Harry Potter Arrives

New York, Conrad Hotel.

"Director, the final numbers for the opening weekend box office are in." The blonde, blue-eyed female assistant, wearing black silk high heels, approached Director Sommers with a file.

Instead of sitting on the sofa, the assistant plopped herself onto his lap before smiling and opening the file for him to see.

The move was practiced and natural; any slight resistance she might have had earlier had long since vanished.

She was the female assistant Director Sommers had hired just last month. Initially, when the director made inappropriate advances, she had strongly resisted.

However, after Director Sommers threatened to fire her on the spot and combined it with a hefty financial incentive, she ultimately succumbed.

Did she resent her own beauty for attracting a man's lust?

How could she! If she weren't beautiful, her abilities alone wouldn't have landed her such a high-paying job.

This was a white-collar position with a monthly salary of $30,000.

Did she resent Director Sommers' coercion and temptation?

Even less so. On the contrary, she was grateful for such a transactional opportunity. Would her life have been better if she hadn't made this deal?

A woman's youth is fleeting. Meeting a suitable buyer in her prime was a stroke of immense fortune.

The female assistant's heart was filled with gratitude, causing her body to become even more pliant.

Director Sommers, embracing the fiery body in his arms, felt his head grow warm, wishing he could immediately engage in a passionate encounter.

But now was not the time. With his extensive experience, he possessed a degree of self-control.

"One hundred and twenty million dollars, twenty million more than we projected. Our movie is a massive hit, Director, you're truly amazing! No matter where we are, your brilliance captivates me." The female assistant said, her eyes sparkling like silk.

Seeing the results, Director Sommers didn't erupt in joy. Instead, his expression turned grim.

Because the results hadn't met his expectations. With major cinemas giving a high 40% screen allocation, they only managed to pull in $120 million?

Keep in mind that $30 million of that amount was from tickets he'd purchased himself.

This meant the actual box office revenue was only $90 million.

After spending so much on promotional expenses, even resorting to buying tickets themselves, the box office was still $10 million short of expectations.

This outcome cast a shadow over Director Sommers' heart.

"Has the cinema screen allocation been stable recently?" Director Sommers asked.

The screen allocation reflected the confidence of various cinemas in "The Mummy Returns" and would determine the film's box office trend after its opening week – whether it would remain strong or plummet.

"There's a slight issue. Our screen allocation will be reduced by 8% next week," the female assistant replied cautiously.

"Why is our screen allocation being reduced?"

A drop of 8% in screen allocation was definitely not a minor issue, and Director Sommers immediately became vigilant.

"Because the word-of-mouth and audience turnout for 'Shrek' have been exceptionally good. Major cinemas have taken some of our screen allocation to give to it," the female assistant explained.

"Damn it! What kind of animated garbage is that? Its audience turnout is better than our masterpiece?" Director Sommers' anger surged, and he shouted.

The female assistant trembled in his arms, afraid to move away. She could only remain silent.

"Increase the self-purchase of tickets; otherwise, our screen allocation will drop further," Director Sommers said after a moment of regained composure.

"But our budget can't handle it. This money wasn't included in the promotional expense plan," the female assistant reminded him.

"I'll cover this money myself for now. Once we earn it back, I'll take it from the box office revenue," Director Sommers had to make a painful decision.

He had no other options now. He didn't want to be kicked out of Hollywood in disgrace, so even if it meant emptying his savings, he had to push forward.

"The issue of audience turnout can be resolved with self-purchased tickets, but the problem of poor word-of-mouth also needs to be addressed quickly," the female assistant presented another challenge.

"Let's work on managing the word-of-mouth. Prepare some special features from critics in major newspapers and media outlets," Director Sommers said.

"We've already done some of that before, but the results weren't good."

"What? Why weren't the results good?" Director Sommers asked, puzzled.

"Because young people aren't watching this anymore, so the effect wasn't ideal."

"Then what are young people watching?"

"They share and review on the internet, on a website called IMDB," the female assistant further explained. "On IMDB, our movie has a rating of 6.2, while 'Shrek' has a high of 7.7."

"What's so good about this damn animated movie! Get that website PR-ed, and boost our score!"

"They refused our PR efforts and even used more space to mock our movie," the female assistant replied cautiously.

"To hell with IMDB!"

Director Sommers, of course, had no idea that Mr. Eisen had invested in IMDB and gained influence. How could Lin Yuan possibly give him a chance to PR the movie's reputation?

Not only would he not give him a chance, but it wouldn't be enough to step on him a few more times.

Damn it, not a single thing is going smoothly, Director Sommers cursed inwardly.

He held the delicate body in his arms, a faint feeling growing within him: the good times he was enjoying seemed to be coming to an end.

No! I will never allow this to happen!

Those yellow-skinned monkeys are the scum who should be kicked out of Hollywood. Hollywood should be the territory of us Anglo-Saxons. Should all sorts of trash be allowed to come and get a piece of the pie?

"Director, a new movie is being released tomorrow. Is it a big threat to us?" the female assistant in his arms asked.

"You mean Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone? It's a fairy tale for children. It shouldn't be much of a threat to us."

"But the production cost for this movie isn't low, it's a top-tier blockbuster with a budget of $130 million."

"They spent all their money on filmmaking, and their promotional expenses are less than half of ours. They won't be able to squeeze us out of screen time," Director Sommers said confidently.

If Lin Yuan were present, he would have burst out laughing hearing that.

Who did he think wasn't a threat?

For the next few years, the Harry Potter film series and the The Lord of the Rings trilogy were the only two god-like presences, jointly dominating the box office for several years.

While there might have been wins and losses between those two, any other movie facing them would be crushed without suspense.

Perhaps due to the butterfly effect caused by Lin Yuan's rebirth, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, originally scheduled for November, was moved up to early June.

During the previous meeting chaired by President Smith, Lin Yuan saw the release date for this movie and immediately knew that The Mummy Returns was doomed and Director Sommers had already lost!

This was what Lin Yuan called "timing."

The Mummy Returns was indeed a good film, but facing the pincer attack from two monsters like Shrek and Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, it would inevitably have its screen time squeezed, ultimately ending in regret.

Director Sommers hadn't yet realized the severity of the situation. In his eyes, his opponent was just a children's film for kids, and its quality couldn't compare to his masterpiece.

But he hadn't considered how much the big stars of The Mummy Returns took in salary.

How much did the young actors in the first Harry Potter movie take in salary?

Although on the surface the production cost difference was only $30 million, the actual funds used for filmmaking differed by several orders of magnitude.

This would inevitably lead to Harry Potter having an absolute advantage in quality.

The great demon king, Harry Potter, was about to descend, and Director Sommers would feel that bone-chilling cold.