Right now, MGM owns the rights to over 2,000 films, but these aren't from MGM's golden age. They're actually from United Artists' catalog. The films from MGM's prime years are now held by a company called "MGM Library," which is a subsidiary of Warner Bros.
What MGM currently has is just the movies it made after 1986, plus United Artists' older titles. Even so, that's still double the number of copyrights Universal Pictures holds. It's wild to think about how massive MGM's library used to be back in the day.
Dunn might sound a bit dramatic, but after spending some time with him, Ron Meyer's noticed something. Dunn's always tossing out these weird, over-the-top statements that don't make much sense at first. Give it a little time, though, and they start to hold some truth.
Vivendi Group's reputation? Let's just say it stinks.
"What are you getting at?" Ron Meyer leaned back on the sofa, lost in thought.
Dunn sighed. "Look, no matter what, it's better to be prepared. MGM's downfall is a wake-up call, right?"
Ron narrowed his eyes, his voice firm. "Universal isn't MGM! No matter what happens, I won't let this century-old studio collapse on my watch!"
Dunn let out a breath. "Exactly, Ron. That's why you need to start putting some safeguards in place. If Vivendi does make a move, you'll need something to push back with, yeah?"
"Push back?"
Ron raised an eyebrow, giving Dunn a long, suspicious look. He couldn't shake the feeling Dunn was stirring the pot.
Back before Dunn made it big, he'd actually reached out to the Seagram Group to ask about buying Universal Pictures. At the time, Seagram was dead-set on merging with Vivendi and didn't give Dunn the time of day. Still, word got around about Dunn's interest in Universal.
Ron knew Dunn was sitting on a pile of cash now, with sky-high ambitions for Hollywood. He had his eye on Universal, a storied old studio. If Vivendi ever decided to sell, Dunn would absolutely swoop in.
The problem? Vivendi's got big dreams too—bigger, even. They want to bridge the American and European markets and build a massive film empire. They've already folded Canal+ into Universal Pictures' operations.
Ron went quiet, mulling over what Dunn was really up to.
Dunn rolled his eyes. "Mr. Meyer, you're Universal's exec. Vivendi's your parent company—I've got no stake in this. You think I'd try to screw you over?"
Ron chuckled at himself and waved it off. "Alright, kid, I get what you're saying. When I get back, I'll talk to the higher-ups, smooth things out, and make sure the French don't meddle."
Dunn nodded. "Having a few backup plans never hurts."
Ron grinned at him. "And the Marvel heroes?"
Dunn's face turned serious. "Let's hold off on that. Marvel's the ace up Dunn Films' sleeve—I'm not about to gamble with it. Sure, I've got beef with Disney, but there's still Warner Bros., right?"
Ron's expression darkened a bit.
Dunn laughed. "Don't worry, though. I'm not signing with anyone just yet. I can wait. If Universal can keep things steady and growing over the next two or three years, I'd be fine letting Marvel's heroes show up at Universal Studios—Orlando, Osaka, wherever!"
"You mean that?"
Ron knew Dunn's game plan. Those Marvel superhero movies weren't going to stop at just one. In two or three years, the impact of Marvel's heroes could be huge.
Dunn smirked confidently. "You've got my word!"
Two or three years was plenty of time.
Unless some other time-traveler popped up out of nowhere, not even a miracle could stop Vivendi from digging its own grave…
June , Saturday.
Twentieth Century Fox's new movie hit theaters under Tom Rothman's eager anticipation. But it was like tossing a feather into the ocean—no splash, no nothing.
That day, it still reigned supreme.
Unstoppable. Crushing everything in its path.
Before this, it had already set a single-day box office record of $33.79 million. This weekend, it smashed that mark again! With $37.98 million in one day, it broke the preview screening record and now topped the charts once more.
That day, North America's total box office haul was $46.36 million—and it claimed 81.9% of it!
After one preview day and two public release days, it had raked in $93.14 million in North America alone.
Since it opened on a weekend, time was tight, and breaking the $133 million first-week record was a long shot. But don't forget—it was released in over 30 countries worldwide at the same time!
Once the weekend passed and overseas numbers rolled in, the global first-week total could easily hit $300 million, let alone $133 million!
