Chapter 316: Box office breaks $10 billion

"Rick, I chose Tyronn Lue as the backup for the No. 1 position, and I'm going to choose Raja Bell as the first backup for the No. 3 position. What do you think?"

After thinking it over, he contacted head coach Rick Carlisle to discuss the idea of ​​a three-guard bench lineup.

"Okay, I think it's okay."

Carlisle thinks it's okay, since it's a bench lineup anyway, and Crawford's defense is not that good, so he will be responsible for offense. Tyronn Lue and Raja Bell are good at defense, which can just fill in the gaps for Crawford.

Scott Layden then contacted Lagabel and offered him a four-year, $4 million contract, with a discussion of position and playing time.

The contract is not big, but it's okay. Rajabell also wants to come to the Knicks. There are generally few players in this league who can refuse the current Knicks' recruitment, so he quickly agreed.

With Rajabell now in place, the main rotation lineup reached 9 players, with first substitutes for positions one, two and three. Next, Layden began looking for substitutes for the inside.

There are only one rookie, David Lee, at the two inside positions, so at least two more are needed.

There is one person who is clinging to his power, the third pick in the first round of 96, 29-year-old forward Rahim.

Although he was the third pick in the 96 draft, he didn't have many honors. One was being selected to the All-Rookie First Team in his rookie season, and another was being a reserve in the All-Star Game in 02. Apart from that, he had nothing else. He did very poorly among Kobe's rookies in 96.

Rahim is willing to take a veteran minimum salary, but is only willing to sign for one year.

Last season, he played as the main power forward for the Trail Blazers, averaging 34.6 minutes, 16.8 points, 7.3 rebounds and 2 assists per game. He was strong on offense but weak on defense. However, he was seriously injured and was out after the All-Star Game. His current strength is unknown, but it is definitely not as good as last season.

"Rahim switched from small forward to power forward, so he should be fine as a substitute at the three or four positions. Since there is no other choice, he is the one to be chosen."

Scott Layden immediately contacted Rahim's agent and offered him a one-year veteran contract to recruit him into the team.

After we take care of one, we still lack people in the interior, so we need to pick at least one more.

After he considered it and contacted Horry, it was too late. The Spurs kept Horry with a three-year, $10 million contract.

"Shet!"

He was a little angry. Horry's agent had previously asked for a 4-year, $2000 million contract, or at least $1800 million. Was he being taken advantage of?
In the end, he selected a forward named Michael Ruffin, the third pick in the second round of the 99 draft. He averaged 16 minutes and 4.2 rebounds per game for the Wizards last season, which was about his ability.

He offered a two-year, $225 million contract to sign this marginal player.

So there are 11 people in total, 5 inside players, and now we have to pick an outside player, and finally choose a player who can play the three or four positions, mainly as a small forward.

There is a free agent, Bobby Simmons, a 201 cm swingman, who contacted the Knicks and hoped to join.

Simmons was the 01th pick in the second round of the 13 draft. He played as a starter for the Clippers last season, averaging 37.3 minutes per game, 16.4 points, 5.9 rebounds, 2.7 assists, and 1.4 steals, with a shooting percentage of 46.6% and a three-point shooting percentage of 43.5%.

His development was not smooth. He played for several teams in four seasons and was relegated to the Development League for a period of time. He also had hidden injuries on his feet. Relying on his good data last season, he asked for a big contract, but the Clippers refused to renew his contract.

He contacted his agent and was offered $5 million for five years, which shocked him because the Knicks had money, but they didn't spend it that way.

Next, he was not too anxious. The lineup was basically complete and he just needed to take his time to select.

……

On July 7, Iron Eagle King 4 had been released for a month and was still showing on 1 screens, with a box office revenue of $1580 million per day.

The total North American box office reached 38850 million U.S. dollars, close to 4 million U.S. dollars.

The overseas box office, excluding China, has exceeded 4 million, reaching 4.9 million US dollars.

The box office in China has also reached 3.8 million yuan, and there is no problem in breaking 4 million.

The total global box office, including the Chinese box office, is US$9.26 million, aiming for the 10 billion mark.

7月9号，铁鹰王1北美票房突破4亿美元，同时华夏票房突破4亿人民币，全球票房达到了9.5亿美元。

The next step is to persevere and we should be able to break the 10 billion mark before the end of July.

The current highest-grossing Hollywood movie is Titanic, with $18 billion, followed by The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King with $11 billion, and Jurassic Park with $10.29 billion.

There are only three movies in the billion dollar club. If Iron Eagle King 10 can break 1 billion, it will be the fourth.

Of course, the box office of Star Wars Episode 1, which was released half a month earlier, was also a huge hit. Although it has not yet broken 10 billion, there is hope.

