civilwarnovels Chapter 179 Someone's Going Crazy
Chapter 179 Someone's Going Crazy
Chapter 179 Someone's Going Crazy
Henry Paulson's cigar, burning slowly between his fingers, swirled with greyish-white smoke before him. He suddenly broke the silence in the room, "By the way, how much is 'Titanic' making at the box office?"
Everyone knows that the root of everything is "Titanic." It was this movie's success that allowed Ernst to make a remarkable comeback.
A few months ago, when Ernst defied public opinion and insisted on pushing this massively invested, epic film, which was met with skepticism from countless industry insiders, no one could have imagined that the film would have such a dramatic impact on both the film itself and the outside world.
Why does Ernst dare to repeatedly demand high premiums? It's because this super upstart has repeatedly succeeded and has yet to suffer a defeat.
This near-perfect resume earned him unimaginable trust on Wall Street, and even though the conditions he proposed often went beyond the norm, countless investors were still willing to follow in his footsteps.
However, the box office flop of "Titanic" in its opening week led many to believe that this would be the end of his undefeated myth.
When the opening weekend box office figures appeared on the front pages of major media outlets in a manner far below expectations, the entire Hollywood seemed to breathe a sigh of relief.
Those competitors who had been stung by Ernst's brilliance, and those financial capitals that had not benefited from his rise, were secretly raising their glasses in celebration.
Ernst's success curse has been broken; he is no longer the omnipotent figure he once was. Even Goldman Sachs' internal analysis report has lowered its assessment of Ernst's companies.
But fate's script is often more convoluted than the most exciting movie: with Titanic's box office staging a super comeback in its second week of release, with a single-week box office increase of more than 150%, everything took a dramatic turn.
It wasn't just the phenomenal box office success of MGM that had an impact on various aspects of life.
"Titanic's box office has once again reversed its decline in the third week." Hendrick's voice was filled with barely suppressed surprise. Even though he had already learned of this through internal channels, it still felt unbelievable to hear it again in front of his boss.
It's important to understand that for most blockbuster films, maintaining their box office performance in their third week of release is already a miracle.
The fact that the film has defied expectations and continued to grow on top of its already impressive box office performance is something that no one in film history has ever dared to imagine.
He cleared his throat and announced the specific figures: "The North American box office was $4931 million, the overseas box office was $6884 million, the European market continued to perform strongly, contributing $4446 million, with the UK, France and Germany accounting for the largest share of the box office."
"Based on all calculations, Titanic grossed $1.18 million worldwide in its third week, bringing its total box office to over $2.5 million."
$100 million.
Hendrick paused, seemingly giving his boss time to process the numbers, before adding, "Many media outlets have predicted that *Titanic* will break global box office records, and some organizations predict its total box office may exceed 15 billion euros."
$100 million.
"So many?" Henry Paulson exclaimed, sitting up abruptly without even noticing the cigar ash that had fallen onto his expensive suit trousers.
$15 billion is a staggering figure in the film market. The previous global box office record was below $10 billion, and even a phenomenal film like Jurassic Park failed to break the $10 billion mark.
He never imagined that this film, which tells the story of a shipwreck that happened a century ago, would achieve such an astonishing box office success.
Hendrick nodded, his tone carrying a professional analysis: "The main reason is that the film's box office performance is too stable, and according to Nielsen's latest survey, Titanic's rewatch rate is ridiculously high, with each moviegoer watching it an average of more than 3.1 times."
"This is an achievement that those blockbuster movies can't even imagine, and can only dream of. Some couples even make watching it repeatedly a regular part of their dates."
Henry Paulson fell silent, his fingers tapping unconsciously on his desk, making a rhythmic tapping sound.
Suddenly, as if remembering something important, he looked up at Hendrick, his eyes sharp. "I remember Jurassic Park 2 is also released this week, right?"
Hendrick understood immediately and replied, "We started shorting Seagram's stock two weeks ago."
"Although Jurassic Park 2 performed well at the box office and will certainly bring a lot of revenue to Universal, it seems impossible now to meet the expectations of Universal's management and break the box office record of Jurassic Park 1."
While Universal is not publicly listed, that doesn't mean it can't allow Wall Street to profit in the financial markets, and Seagram, its parent company, became a target.
