American Entertainment: Starting with playing the role of Little Beaver

Chapter 24 81!

What does it mean that the film grossed 9030 million in North America and 1.13 million worldwide in its opening week?
While this might seem unremarkable in 2025—there are plenty of movies that break $100 million in a single day these days—in 2001, this figure was simply unbeatable. Before that, the North American opening weekend box office record was held by *Jurassic Park: The Lost World* at $72.1 million, with *Star Wars: Episode IV – The Phantom Menace* in second place at $6481 million.

Furthermore, neither of these two films grossed over $100 million worldwide in their opening weekend.

That's right, Harry Potter completely crushed Star Wars and Jurassic Park as soon as it was released.

It became the highest-grossing film of all time worldwide as soon as it was released!

When this fact emerged, Hollywood...

Well, even before the data came out, everyone had a feeling it was going to break records.

There are two reasons:

Firstly, the Harry Potter novels sold so well that they already had a large fan base;

Secondly, children's ability to pay is three times that of adults. If children watch it, how can adults not watch it? If adults watch it, isn't that the whole family contributing to HP's box office revenue?
Even though everyone knew it was going to break records, no one thought it could easily surpass them by over ten million, nearly twenty million! Because according to the traditional formula for fan-oriented films' box office success, a global opening weekend gross of 1.13 million meant *The Sorcerer's Stone* was aiming for 1 billion, and currently, only a handful of films have surpassed that mark.
1. Titanic.

2. No more.

Yes.

In the future, neither "The Lost World" nor "Phantom Crisis" will be able to join the billion-dollar club, as they haven't reached that milestone yet.

Both of these films reached the 10 billion mark only after several re-releases.

When there's only one player in the entire billion-dollar club, it's "Broken Ship"...

Could Philosopher's Stone reach a billion?
"Oh my God! This is truly the most terrifying news I've heard today!"

That night, NBC.

Conan O'Brien talked about this box office monster directly on his talk show.

"While I find Harry Potter novels very interesting, I still have to say that Sorcerer's box office performance is truly astonishing. It could potentially gross $10 billion? That's something even Steven Spielberg and George Lucas couldn't achieve! But Chris Columbus is about to do it!"

"This makes me wonder if Steven is now regretting giving up on Harry Potter?"

“Oh, I don’t think Steven would, because he has too many classics.” Tom Cruise shook his head.

Today's guest on "The Conan Show" is Tom Cruise. This is not only because Cruise is currently Hollywood's hottest star, but also because he just finished working with Spielberg on "Minority Report".

Well, this invitation is basically just a blatant attempt to piggyback on the HP topic.

The whole world knows that Spielberg abandoned HP.

Then, after Liang Tang finished working with the other party?
Woooow~
That's how you create buzz, isn't it?

"While directing Harry Potter might make Steven the second director after Jim (Cameron) to have a single film gross over a billion dollars, he doesn't need to care about such empty titles now."

"Because everyone knows he rewrote the history of horror films with 'Jaws,' everyone cheered for the arrival of 'E.T.,' and 'Jurassic Park' and 'Schindler' proved that he can handle all kinds of film genres, so..."

With a shrug, Tang concluded, "I think if we can really acquire Harry Potter, it would definitely be a good thing for Steven, but even if we don't, it wouldn't be a big loss for him."

"Oh, I like your point of view!"

Conan O'Brien chuckled and said, "Tom, didn't you just mention Jurassic Park and Schindler?"

“Yeah~” Liang Tang nodded.

"Okay, speaking of these two movies, I have a question for you."

"You've worked with Steven before, so what do you think of his communication skills with actors? Uh, I mean, Steven really likes to bring a childlike side to his films, like *Close Encounters of the Third Kind*, *E.T.*, *Jurassic Park*... there are children in all those movies, even in *A.I. Artificial Intelligence*, which was released this June, so..."

"Oh, Conan, I know what you want to ask."

Before Conan O'Brien could finish speaking, Tom Cruise interrupted, "You want to ask me which of the two Harrys I prefer, right?"

"Yeah~"

Although Conan O'Brien's little scheme was exposed, he wasn't embarrassed.

The two Harrys that Tang mentioned are 'Haley' and 'Harry'.

The former refers to Haley Osmont, and the latter refers to Daniel Andrews, who plays Harry.

