America: Starting with the acquisition of MGM...

Chapter 30, Section 32: The First Box Office Champion

Outside an apartment building in West Los Angeles.

Eric didn't linger after seeing Gal Gadot into his house, but Judy followed him out.

"You son of a bitch!"

Reaching the car, Judy punched Eric in the chest.

"What the hell? Are you crazy?"

Eric rubbed his chest. This girl was really strong; she was the strongest among the five of them.

Judy, her face beaming with gossipy excitement, exclaimed, "You actually kidnapped Gadot for three days and two nights! Who else but a bastard would you be? She's only 17, still a minor. Tell me, how many times did you do it?"

Eric was speechless: "Don't assume everyone is as despicable as you. We're just going to Disneyland in California for vacation. You know I've been very busy lately, so we're just going to relax."

"Yes, yes, I understand, that's why we need Gadot, this little beauty, to keep us company, right? Seriously, how many times have we done this? Is she still a virgin?"

"OMG! Judy Newhouse, I never knew you were such a gossip! Get back home! I'm going home."

"I only gossip about pretty girls, and I won't let you leave until I've explained things clearly," Judy said, pressing her hand against the hood.

Eric pointed up and saw Gal Gadot and Barefali standing side by side in front of the window, smiling at the two of them.

"Alright, stop fooling around. You have to go to work tomorrow, and you don't want your pay docked, do you, girl?"

Judy could only mutter a few words under her breath before reluctantly letting him go.

That's right, just as Eric said, he and Gal Gadot really did go on vacation, and simply spent two and a half days having fun.

You asked Eric if he didn't want to do anything out of line?

He certainly wanted to, and he was certain that after spending this time together, Gadot, though she would resist, would eventually succumb to his tyranny.

But Eric can't, at least not now, because Gal Gadot is under 18, which is a red line, a legal red line, and a very sensitive one at that.

In the eyes of many countries, the United States is a very open country, especially in terms of sexual behavior, with many high school students losing their virginity, and in fact, this view is indeed correct.

However, when it comes to protecting minors from harm, U.S. law is one of the most comprehensive in the world, creating a contradiction between reality and law.

For example, in the United States, having sex with a girl under the age of 10 is a first-degree felony with no defense. In states that retain the death penalty, the offender can be sentenced to death, while in states without the death penalty, the offender can be sentenced to life imprisonment.

The only defense argument for those aged 10-16 is that I genuinely didn't know she was a minor, but this argument is subjective and easily overturned. If convicted, it would be a second-degree felony, with a minimum sentence of 20 years.

Even if the woman is over 16 years old, there are still restrictions on the man. One of these restrictions is that he cannot be more than 3 years older than the woman, and he cannot be a teacher, coach, or someone who can use power to coerce her. These regulations are, of course, based on the principle of free love.

Gal Gadot was a minor before she turned 18, whether in Israel or the United States.

Furthermore, Eric is four years older than her and, theoretically, still holds her future in his hands, making him a person who can sexually bully and deprive her of her rights—all the criteria apply to him.

So if Eric and Gal Gadot have a relationship, and someone with ulterior motives catches them, then even if Gal Gadot is willing to protect him, for example, by admitting that she initiated it, Eric will still not escape punishment.

Twenty years is unlikely, but a few years in prison is unavoidable. Although you can pay an exorbitant bail amount, once your reputation is ruined, your future prospects are over.

The most famous case in this regard should be the Woody Allen case, which ended up being a complete mess, hurting many people, making a fortune for many people, and even causing boxers to fight like madmen.

So the time isn't right to break through that barrier yet, and by April next year, Ms. Gadot won't be able to escape even if she wants to.

................................................

At the start of the new week, Cooper and his son arrived at the company early together, a rare occurrence.

However, when the two of them entered the elevator, the previously chatting and laughing elevator instantly fell silent. Several employees, some with their heads down and others staring straight ahead like robots, stood out with stiff postures.

Upon arriving at the office, Volvo and Bordeaux quickly came to report on their work.

As this was his first film project, Eric was also quite excited: "How's Red Dragon doing at the box office?"

Volvo grinned broadly: "This exceeded our original expectations. The company's estimate was between $4500 million and $5000 million, but the result was unexpected. We got $5890 million. If we had been a little luckier, the figure would definitely have broken the $6000 million mark!"

Upon hearing this number, the temperature in the office rose by several degrees.

Eric quickly pressed, "Then who's the champion? Don't tell me there are other competitors."

Volvo frowned at first, then shrugged: "No, not a single one. Neither Jackie Chan's 'The Tuxedo' nor Roman Polanski's 'The Pianist' can compete!"

Charlotte Cooper suddenly stood up from his chair, threw a series of Klopp Farmer punches at the air, and burst into loud laughter.

MGM has had a terrible year; it hasn't seen what a champion looks like in a long time. Even if it's just a first-week box office champion, it's undoubtedly a shot in the arm for MGM.

He wanted outsiders to see that MGM, under the leadership of the Cooper family, would bid farewell to the sick lion of the past, and that a king of the jungle would return to this land.

Eric laughed heartily, and the nearly $6000 million opening weekend box office proved their decision was correct.

The last-minute, frantic promotional spending had a great effect. Although he didn't know the opening weekend box office of "Red Dragon" in the original timeline, the global box office was about $2 million.

Given the quality of "Red Dragon," it's highly unlikely that it will experience a dramatic drop in box office revenue in its second week, meaning that the opening weekend box office for the original timeline will definitely not be very high.

Perhaps, as Volvo stated, the expectation was 4500 million, but it's possible that even that number wasn't reached, given the final results.

Of course, the figure of $6000 million is not an exaggeration. After all, just a few months ago, people saw a boy next door who could shoot silk and leap between high-rise buildings.

The boy's opening weekend box office was $1.16 million, twice that of Red Dragon.

This was a record-breaking number that stunned countless people and made many analysts want to bang their heads against a wall.

Before this, no film had ever reached the 100 million yuan mark in its opening weekend, but Spider-Man did.

Looking ahead to the end of 2002, with only three months left, all the eyes of filmmakers were on two movies, because only they had the chance to break Spider-Man's record.

These are "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" which will be released in November and "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers" which will be released in December.

As for "Red Dragon," even the most naive analyst doesn't think it can succeed. Not to mention "Red Dragon," even Spielberg's new film "Catch Me If You Can" is not well-regarded.

However, 6000 million is a pretty good figure for a thriller or suspense film, and the word-of-mouth is also good. The IMDb score is currently 7.8. This number will definitely decrease with time and the number of viewers, but it is sure to be above 7.

With the support of its predecessor and positive reviews, it's foreseeable that the box office this week shouldn't drop too drastically, and raking in 3000 million shouldn't be a problem.

The positive impact of the good results was that the entire MGM seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. While everyone relaxed, they were also more motivated and full of hope for the future.

The trial has begun, and I plan to adjust the update time to midnight, which is supposedly better.

Please, those who like this, support me! Thank you so much!

A familiar face will be making an appearance tomorrow; can you guess who it is?

(End of this chapter)