There was a moment of silence in the office, with only the ticking of the antique wall clock echoing in the air, allowing Henry Paulson a moment to process the news before Hendrick continued to report what he knew about Ernst.
He knew that his boss was now paying close attention to this newly rich American, as it would affect Goldman Sachs' future attitude.
"The second private equity fund, Wealth No. 2, issued by Ernst Asset Management, which you previously suggested I keep an eye on, has already reached its quota and entered its closed period four days ago."
A private equity fund of $20 billion! Even for private equity giants like Blackstone and Carlyle, it would take more than a month to raise all the funds to launch such a fund.
Kernst Asset Management's Wealth II completed all of this in just twenty days; strictly speaking, the effective fundraising period was only 11 days.
Because in the first ten days after the fund's launch, no one showed any interest.
At the time, news of Titanic's poor opening weekend box office performance had just broken, severely damaging Ernst's reputation, and many potential investors chose to wait and see.
The private equity fund only saw a turnaround when the box office of "Titanic" began to explode.
After the box office figures for the third week were released, and news spread that "Titanic" had once again seen a decline in box office revenue, it was said that the threshold of Ernst Asset Management's office building was almost worn out by people walking around.
Every day, the place is packed with people, crowded with investors coming to inquire and subscribe.
"Did Goldman Sachs participate?" Henry Paulson asked suddenly after a moment of silence.
Hendrick shook his head, glanced at the other person cautiously, and said apologetically, "Because Goldman Sachs' main focus has been on the Southeast Asian market recently, and the currency crisis there is getting worse, I didn't report this to you in time. I was thinking of waiting until the situation in Southeast Asia stabilized before reporting it to you."
He gave a wry smile and continued to explain, "No one expected that this private equity fund would suddenly receive such enthusiastic support. By the time we realized what was happening and were preparing to coordinate funding, they had already announced that the fund would be closed."
"The manager in charge of the liaison said that Ernst personally set the rule that once the quota is reached, it will be closed immediately without exception. Even when Goldman Sachs made a large subscription offer, it was rejected."
Henry Paulson glanced at Hendrick, but instead of reprimanding him, he changed the subject, "I heard that old man Eric sent his daughter to Ernst's?"
They may seem unrelated, but it's all because of Titanic.
The Boston consortium's contact with Ernst, and the desire for cooperation between the two parties, could not be kept secret from those with ulterior motives.
After all, Ernst Asset Management was on that list, and it's easy to find out who made the suggestion; it can't be kept secret.
However, after their initial contact, there was no further news. Ernst's failure with Titanic caused the Boston Consortium to hesitate, and it is said that internal disagreements arose.
Everyone knows that "Titanic" was driven by Ernst alone, and its poor box office performance proves that even this legendary figure of wealth is not always accurate.
But the subsequent reversal came too suddenly. Ernst continued to demonstrate his amazing performance, which finally convinced the Boston Consortium to cooperate.
What Henry Paulson didn't expect was that the Kennedy family, or rather the entire Boston consortium, thought so highly of this young man that they actually sent their own daughter to him.
This is no longer a simple business collaboration, but rather a deep, marriage-like partnership.
"That's right, she should be Ernst's personal secretary."
Henry Paulson snorted coldly, a mocking smile curving his lips.
Personal secretary? Anyone knows what this position means in the financial world. To put it nicely, it means handling daily chores; to put it bluntly, it's not even as good as a mistress.
A lover only needs to spread their legs, while a personal secretary not only needs to spread their legs, but also needs to do their job well.
She's called a personal secretary, but everyone knows the Boston Group is using seduction as a tactic.
When will YueDong Games and MGM raise funds?
"The financing negotiations for YueDong Games are scheduled for June 12th, but MGM has not yet given a specific date."
Henry Paulson thought for a moment, then said, "Okay, remind me when the time comes, and I'll go there myself. You make the arrangements."
Hendrick was slightly surprised, but quickly looked troubled.
"What's wrong?" Paulson noticed his expression.
"It's rumored that there's a hidden condition in this round of financing between Leap Games and MGM: Ernst wants Marvel."
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Goldman Sachs doesn't own a single share of Marvel stock, which is a disadvantage.
However, Henry Paulson didn't care that "that's all equal, and in the end, it's still up to the highest bidder."
Suddenly, a playful smile appeared on his face. "Marvel stock? Some people are probably going crazy with anger right now, aren't they?"
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