'Haley' and 'Harry' do sound a bit similar when pronounced quickly.

After thinking for a moment, Tang said, "Uh, I can't answer that question, because I still want to work with Steven in the future."

"hahaha~"

Conan O'Brien rejected Tom Cruise's request to answer with a formulaic laugh.

Tang raised an eyebrow and said, "Okay, I can't answer that question because I haven't read Harry Potter."

"Ah? Impossible?"

Conan O'Brien couldn't believe it.

Oh, just kidding!

Tom Cruise's surprise elicited a 'win in the game' smile from the other party, while Conan O'Brien rolled his eyes as he added, "I went to see Harry Potter on the day it was released; Chris gave me the ticket."

"Columbus?"

“Yeah~ Chris Columbus, he probably anticipated your question, so he gave me the vote in advance and bribed me. So you ask me which Harry is better? I can only say they are both great.”

"Hahahaha~"

"However, I can tell you that I think HP is quite excellent. Chris directed it very well, and I really liked it. The magical world he created amazed me. But apart from that... I want to say that the most surprising thing for me in the whole movie was not the protagonist Harry, but Hermione, Hermione Granger."

"What?"

"Why?"

Conan O'Brien was very curious, "Because she's beautiful? That doesn't match Jo (Rowling's) description?"

“Yeah~” Tang nodded and said, “She’s beautiful, so beautiful it’s breathtaking. But at the same time, I have to say, that girl named Isa…Bella? acted incredibly well. I don’t know how she did it, but…”

Tang waved her hands in the air and said, "Let me give you an example, which may contain some spoilers, so be careful if you haven't seen the movie—at the end of the movie, after the Wizard Chess scene, Ron falls into a coma, and Hermione chooses to stay and take care of him. Then, when encouraging Harry to bravely face Two-Face, she uses a self-deprecating tone to comfort Harry and make him brave."

She said she wasn't outstanding, that she was just a little clever.

"Oh~ when Isa lowered her head and chuckled softly, she really gave me the feeling that a top student was revealing her inner fears."

"Because in the eyes of ordinary people, academic excellence is the epitome of excellence. But at the same time, ordinary people, including myself, often overlook a problem: we think that academic excellence is something that should always be expected."

"But nothing is a given, is it? Even top students aren't born knowing everything."

"So, top students also face a lot of pressure. If they want to continue to excel, they have no choice but to run like crazy."

"Never stop."

“I don’t know how Chris filmed this scene, I don’t know how Chris coached Isa, I don’t know where Isa learned acting, or what she went through, but that scene was really great.”

"After watching that scene, all I can say is that she must be a talented child; at least she played Hermione very well."

“Joe (Rowling)...the person she chose is fantastic…”

“Wooooow~~~” Conan O’Brien’s eyes widened as he waved his finger, pointing at the soup.

A scream erupted in the Conan Show studio.

The feud between Rowling and Spielberg is well-known in both the UK and the US, so when Tom Cruise thought Rowling's casting was excellent...

Isn't that a slap in Spielberg's face?
Laugh~
Okay, enough of this nonsense.

Although "The Sorcerer's Stone" did incredibly well at the box office, box office numbers are a tricky thing...

It can be the investment return that capital seeks;
It could be a promotional gimmick used in project marketing;
It could be an impressive achievement that fans boast about;

But in the end, the fundamental discussion related to the film will still be about the film itself.

Box office figures only reflect how many people in the world have seen a movie.

As for how well the movie was made?
How was the acting?
That still needs to be judged and discussed by the public gradually.

Moreover, in many cases, this is a matter of a thousand Hamlets in a thousand people's eyes.

Regarding the former, namely how well the movie was made, anyone who has seen the movie can feel the sincerity of the creators.

As for the latter...

People will focus on discussing Harry because he is the main character;

They'll discuss Ron, who's one of the three main characters;

The discussion will focus on Dumbledore, Snape, and McGonagall, who are the three most popular teachers in Harry Potter.

However, no matter who they talk about, no one can ignore Hermione Granger.

This is not only because Hermione is the shining heroine of the story, but also because...

"Hermione was the most surprising character to me in the whole movie."

"Because before, when I was reading novels to my grandson, I didn't actually like Hermione that much."

"Hermione in the book is only slightly better to me than Decora."

