The "Joy" of a Sandwich Cookie

Over the next week, Shrek's screen share continued to climb, rising from 15% to 30%.

With the increased screen time, its weekly box office also reached $60 million.

Not only that, but its IMDB score kept climbing, from 7.7 to 7.9. It was a full-blown, unstoppable success.

If Shrek's performance was already impressive, then Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, which had only been out for a week, had stunned countless people.

In its first week, it raked in $120 million at the box office.

It was on par with The Mummy Returns's first-week box office performance.

But this was achieved with only a 25% screen share and no box office inflation, demonstrating the true dominance of a box office king.

Lin Yuan had loved the Harry Potter film series in his past life, and he loved it even more in this one.

After all, it was an ally who helped him dig a pit and bury Director Sommers, even if it was just a coincidence.

He also inadvertently noticed a detail: the actors in the Harry Potter films were all British!

He hadn't noticed this in his past life. Back then, he was just an ordinary moviegoer; who would bother to find out the nationality of the actors?

It was said that to maintain the authentic British flavor of the Harry Potter films, the author J.K. Rowling had strongly insisted that all actors must be British. Americans, Canadians, and New Zealanders, despite being Anglo-Saxons, didn't have that same essence, so they couldn't be used.

This story might fool casual movie fans, but to Lin Yuan, who was in the industry, it was laughable.

When did the original author have that much say?

This was clearly the result of the British film industry's capital at work. They needed a star product to create a batch of British stars, so they invested without regard for cost in this project.

Director Sommers could only see the production costs of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, but he was blind to the countless potential forces behind it, while Lin Yuan saw it all.

Therefore, the success of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone wasn't just due to the film's quality, but more so because of the British film industry's capital's all-or-nothing gamble to create a legend.

How could a film crafted with so much effort possibly use foreign actors?

J.K. Rowling's disapproval was merely a fig leaf.

As a reborn individual, Lin Yuan knew that the Harry Potter film series had provided livelihoods for 25% of British actors. From leads to supporting roles, all the actors were British. This was the real livelihood of millions.

Not having acted in Harry Potter was a perpetual pain for British actors, proof of their exclusion from the mainstream.

Lin Yuan cared about this because the power of the British film and television industry's capital was not only immense but also a natural ally he could unite with.

Its strength was evident in the later TV series Game of Thrones, another masterpiece meticulously replicated by the British film and television industry.

This series was billed as an American drama, yet almost all its actors were British. It might as well have been called a British drama.

And its potential for alliance lay in the fact that Lin Yuan needed more external forces and support when facing the rigid, old white men of Hollywood.

Regardless, the British film and television industry's capital was an excellent choice.

In response, Lin Yuan extended an olive branch, using his influence on IMDB to help guide the film ratings of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone in a positive direction.

As a result, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone's IMDB rating quickly climbed to 7.6, forming a pincer movement with Shrek's 7.9 rating against The Mummy Returns's mere 6.4, creating a word-of-mouth crushing effect.

With Harry Potter's massive success further boosting its screen share, it was inevitable that The Mummy Returns, which had only 20% of the screen share left, would be further squeezed.

It could be said that over the past week, The Mummy Returns, which had seemed to be on a clear path to success, had been completely reversed.

Everyone could see that its defeat was sealed.

But Director Sommers clearly didn't want to accept fate; he was still struggling.

At the Egyptian Theatre, where The Mummy Returns held its premiere, the cinema, which was considered its stronghold, had seen its screen share drop from a high of 60% to just 25%.

Director Sommers intercepted the theater owner, Mr. Land, at the entrance of the lobby.

"Mr. Land, I implore you, give me more screen time. At least let it run for another two weeks. Don't be so quick to reduce my screen share," Director Sommers' voice was somewhat humble.

He had no choice but to bow his head now. The Mummy Returns's high promotional costs, coupled with its continuously declining box office.

If this continued, the goal of $600 million in global box office revenue would become increasingly distant, and he would definitely face severe consequences.

Losing to Lin Yuan was something he absolutely could not accept.

The Egyptian Theatre represented the attitude of hundreds of cinemas in California. If he could win over Mr. Land, he could stabilize the screen share.

"Director Sommers, from a personal standpoint, I'd like to help you. But this involves hundreds of cinemas; no one can go against money. Your request puts me in a very difficult position," Mr. Land refused his request.

"What do I need to do for you to help?"

"Unless you guarantee a minimum box office performance, and you cover any shortfall yourself, then I can consider maintaining your screen share," Mr. Land stated his condition.

"..."

Director Sommers hesitated. He had already used up his savings from the previous self-purchased tickets. If he now agreed to a box office guarantee, he would have to mortgage his property to get a loan.

If something unexpected happened in the end, he would truly be ruined.

Should he go all out and bet on this one last chance?

Director Sommers began to waver: maybe it was better to just let it go, at least not to cut off all his own paths.

"Yo? Isn't this Director Sommers? You look like a clown right now."

A harsh, mocking voice cut through the air. This was a voice that Director Sommers hated to his core.

If it weren't for him, how could I have ended up in this predicament?

His budget had been calculated, and he was forced to shoulder the high publicity and distribution costs, leaving him in a difficult situation.

The premiere date was also a pitfall he had dug for himself. At first, he thought May 4th would be a better date, but he didn't expect it to be a hellish monster movie season.

"Lin Yuan!" Director Sommers roared, his eyes bloodshot as he stared directly at Lin Yuan. "Damn it, why are you here?"

"Accompanying Director Cohen to visit Mr. Land. After all, the movie is set to be released next month."

"You won't have a good outcome!"

"It will definitely be better than yours! You're going to lose, and this sour loser attitude looks terrible." Lin Yuan's smile was full of mockery.

"No! I haven't lost yet! I still have a chance!"

"Since we know each other, take my advice: give up! Don't let yourself lose everything."

Lin Yuan knew that saying this would only have the opposite effect, but that was exactly what he wanted.

"No! I will win, and I will see the moment you crawl away in disgrace," Director Sommers said fiercely, as if he had made up his mind.

He turned to look at the cinema owner, Mr. Land. "I guarantee you the minimum, please continue to support me."

Seeing this, Lin Yuan sneered and said nothing. He knew Director Sommers was completely finished.

The road to hell has always been paved with extravagant hopes.

The wind on the rooftop was quite fierce