The nearest mansion to the west side of the Dume Point Estate is a three-story modern-style building. The white structure looks like several rectangular blocks stacked together, giving it a very contemporary feel.
Simon and the assistant walked through the mansion and came to the third-floor terrace. The assistant leaned on the railing, gazing at the ocean, and Simon naturally wrapped his arm around her waist, asking, "How do you like it?"
"It's wonderful," the assistant replied, leaning her face close to Simon's. She pointed to the row of mansions to the west. "Did you buy all of these?"
"Yes, what do you think?"
Jennifer said, "Many media outlets have criticized you for being extravagant in recent years."
"I don't care what others say. I just do what I want."
The assistant didn't mind either, nor did she have any thoughts about suggesting Simon should be more restrained or use the money for charity. From their first meeting until now, having become the mother of his children, she had watched him step by step build a vast business empire. She still felt like the anonymous girl who secretly left a $10 bill while listening to him sing on Venice Beach.
Even now, she just wanted to stand silently by his side forever.
No matter what others said or what he did, she would always be the one standing by him.
Noticing the assistant lost in thought while gazing at the eastern side of the bay towards Santa Monica, Simon asked, "What are you thinking about?"
Jennifer replied, "I suddenly remembered the first time I saw you."
Thinking about it, she recalled that he still didn't know about the videotape from that time, and she didn't plan to let him know, wanting to keep it as her little secret forever.
Simon tightened his hold on her waist, laughing, "Did you secretly fall in love with me the first time we met?"
Jennifer recalled their actual second meeting and teased, "You mean the guy who got beaten into the hospital?"
"Um, let's change the subject."
"Hehe," the assistant laughed, glanced at her watch, and said, "Let's go back. The children should be waking up."
They returned to Shell Villa just as A Girl was coming back from outside, carrying a scroll.
The assistant went to the nursery first to check on the two little ones. Seeing they were still asleep, she came out to join Simon in admiring the scroll Alison had brought back.
It was a Chinese painting.
The painting, nearly three meters long and one and a half meters wide, depicted a grand ancient war scene. Tens of thousands of various types of ancient soldiers fought fiercely on a vast battlefield, with giant siege engines, imposing sword formations, brutal cavalry clashes, a crumbling city, and corpses strewn everywhere. In the background, the distant mountains were bathed in a blood-red sunset. The right side of the painting featured a poem by Cao Song in cursive script.
Initially, Simon had only asked A Girl to find someone to write Cao Song's poem.
Later, feeling that a simple poem scroll was too plain, he casually gave further instructions, resulting in this grand painting.
The artist's skill was profound. The assistant, though not recognizing the poem on the right side, felt a sense of suffocation from the brutal war scene. She instinctively clung to Simon's arm and whispered, "I don't like this painting."
Simon patted her hand and instructed the four women carefully handling the large painting, "Put it away in the display room."
Then he turned to the assistant, "Let's go check on the children."
Jennifer glanced one last time at the painting being carefully rolled up by Alison and the others, nodded, and followed Simon to the nursery. She hesitated but didn't ask her question.
Simon didn't explain either.
In New York, after David Dinkins lost the mayoral election on November 1st to Rudy Giuliani by a 41% to 59% vote ratio, certain matters had temporarily settled.
Of course, there would be follow-ups.
Having decided to strike at David Dinkins' entire city administration, Simon had no intention of stopping.
Even if this caused some friction between the parties, Simon didn't care.
If he hadn't taken a strong stance immediately after Dinkins turned on him, he believed many subsequent minor schemes would have come his way.
In this world, the higher people climb, the more they like to balance things. Sometimes, this comes off as a sign of weakness to enemies.
Simon's willingness to directly confront the Spire family behind Lionsgate and even risk falling out with the Democratic Party showed many people his nature. The Westeros system hadn't become any more conciliatory with increased wealth and power; he was still the same guy who would break someone's legs without hesitation.
Considering the gang conflict in Bowery Bay, the young man seemed even crazier.
Against such a person, unless one was certain of victory, playing minor tricks would only backfire.
With Janet picking up Cersei Capital's affairs again after the weekend, Simon also resumed his work.
While many in Hollywood were still marveling at the unexpected box office success of "Seven Deadly Sins" during the Halloween season, the past weekend saw "The Lion King" bring another shock to everyone.
For a 3D animated film, Danarys Entertainment not only invested $60 million in production but also spent $30 million on marketing. Before the film's release, most media believed Danarys Entertainment's significant investment was driven by the potential peripheral revenue from 3D animated films.
Many thought Danarys Entertainment didn't plan to make any profit from the box office.
Two years ago, "Toy Story" grossed $400 million worldwide, surprising everyone. Over the past two years, its related toy sales surpassed $3 billion. Including video tapes and TV broadcast rights, the project had netted Danarys Entertainment $1 billion, mostly from toy sales.
Moreover, "Toy Story" not only brought financial gains but also broke Disney's long-standing monopoly on animated films and boosted Danarys Entertainment's peripheral, gaming, and theme park industries.
Thus, many saw "The Lion King" as another step in Danarys Entertainment's comprehensive industry chain strategy.