"Decora gives me the feeling of being the most disgusting bully in school, while Hermione gives me the feeling of being intelligent but having zero emotional intelligence. In the book, she does some things that disregard the feelings of others. Although we use the fact that she is still a child to whitewash her behavior, even my seven-year-old grandson sometimes feels that she is going too far."

"But after watching the movie, the situation completely changed. Hermione is still a bit arrogant, but she is more adorable, which is rare."

"..."

Richard Colliss, a veteran film critic who has been writing special issues for fifty years, highly praised Hermione in the latest special issue.

“Last year, I was actually a little surprised when Warner Bros. released the poster, because of Hermione. This girl named Isabella was the least like the character among all the actors. At the time, I thought J.K. Rowling had taken the wrong medicine.”

"After watching the movie, all I want to say is that the Hermione on the screen is the Hermione that J.K. Rowling most wanted to write when she first picked up her pen. She is hardworking and studious but not very sociable, though not as sociable as she seems."

"I don't know if the improvement of Hermione's character is due to the screenwriter, the director, or Rowling's own modifications, but I do know that the new Hermione impressed me, and the girl named Isabella surprised me even more." "She portrayed the new Hermione wonderfully. Just like Tom Cruise said in an interview, you can feel through Isabella's performance that Hermione is an excellent child, and that sense of naturalness is really rare."

"..."

Elvis Mitchell is also a veteran film critic in the industry.

He is also a friend of Quentin Tarantino.

They met through Pulp Fiction; back then, he strongly recommended Quentin Tarantino, and now…

He felt he had found a surprise in the movie version of Harry Potter.

"I think The Philosopher's Stone is a classic."

"Especially the visual effects of Quidditch, the anthropomorphic behavior of the Golden Snitch surprised me."

"Then, I also want to say that I am not a person who likes to judge people by their appearance, but after seeing Isabella, I only had one thought in my mind, which is that pretty girls can do the right thing, and if there is a mistake, it must be you who is wrong."

"Hermione's character is better in the movie than in the novel, but Isabella's face is even better."

"Many people think she brought Hermione to life? I agree with that, but I think she saved J.K. Rowling's disastrous portrayal. In the original book, Hermione appears with thick brown hair and prominent front teeth. When someone like that talks to you with their head held high, you don't feel much affection for them. But Isabella? When she raises her delicate face, the situation is completely reversed."

"..."

Roger Ebert gave Philosopher's Stone four thumbs up in his column.

After Harry Potter reached the top of the box office in just three days, discussing HP became the politically correct thing for all public figures, because if you didn't try to ride the wave of popularity at that time, wouldn't you be a complete idiot?

If you try to gain attention by associating with others but don't make any groundbreaking statements, you might not attract public attention.

But if you don't try to ride the wave of online traffic, then it's like you're running naked to the moon right now...

Well, if you could actually run naked to the moon, then only the one who flies to the sun in a cannon could surpass you.

When everyone started trying to ride the wave of popularity, Isabella became the focus of attention for countless people.

There's nothing we can do; Hermione's character in the movies is just too wonderful.
Hermione, who was improved by Chris Columbus, is truly the most dazzling one in the trio.

And Isabella is beautiful too.

Just how popular is Isabella right now?

"Number 1 on IMDb's list of film stars?"

"Yahoo's number one trending keyword?"

"In the post-screening poll, the audience's approval rating was 81%? Second place: Dumbledore 78%? Third place: Harry Snape 75%?"

"Wow~Wow~Wow~This is truly unbelievable..."

Warner headquarters.

Chairman and CEO Barry Mayer was all smiles.

He joined Warner Bros. in 71 and has been Warner Bros.' COO since 94. Although he has produced many excellent works in the past 30 years... as well as many bad ones, none of them can compare to HP now.

Uh……

This seems obvious, doesn't it?

SW was a once-in-a-century project, and HP slaughtered SW?

This can only be described as destiny.

The creation of a historical number one is inseparable from marketing, but a historical number one cannot rely solely on marketing.

Therefore, even Warner Bros. themselves admit that luck played a part in the success of *The Philosopher's Stone*, but...

How about it?
What else can I do?
I made money!
Those in the same industry are idiots!
That's enough!

"Okay, what are your plans for the upcoming promotion of 'The Philosopher's Stone'?"

After laughing, Barry Mayer closed the report in his hand.

