America: Starting with the acquisition of MGM...

Chapter 311, page 309: Nico cried.

"The Hunger Games is a successful commercial blockbuster. It features beautiful women, handsome men, violence, love, oppression, and resistance. It has a thrilling murder game and also deeper political metaphors. As an entertainment film, it is competent."

"If you want to see the violent carnage advertised in 'The Hunger Games,' then congratulations, you can see it. But if you want to see the kind of human nature analysis that 'Battle Royale' offers, I'm sorry, it doesn't. The core of the two films is completely different."

"If you want to relax at the movies with friends or your partner, then you can't go wrong with The Hunger Games."

"Crystal Liu delivers an amazing performance in The Hunger Games, even overshadowing the lead actress Gal Gadot. You can find all the characteristics of a boss in the Ghost of Vansia. It's definitely worth watching."

"I initially thought this was just a mindless action movie, but it turns out it also has some profound themes. I'd give 'The Hunger Games' a 3.5 out of 10."

"It's bloody, thrilling, and action-packed, but the romance element isn't portrayed well enough. It's a mediocre commercial film."

"The most outstanding scenes in the movie are by the supporting characters, Fansia the Ghost and Yun, they will definitely leave a deep impression on you."

With the release of reviews, discussions and reviews of "The Hunger Games" have emerged, with most being positive.

Although critics complained that the film lacked depth and was too superficial, the audience's reaction was very positive.

It has a 92% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, which is considered a very good commercial blockbuster.

Relatively speaking, the IMDb rating of 7.6 is not outstanding, but it is quite good for a commercially oriented film.

Meanwhile, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban also garnered positive reviews.

The rotten tomato rating is 91%, and the reviews from passersby are equally great.

With an IMDb rating of 8.3, it has not only won the approval of audiences but also received positive reviews from film critics.

It scored 8.8 on the more professional and pure Metacritic. Forget about The Hunger Games, going to Metacritic is just asking for trouble.

However, this is data reflected online. If we were to conduct face-to-face interviews at a physical movie theater...

The flavor of "Prisoners of Azkaban" is somewhat different because many children and young teenagers do not have access to the internet and therefore cannot participate in rating.

But can we ignore their contribution to the box office?

Of course not, they are the main force!

"Hi! Could you spare a few minutes?"

An entertainment reporter approached a family: parents in their thirties with a girl around ten years old.

"no problem."

"Let me guess, you're here to see Harry Potter, right?"

The parents looked at their little girl with affection: "What else could we do? Midge has seen the first two movies and has been clamoring to see the third one, so we had no choice but to give in to her."

"OK, Mickey, what a beautiful name! What's wrong, baby? Why don't you look happy?"

The little girl pouted: "This isn't the Harry I want to see. I want to see the same beautiful magic as before, and the sparkly Hogwarts."

"But none of that is left. The scene is too dark. That Dementor scared me. I hate that floating monster."

"Have you seen it? It's terrifying, and Ron's rat, it suddenly turned into a monster, it was really scary!"

"So, you don't like this movie?"

"Yes, I like the old Harry, not the current Harry."

The fact that Alfonso Cuarón, the master of dark humor, was chosen to direct the film certainly gave "Prisoners of Azkaban" an extraordinary charm.

Eric himself admits that this is his favorite version, but this love is from the perspective of adults or teenagers over fifteen or sixteen.

A faster pace, a stronger sense of suspense, a greater sense of crisis, a dark gothic style, and even a bust bigger than Watson's—who wouldn't love it?

However, Alfonso Cuarón did not continue directing the sequels, and the captivating dark atmosphere of subsequent films, such as "The Goblet of Fire," "The Order of the Phoenix," "The Half-Blood Prince," and "The Deathly Hallows," all disappeared.

This is how you can tell that this style really doesn't work! Investors know it best.

Without the backing of a major IP, "Prisoners of Azkaban" would most likely not have even reached the $8 million box office mark.

With the opening weekend box office results in place, "Prisoner of Azkaban" grossed over $6700 million in 3885 theaters.

The Hunger Games grossed $5860 million, a difference of $800 million, giving Warner Bros. a slight advantage.

The third place goes to "Shrek 2," which is still showing in theaters. DreamWorks has made a lot of money this year.