In Hollywood, the "second-year curse" phenomenon is well-known. Whether it's a filmmaker or a studio, their second film after a stunning debut often performs poorly.
Some media even predicted that "The Lion King," lacking the popularity of fairy tales and being a niche animal-themed animated film, would be successful if it could break $100 million domestically. Danarys Entertainment might only break even.
Because "The Lion King" was not seen as a major threat, six other films opened on November 19th. While three were small-scale, art-house films vying for awards, two were major year-end releases: Fox's "Mrs. Doubtfire" starring Robin Williams and Columbia Pictures' historical epic "Geronimo."
In Simon's memory, "Mrs. Doubtfire" grossed over $200 million domestically, second only to "Jurassic Park" in 1993.
Columbia Pictures' "Geronimo" tells the story of a hero named Geronimo who fought against British rule during the American Revolutionary War. With a budget of $35 million, it was also an A-level production.
Simon had few memories of "Geronimo," suggesting it was another expensive box office bomb left by Peter Guber. After months of auditing, Sony announced a $2.5 billion write-down for Columbia Pictures.
A write-down is essentially a disguised form of loss.
A $2.5 billion loss, though $200 million less than Simon remembered, was still significant.
After the announcement, Sony's stock price had been declining for over a month, with its market value falling below $15 billion. Rumors circulated that Sony planned to sell off the troublesome asset.
Despite being mired in difficulties, Columbia still prepared a 1,605-screen opening for "Geronimo." Robin Williams' "Mrs. Doubtfire" opened on 1,678 screens. Though neither matched the 2,691 screens for "The Lion King," many saw them as significant competition, especially "Mrs. Doubtfire," another family-friendly film.
Following the November 17th premiere, Danarys Entertainment opened "The Lion King" to media reviews.
Having pre-selected the participating media for the premiere, the first wave of reviews for "The Lion King" was overwhelmingly positive. The internet was flooded with various promotional articles.
However, even by Friday's wide release, many didn't expect "The Lion King" to perform exceptionally well.
Until Saturday.
When countless media reporters and film company executives were awakened by phone calls in the early hours of Saturday morning and saw the previous day's box office report, many wondered if there was a mistake.
Opening day: $16.33 million.
For an animated film.
Egret portal quickly reacted, putting "The Lion King's" opening day box office data on its homepage headline.
"New Record for Animated Films: 'The Lion King' Opens with $16.33 Million."
What does an opening day of $16.33 million mean?
A comparison makes it clear.
"Mrs. Doubtfire," opening on the same day, grossed only $5.31 million on its first day, expected to reach the level of "The Lion King's" opening day by its first weekend. "Geronimo," on the other hand, earned just $1.29 million on its first day, less than a tenth of "The Lion King's" total.
At the same time, a $16.33 million opening day suggested a weekend box office of around $50 million, with a first-week estimate of $70 million.
A $70 million first week puts it on par with the DC Universe projects.
Two years ago, "Toy Story" surprised everyone with a $211 million domestic total, yet its first-week gross was only $46.73 million.
Danarys Entertainment's extensive marketing campaign had
already given "The Lion King" significant visibility.
While many traditional media outlets remained lukewarm about the film's opening day results, the enthusiastic promotion from the Egret portal and media close to the Westeros system quickly elevated "The Lion King's" buzz to a new level.
With its excellent reviews and popularity, combined with the new box office record, "The Lion King" inadvertently attracted more media attention, creating a viewing frenzy.
Opening day: $16.33 million.
Saturday: $18.29 million.
Sunday: $17.31 million.
In three days, "The Lion King" quickly accumulated $51.93 million.
Another record for an animated film.
Facing the impact of "The Lion King," "Mrs. Doubtfire," which had a decent opening day, only managed $13.76 million over its first weekend, likely losing at least $2 million in potential revenue to "The Lion King."
Simon knew this kind of competition would stretch across the entire holiday season.
Both films targeted family audiences. With "The Lion King" as a better option, "Mrs. Doubtfire's" box office was bound to shrink significantly.
Despite traditional media's efforts to stir controversy, attacking "The Lion King" for mimicking Disney's style or alleging hidden racial biases, nothing could stop the phenomenal success of this 3D animated film.
Ultimately, from November 19th to November 25th, "The Lion King" grossed $70.31 million in its first week, ranking seventh in North American box office history, behind "Jurassic Park" with $72.17 million, "The Flash" with $72.86 million, and other DC Universe films like "Wonder Woman," "Superman," "Batman Begins," and "The Dark Knight."
The DC Universe was already considered another dimension in Hollywood, and "Jurassic Park" had delivered unprecedented visual thrills, making their success understandable.
But for an animated film to stand alongside such legendary movies, it could only be described as a miracle.
With "The Lion King's" box office success, Danarys Entertainment's increasingly sophisticated merchandise channels quickly pushed related toys, posters, clothing, and other products to market, grossing $200 million in the first week alone. Though this performance didn't match the diverse merchandise of "Toy Story," no one doubted "The Lion King's" commercial potential anymore.
Moreover, following the first week's box office results, "The Lion King's" related video games and theme park projects were fast-tracked into the planning stages.
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