Moreover, the production cost of Iron Eagle King 1 was only 8000 million US dollars. After deducting the share of the theaters and the distributor, the producer's profit should be more than 4 million US dollars.

Titanic cost nearly $3 million to produce and made a profit of $6.7 million, making it the most profitable movie in Hollywood to date.

In addition, Iron Eagle King 1 will have huge peripheral income in the future. According to general rules, it will account for at least one-third of the box office.

For example, the income from Li Lianjie's Hollywood movies, VCDs and other peripheral products is generally higher than the box office.

Therefore, this movie has been rated by the media as one of the most profitable movies in Hollywood and also the highest-grossing action movie in Hollywood.

Thanks to this movie, American Mid-Autumn Film and Television Company has become one of the best film companies in Hollywood.

This qualification will bring huge benefits to the company in terms of film distribution in the future.

Because all the major cinema chains made a lot of money from this movie, everything is based on profit, and the company has established good relationships with them.

He Zhongqiu has become the most box office-appealing and popular Hollywood super action star, without a doubt, and his salary has been upgraded to 2500 million US dollars + 20% of the global box office share.

This is the highest level of pay, surpassing first-line superstars and reaching the level of Governor Arnold and Keanu Reeves.

King Kong, which was released on June 6, has exhausted its box office potential three weeks after its release and is close to being withdrawn from the theaters. With a global box office of $15 million, it will have no problem breaking $1.82 million.

But the budget of this movie reached 2.52 million US dollars, which means that if the peripheral income is not counted, the movie will lose money. Whether it will lose money in the end depends on the peripheral income.

"Boss, Disney has contacted me many times and asked me to resume negotiations immediately." Ross Lewis called that night.

"Let's talk about it. It would be enough if the box office can break 10 billion," said He Zhongqiu.

"Okay then, I will officially start negotiations with Disney." Lewis said excitedly.

"Ross, I think it's time to give you a raise, what do you think?" He Zhongqiu suddenly said.

"Haha, Boss, this is the best news."

Ross Lewis was very happy. After two years, it was finally his turn to get a pay raise.

Frank Zhang previously organized several fighting matches for Boss and made a ton of money, receiving millions of dollars in prize money, which made him drool all the time.

"The annual salary is tentatively set at 100 million US dollars. If the company's profit exceeds 5000 million US dollars, you will be given 5% of the profit as dividend. What do you think?" He Zhongqiu said.

"Boss, it's settled. I think I'll get tens of millions a year in the future, haha!" Ross Lewis said excitedly.

"I also hope you get an annual salary of tens of millions."

The next night, Frank Zhang came over.

"Boss, I've agreed with Pride that the match against Choi Hong-man will be scheduled for September 9st. Ross and I have discussed that the filming of Iron Eagle King 1 can be completed by the end of August." He Zhongqiu nodded. It only took ten days to shoot and the progress was very fast. The action scenes were not difficult for him, so it would definitely be completed by late August.

Frank Zhang added: "The Korean side requires boxing rules."

"Okay."

It doesn’t matter if he wishes you a happy Mid-Autumn Festival. Choi Hong-man is a sumo wrestler and boxer himself, and is now switching to MMA, so it’s not surprising that he follows boxing rules.

Frank Zhang continued: "The venue is in Seoul. I am worried that there will be trouble in Korea. All the referees and recorders are from the United States and Europe."

"Security measures must be taken." He Zhongqiu reminded.

"Don't worry, Boss."

Frank Zhang nodded and said, "Your appearance fee is 4000 million US dollars. Nobuyuki Sakakibara said that the Koreans are only willing to pay this much at most."

"Where is Cui Hongwan?" He Zhongqiu asked.

"He's $100 million."

Frank Zhang said: "I asked for a bonus pool of at least 5000 million US dollars, and the Koreans actually agreed. I think they have great confidence in Choi Hong-man. I kind of regret that the bonus pool was too small."

He Zhongqiu smiled and didn't care much.

According to the information he obtained, Choi Hong-man is about to turn 25 and is at his peak. He joined the Korean sumo world in 03 and was known as the Korean sumo grand yokozuna. He became the Korean K1 champion this year and was then expelled from the sumo world.

He is 218 cm tall, weighs 160 kg, and has a wingspan of 215 cm. He is known as the Korean Monster and is loved by Koreans. The ratings of his games are very high.

He also watched several videos of Choi Hong-man's games. He had no explosiveness and no speed. In fact, he didn't know why Koreans believed that Choi Hong-man had the ability to beat him.

