in the United States.
On April 12, 1996, it officially listed on Wall Street. Its total stock value reached $500 million on the first day, even though Yahoo's 1995 revenue had been only $1.3 million and it had actually lost $630,000. It wouldn't turn a mere $90,000 profit until the end of 1996.
But who cared?!
At the time, American investors said, "The internet isn't about current earnings; it's about future earnings. With enough users, it's bound to make a fortune!"
Investors and stockholders were going crazy;
and Zucker was going crazy too—or, rather, completely off his rocker!
He invested all his liquid assets in one go, including the money he'd gotten by mortgaging a building in Silicon Valley. That day, he put in a total of $10 million.
And he used tenfold leverage!
After the market closed and the trades were settled, Zucker—having gone all in—had made $8.2 million in profit. The gain wasn't as spectacular as Pixar's IPO, but it was still astonishing. He now had more than $18 million in total wealth deposited in his personal account.
Of course, the more than $10 million didn't stay in his account for long.
After Saturday and Sunday passed, the market opened on Monday, and Zucker invested in Yahoo stock again, putting in a full $10 million.
This time, he didn't use leverage, because he planned to hold the stock long term. After all, this was Yahoo! Before its stock price reached its peak of $475 in January 2000, he would sell all his shares and pocket at least $130–140 million.
Returns of more than ten times were the sort of astounding gains only the internet mania of the nineties could deliver.
Good news just kept coming!
During its second weekend, Run Lola Run expanded to more screens and took in $2.127 million, surpassing its opening weekend.
Its total box office reached $6.377 million!
The good news kept coming because there was more from the United Kingdom, too.
The BBC and Ragdoll Productions were now determined to acquire the rights to Teletubbies. The only question was how much they would pay.
So Zucker, CEO Victor, and negotiation expert Candy boarded a flight to London, all smiles.
On the plane, a wild thought suddenly crossed Zucker's mind: "J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series was probably being completed around 1996 or 1997. If the opportunity's right, I could strike another gold mine."
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