That day, it only got 84% of the screen share. Luckily, the movie's quality held up. With some PR magic, Nicholas Cage's bad press died down, and fans started trickling in. It pulled in $4.32 million that day—grabbing 9.3% of the box office with just 8.4% of the screens. Not bad at all.
Meanwhile, Brothers in Arms was a total disaster. With 14.5% of the screens, it only managed $1.58 million on its opening day. A complete flop!
No doubt about it—by Sunday, theaters would reshuffle their schedules, slashing Brothers in Arms showtimes and handing those screens over to it and that other one.
As for it? Nobody could touch it!
Right now, the world's got four major record labels: EMI, Universal Music, Sony Music, and Warner Music.
Dunn hooked Taylor Swift up with EMI, where she's studying music under John Callent, a well-known teacher and producer.
He got a text from little Taylor that cracked him up: "Dunn, help me, you HAVE to come, you just have to! If you don't, I'm toast!"
That night, Dunn swung by Taylor's place. Andrea seemed a little flustered, while Taylor was bouncing with excitement. She came barreling down from the second floor, eyes teary, sniffling, and pouting like she'd been wronged big time.
Dunn shot Andrea a look and caught her mix of frustration and helplessness. He couldn't help but smirk.
No need to guess—little Taylor had gotten herself into trouble and was facing the consequences.
Dunn crouched down in front of her, grinning. "What's up? Who's picking on our brave, adorable Miss Swift now?"
"My mom!" Taylor huffed, throwing Andrea a glare and wrinkling her nose. "Dunn, fire her—she's awful!"
"What?!"
Dunn and Andrea both blinked in shock.
This kid was something else!
Andrea worked in HR at Dunn Films. It was a cushy gig—pretty much just collecting a paycheck and coasting.
"Why's that?" Dunn asked, amused.
Taylor tilted her head, fuming. "She won't let me watch it!"
"Huh?"
Dunn paused, glancing at Andrea.
Sure, it was PG-13, but it didn't have anything too crazy—just a few intense action scenes that might spook a kid. Otherwise, it was fine.
Andrea gritted her teeth. "Taylor, didn't I take you to the theater yesterday? Tell me, why won't I let you watch it?"
Taylor faltered, then tried to play it cool. "What's the big deal? I just watched one of Dunn's movies. So what?"
Dunn put on a stern face. "Taylor, spill it. What's going on?"
Seeing Dunn get serious—her biggest ally turning on her—Taylor dropped her head, mumbling, "I just snuck a peek at it once, and Andrea flipped out. Now she won't let me watch."
Oh, great. She'd even stopped calling her "Mom."
Dunn and Andrea were on the same page here. No kidding! He frowned. "Taylor, you're being ridiculous. That movie… it's not right for your age."
"Why not? It's so good! Why can't kids watch it? I've seen it three times, and I cried my eyes out every time!" Taylor shot back, stubborn as ever.
"Three times?" Andrea caught her slip-up, pointing at her daughter, too mad to even find words.
Dunn's brow furrowed.
In his past life, he'd loved Taylor Swift's music and her supermodel-worthy looks, but her string of boyfriends left a sour taste. Now, meeting her as a kid in this life, he wanted to nudge her life in a better direction.
Problem was, little Taylor didn't seem big on being tamed.
"Taylor, that movie's got stuff in it that's not okay for your age," Dunn said, trying to reason with her.
She blinked up at him, tilting her head. "Like what? I thought it was fine!"
Dunn lowered his voice. "It's got nude scenes!"
Taylor shrugged. "You mean Kate Winslet? I think she's gorgeous. Besides, what's the big deal? I'm a girl—I've taken baths with Mom. I've seen it all!"
"Ahem!"
Dunn's face flushed, and he was at a loss for words.
Andrea looked like she wanted to disappear into the floor. "Taylor, stop talking nonsense!"
"I'm not! It's true!"
Taylor pouted, refusing to back down.
Dunn rubbed his temples. Changing someone's personality was tougher than he'd thought. Better to guide than block—take it one step at a time.
"Fine, if you want to watch it, go ahead," he said, standing up and turning to Andrea. "Tomorrow night, I'll have Universal set up a special screening. All our employees can go for free. Bring Taylor along."
"Woohoo!"
Taylor cheered, jumping up in excitement.