Frank Zhang said: "In terms of PPV, Pride and ESPN reached an agreement and purchased the TV broadcast rights for $3000 million."

"My appearance fee and bonus pool are all paid by Koreans. It looks like Pride is going to make a fortune again," said He Zhongqiu.

"Koreans are not that stupid. In terms of copyright, Pride must give a portion to Koreans," said Frank Zhang.

Then he went on to say: “As for the PPV revenue sharing, ESPN takes 95%, you take the remaining 5%, and Choi Hong-man takes %.

To avoid taxes, Boss, half of your income this time will be put under the name of the company, so you can pay less personal tax."

He Zhongqiu nodded, this was something that had been discussed long ago.

"What about the sumo match?" he asked.

"It hasn't been finalized yet. I'm afraid we'll have to wait until mid-season," said Frank Zhang.

"Let's talk about it later." He Zhongqiu said.

Frank Zhang then said, "There is one more thing, Boss, the NBA officially announced that the Knicks' preseason games will be held in Yanjing, and their opponents will be the Lakers and the Heat, three games each."

"What time?" He Zhongqiu asked.

"It starts on October 10th."

"October 10th?"

He Zhongqiu calculated the schedule and found that the exterior shots should be completed by the end of September, and the filming should be in the studio of Beijing Film Studio in October, so there would be no problem playing the preseason game at night.

……

Next, He Zhongqiu continued filming, and then tormented Yang Xue every night.

Yang Xue was in so much pain that she felt she wouldn't live long. On August 8, He Zhongqiu went to film a movie, but she didn't go, saying she was not feeling well, and she secretly ran back to China.

He Zhongqiu returned home in the evening, and the workers at home told him the news. His cell phone was not connected, so he was probably still on the plane.

"Sister Xue, where have you been?" He asked hurriedly after the call got through several hours later.

Yang Xue said, "Sanjin, Jiang Yuyan's Legend will be broadcast on the 4th. I just arrived in Yanjing and will participate in the promotion. Director Wang notified me."

"No, Sister Xue, who are you fooling?" He Zhongqiu said.

"Who asked you to torment me?" Yang Xue said angrily.

"Well, Sister Xue, you can't just think about yourself. I have never been satisfied once when I was with you." He Zhongqiu said aggrievedly.

"Go find a concubine for yourself. I don't care." Yang Xue said angrily and helplessly.

"Don't worry about who cares about you, you are the first wife." He Zhongqiu shouted.

"Oh no, so annoying, I'm hanging up! Beep, beep, beep..."

He Zhongqiu laughed and said that when he returned to China to film White Bone Realm, he would mess with Sister Xue again. I'm afraid Sister Xue would automatically find him a concubine.

The next day, August 8, He Zhongqiu received good news. Two months after the release of Iron Eagle King 3, the global box office officially exceeded 1 billion US dollars.

The domestic box office exceeded 5 million yuan, 4.2 million in North America, excluding China, and 5.175 million US dollars in overseas box office.

The film has not been taken off the screen in North America yet, with 650 screens still showing it. It is also still showing it in China, and a small number of screens in other parts of the country, so the box office is still accumulating.

According to Ross Lewis, the second-highest box office hit in history, The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King, may not break the $11 billion mark, but Star Wars: Episode 1 and Jurassic Park have a chance of breaking it.

Star Wars Episode 1 just broke the $10 billion box office record and has now been taken off the screen with a global box office of $10.27 billion.

Dwayne Johnson called and said excitedly: "Wolverine, we must work together on another movie, preferably a series of movies, it's a deal."

The next day, Yang Xue called and said, "Sanjin, Wang Jinhua ended the contract with Huayi and opened a brokerage company with Chengtian Company."

"How many artists did she bring with her?" He Zhongqiu asked casually.

Yang Xue laughed and said, "All the big names have left. Even Teacher Chen Daoming opened a studio with our support. She just brought a few young artists over, but not a single first-tier star."

At this point, she suddenly said, "By the way, Sanjin, it's Xixi's eighteenth birthday, why don't you give her a gift?"

"Oh, Sister Xue, please help me prepare it." He Zhongqiu said after hesitating for a moment.

Yang Xue ignored this and said, "She is a believer in religion. According to religious rules, her mother was planning to hold a coming-of-age ceremony for her, but she is currently filming a movie and that's not possible."

"Christianity? I believe in Taoism. We are on different paths!" He Zhongqiu joked.

"No, Sanjin, you grew up in a Buddhist temple. You don't believe in Buddhism but Taoism?" Yang Xue asked puzzledly.

"Sister Xue, my father lives in the temple for work, not for belief. My father worships the Zhenwu Patriarch." He Zhongqiu said.

(End of this chapter)