When the box office figures for the seven days were released, the $1.24 million in North America was a very impressive result, marking another victory for "Prisoners of Azkaban".

The Hunger Games grossed $1.02 million, just barely breaking the $100 million mark, and came in second place.

Comparing overseas box office figures is meaningless because the number of countries in which the film is released differs, and the release dates also vary to some extent.

In the film industry, box office is king. Eric heard that Warner Bros. was satisfied with the result, and Barrymeyer was overjoyed. He could finally hold his head high and feel very proud.

Xiao Liu has been in a very good mood these past few days. Although he's been running around promoting the film with the crew and it's been tiring, he's still overjoyed.

The media and audiences almost unanimously praised the character of the Ghost of Fansia, proving that, just as Eric had said, he was incredibly captivating.

She finally enjoyed the treatment of a star, not just a minor star, but a top-tier star.

Before, when I walked down the street, a few young people would occasionally recognize me. Now, if I dare to walk down the street alone, I'll be asked for photos and autographs within ten minutes.

Then one by one, fans were blocked for an hour or two, and everything they wanted to do was ruined.

This popularity was most directly reflected on social media. Liu Yifei's Facebook followers, which originally numbered only over 200,000, surged tenfold in a week, reaching over 2 million.

The agent has received numerous script offers, but he only symbolically inquired about Xiao Liu's opinion.

Not answering?

Okay, let's push them all!

Anyway, his role as agent was practically meaningless. The other person had their own powerful backers, and he was content just following behind and getting a taste of the benefits.

Even happier than Xiao Liu was Lao Liu, whose daughter was about to ascend to heaven, fulfilling his greatest wish in life.

He privately expressed his gratitude to Eric, but inevitably received another severe scolding.

Looking at the chains on her limbs and neck, Liu Xiaoli felt extremely excited, but she still kept muttering to herself.

"Why did you bring me this thing?! Are you going to use it to tie up a dog?!"

Eric took two rings out of the box, compared them on her body, chose a pair shaped like butterflies, and nodded in satisfaction.

"If you think it's like tying up a dog, I have no objection. Here, take this with you."

"Hey Eric Cooper, I'm finding you're getting more and more perverted."

"Fool, this is called fun. Don't you think it looks a lot like the shape of your own private parts?"

"Like you my foot! You're just going to humiliate me, you pervert!"

Snapped!

"Ouch! What are you doing? You hit me!"

"Call Zhou Wenqiong."

"What?"

"I said call her, are you deaf?"

"Why are you making phone calls? What mischief are you up to now?"

"Stop pretending! Pretending to be cool will get you struck by lightning, pretending to be innocent will get you gang-raped, understand?"

"I just don't understand."

Looking at her affected manner, Eric realized that this old woman had actually started to act coquettishly.

Hey sis, what's going on with you? You're not actually developing feelings for me, are you?

That won't do. It's better if we keep our relationship purely physical.

Old-fashioned greens can be quite flavorful when eaten occasionally, especially when they are still attached to the roots with baby greens, but you can't store them in a cellar at home, or they will rot!

As the second week progressed, the expected situation unfolded.

The box office of "Prisoner of Azkaban" plummeted, dropping by as much as 68% (the actual figure for that year was 63%, not something I made up), far exceeding the drop seen in typical blockbuster films.

The box office of over $4000 million left Warner Bros. baffled. What the hell happened?

Does a change in style really have such a big impact? The problem is that even though the audience reviews are great, they still haven't taken children's feelings seriously.

In contrast, The Hunger Games saw a 43% drop in box office revenue in its second week, which is within the normal range.

Based on this calculation, the total box office in North America over two weeks reached $1.6 million, instantly catching up with the gap from the first week.

However, neither "The Hunger Games" nor "Prisoners of Azkaban" took the top spot at the box office, with the newly released "Van Helsing" taking the crown.

Another classic IP, a big-budget production with an investment of hundreds of millions, plus the addition of Hugh Jackman, helped "Van Helsing" gross $6100 million in its first week.

Note that it wasn't just the first three days, but the entire week, that brought in $6100 million.

The champion is indeed the champion, but the prize money is a bit diluted, as it only earned less than $300 million more than the second-place "The Hunger Games".

Both Popcorn and MDB have low ratings.