The operations director who came to report replied:
"Boss, as we discussed before, we've decided to give some promotional support to the most popular member. For example, we'll be releasing some behind-the-scenes footage related to Isabella, such as how she's the only one in the group who can learn on her own, how she directed others on set, and how she's truly a talented woman..."

Previously, Warner Bros. did not use many actors in its promotion of HP.

I'll say it again, no need.

However, with the release of the film and its positive reception, it became inevitable to bring out the popular characters from the film to attract viewers.

This is the key to long-term IP operation. When everyone has read a story and understands a novel or a comic, respecting the original work can certainly attract fans' attention, but if you want to continuously break out of your niche, you can only give the characters in the IP a special charm.

If the public likes a character and wants to see him continue to be awesome, then they will keep going to the cinema.

It's like Han Solo from Star Wars, the T-800 from Terminator, Ethan Hunt from Mission: Impossible, Jack Sparrow from Pirates of the Caribbean in the future, and Iron Man from Marvel.

Stories are changeable, but people have feelings. When you see the figures on the screen constantly growing, changing, and eventually growing old, what prompts you to go to the cinema is no longer the movie, but your own unwillingness to let go of your youth.

It's all routines.

Therefore, when David Heyman had already stated that HP would make seven films, operating the IP with a long-term strategy was inevitable.

Warner Bros. originally wanted to cast Harry because he's the main character, but now...

"If I remember correctly, Rowling chose Isabella herself?"

Barry Mayer picked up the file on the table.

His eyes flickered with a sense of unease at the fact that he was forced to support his family after his father's death.

"Yes, this was Susie's last takeaway from the production, and judging from the current situation..."

"That's also the biggest gain."

HP's project operations director nodded.

Without dwelling on Susie's situation, Barry Mayer saw the fact that he had two more film offers.

After thinking for a few seconds, he smiled and said, "Since Isabella was chosen by Rowling, making seven movies in a row shouldn't be a problem. However, before renewing the contract, we shouldn't invest too many resources; we still need to take care of the others."

"Okay, I understand."

The operations director understood what Barry Mayer meant.

They're investing resources because they want to make money.

If someone makes two movies and then runs away, wouldn't they be a sucker?

Even if no one runs away, what if those who have taken the resources realize how important they are and start raising prices on the spot?
At that time, whether you renew your contract or not, you will be upset.

That's how business is; every step involves negotiation and competition.

Even if the other party doesn't have this idea, you still have to prepare for the worst.

However, even if Barry Mayer wanted to distribute his talents evenly, no one could stop the public from loving outstanding characters.

Warner Bros. only released a small amount of information from the premiere.

The accusations leveled against Isabella by the audience made many moviegoers burst into laughter.

"Oh, so there are so many off-set factors when they're filming?"

"Ron practically yelled when he was accusing Hermione! He was really upset!"

"Hahaha—Harry is even nodding in agreement! These three are just too adorable!"

"Hermione is the cutest! She looked so helpless when Harry and Ron were complaining about her~~~"

Warner Music was also somewhat helpless.

Their unconventional methods of attracting followers left them speechless.

However, after discovering that Harry Potter's North American box office had already surpassed $1.3 million in just seven days, and with the subsequent release in other parts of the world, Harry Potter's total box office quickly soared to $2 million, they didn't care anymore; making money was the priority.

Their happiness makes others unhappy.

Warner Bros. isn't a saint; they won't bribe every media outlet. So, when HP's popularity remained high, those who didn't get their payment naturally felt resentful. It would be a wonderful thing to ride the wave of popularity and make money at the same time!

But now, they can't make money? So they can only resort to singing dissent to attract attention!

As a result, all sorts of smear articles appeared in a short time.

Isabella was the one who was attacked the most.

Who can blame her for being so popular?
The other four of the Big Six – Sony, Universal, Fox, and Paramount – are in a much worse state, feeling like they've eaten shit.

Those in the same industry are enemies, aren't they?

Seeing your competitors make money is even more agonizing than losing money yourself.

As for Disney being one of the six major companies?

Others may feel like they ate shit, but they really did.

Because Disney was the only company in the industry to release a film around the same time as Warner Bros.

That's right, Disney has a project that went head-to-head with Harry Potter.

And the movie is called...

Monsters, Inc.

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(End of this chapter)