The problems with the film are evident from the audience's reviews; simply put, it's too clichéd and too contrived.

It's still a combination of werewolf, vampire, and Frankenstein's monster. These three guys could form a group and debut as a boy band called "Poop Scooping Boys".

The monster designs are somewhat frightening, which may not be suitable for some viewers with a low tolerance for horror, although the three vampire brides are absolutely amazing.

The finale was even more absurd. The villain, who was extremely clichéd, died because he talked too much and was knocked out with one punch. If you're a One-Punch Man, why did you fight so hard in the beginning?

The big boss is dead, and the female lead suddenly appears and gets killed by Van Helsing's werewolf charge.

The problem is, you were really tough before, so your death was too contradictory and deliberate.

In short, if this "Van Helsing" were adapted into a stage play, the audience's reaction would definitely be much better than on the big screen.

Universal's highly anticipated blockbuster is destined to lose a lot of money, sandwiched between "The Hunger Games" and "Prisoners of Azkaban".

During this period, Lionheart.net also released two new series, "Breaking Bad" and "Hannibal".

The story of Walter White is a combination of the plots from the first and second seasons, with some overly verbose family dramas and relatively drawn-out plots removed, resulting in a total of 11 episodes.

The response was neither good nor bad. Those who liked it thought it was great, saying that this type of drama was something they had never seen before, and that it was very fresh and had a unique perspective.

Those who didn't like it thought the plot was too bland, not the big-scale action they wanted. They thought it was about the rise of a Mexican drug lord, and then they were told it was about a high school teacher.

Eric wasn't surprised by the result. The first few seasons of Breaking Bad hadn't been popular and were on the verge of being canceled.

It wasn't until season 4 that it started to gain popularity and break out of its niche, and season 5 became a global phenomenon, making it a late bloomer.

The reason is simple: the plot development is too slow. Eric's two seasons combined is already fast enough, but it still obviously does not meet the expectations of many viewers.

The reviews for "Hannibal" are much better. With the halo of the novel's author, the overall quality is even higher than the original.

The dialogue and plot are more compact and interesting, especially the dialogue that fits Hannibal's character, which has to be elegant while also showing the brutality and cruelty of the serial killer.

Most screenwriters don't have this level of skill; Thomas Harris had to personally polish and embellish it.

Aside from "House of Cards," "Hannibal" is the best-rated of Lionheart's self-produced dramas.

In about half a month, the Daredevil TV series will also be released, which will pave the way for Iron Man and Captain America early next year.

As November arrived, and the box office results for the third week were released, "Van Helsing" indeed suffered a complete failure, with both box office and critical reception plummeting.

With a production cost of $1.6 million, Universal is almost in tears. Box Office predicts that a global box office of $2.5 million would be considered a success.

Of course, it wasn't just Universal that cried; Paramount did too, and to be precise, Nicole cried as well.

After winning the Best Actress award last year, film offers poured in, and she spent several months preparing for filming "La Vie en Rose".

They also made Eric's Inception, but that's about it.

Inception was filmed relatively quickly, taking just over two months to complete. Nicole couldn't stay home all the time, and Eric's bird couldn't stand it, so she took on the role in The Stepford Wives.

Then, unsurprisingly, it flopped. With a production cost of $9000 million, it only grossed a little over $1800 million in its first week, a dismal performance comparable to last year's "The Far Side of the World".

The film's producers also highlighted her in their promotional materials, making her the first film after winning the Oscar for Best Actress, generating a lot of buzz.

"Waaaaah... Darling, I'm now box office poison."

Seeing Nicole's dry, tearless sobs, Eric knew she was just a little annoyed, not really heartbroken.

He held her in his arms and comforted her, saying, "Those media outlets are always like this, saying that winning an award will bring three years of bad luck. Who can guarantee they'll never fail?"

"But now I'm box office poison."

"Uh... honey, think about it from another angle. Your movie failed, Paramount lost money, which is good for MGM."

"Huh?" Nico was speechless.

Eric had a flash of inspiration and came up with a solution.

"I've got a great idea! Why don't you all go out and take on roles in big productions?"

"Then they deliberately made it look bad, ruining the box office. Isn't that great?"

"Go to hell!"

He was met with a flurry of punches.

(End of this chapter)