Domination in America, Starting from being a Boxing Champion-Chapter 823 - 595: The Revenant

"The Hunger Games 4" entered its fourth week of release, bringing in a North American box office of $286 million, an overseas box office of $335 million, and a global box office reaching $620 million.

This also pushed the series' total box office earnings to surpass the $3 billion mark.

For Lionsgate Films, this series has played a tremendous role in the company's growth and expansion.

During the release of "The Hunger Games 4," the marketing department indicated that the series was concluding but future projects related to "The Hunger Games" would still be made, such as the "Hunger Games Prequel" and stories about several supporting characters from "The Hunger Games."

Additionally, Lionsgate Films' production department has plans to unite the characters from "The Hunger Games," "Twilight," and "Divergent," creating a movie universe unique to Lionsgate Films.

However, this plan is very bold and carries significant risks, so it hasn't been initiated yet.

"Into the Wild" earned $4.72 million at the box office this week, accumulating a North American total of $32.09 million and a global total of $45.74 million, breaking even.

At the beginning of December, "The Revenant" had a limited release in 4 theatres in Los Angeles and New York, with an opening weekend gross of $872,000 and an impressive per-theatre average of $28,000, which is considered very successful for an arthouse film.

The film also received very positive reviews, with an average media score of 88.

The San Francisco Chronicle gave the film a perfect score of 100, praising "The Revenant" as an action blockbuster with the soul of an art film. The film's hurried but forceful action scenes carry profound meanings, and the director and cinematographer, at the peak of their careers, have delivered a pure audiovisual enjoyment to the audience, truly masterclass.

Complete Movie rated the film 99, stating that "The Revenant" is undoubtedly a high-caliber work, with Leonardo DiCaprio's performance stirring the soul. Emmanuel Lubezki is a masterclass cinematographer, and director Alejandro González Iñárritu pushes the use of film language to the limit.

The Los Angeles Times described it as a work of ambition, where every actor in the film and each member of the crew deserved an Oscars nomination.

Because of the film's high quality, many media outlets compared "The Revenant" to "American Sniper," concluding that both films could be called the best of the year and even have a considerable chance of being named among the 'Top 100 Films' in cinema history.

Some media compared these two films with this year's releases from the Big Six Studios, including "Jurassic World," "Avengers: Age of Ultron," and "The Bourne Legacy 5."

The conclusion was that while those films might have higher box office revenues than "The Revenant" and "Sniper," they fall short in terms of artistic quality and impact on the film industry.

Some fans even believe that the media shouldn't compare these two films with commercial movies at all, arguing that one is disposable entertainment while the other is a cinematic classic— they simply cannot be compared.

And both of these films were distributed by Lionsgate Films.

This year, Lionsgate Films not only released these two classic films but also delivered the best sci-fi movie of the year with "The Martian," the best horror movie "Split," the best fairy tale movie "Sleeping Spell," along with other high-quality films like "Remnants of Life," "The Big Short," and "Into the Wild."

Media outlets suggested that if the top twenty films of the year were listed, Lionsgate Films would account for half of them; therefore, one Lionsgate Films could match the Big Six Studios and dozens of independent production companies.

Other media have recounted the great films produced by Lionsgate Films over the past five years, ranging from "Bridesmaids" and "The Help" to "Silver Linings Playbook" and "Dallas Buyers Club" to "Argo" and "Zero Dark Thirty," and to this year's several films.

Nearly every year, Lionsgate Films releases seven or eight high-quality films that are also beloved by moviegoers.

The New York Post remarked that Lionsgate Films is the best movie company of the past five years, as well as the most impactful on the global film market over that period, and currently, the most indispensable company in Hollywood.

Vanity Fair attributed Lionsgate Films' success to Link and Ivanka, stating that Link is a 'Godfather' level figure in the current film industry, and Ivanka is Link's staunchest supporter.

Other media have also begun to review Lionsgate Films' releases over the past five years due to the success of "The Revenant."

The praise has been overwhelming.

This has undoubtedly elevated Lionsgate Films' status in the industry.

Yet Leonardo is somewhat frustrated; the success of "The Revenant" should have made him, the male lead, a sensation. The media should be praising him, but instead, they're showering praises on Lionsgate Films, on Link.

"Shouldn't I be the one receiving praises?"

Inside New York's Broadway King's Theatre, Link laughed and said, "In terms of contribution to this film, I'm greater than you. If you win the Oscars, don't forget to thank me."

"Hmph!"

Leonardo curled his lip. Although he did not agree inwardly, he couldn't deny Link's significant contribution to the film. The novel adapted into the movie was picked by Link, and the film was invested in, produced, and distributed by a company under Link—it could be said that without Link, this film would not exist.

However, it was difficult for him to acknowledge Link's contribution to his face.

"The Oscars, do you think I stand a chance?"

This was the question that mattered most to Leonardo.

"Of course, with Lionsgate Films' involvement, you have at least a 90% chance of winning, with the remaining 10% up to God's will."

Link said confidently.

Leonardo looked at him, hoping what he said was right.

Two weeks after its limited release, The Revenant expanded to 3,375 theaters, grossing $57.17 million at the box office in its opening weekend, with total earnings reaching $58.72 million.

In its second week, the expansion continued to 3,711 theaters, grossing over $100 million in North America after 12 days in release, totaling $101 million. With a small drop in box office, there was a significant chance of breaking the $200 million mark.

The film performed even better overseas, influenced by Leonardo's star power. His new film was well-known internationally, and people were aware of his encounter with a formidable brown bear in it.

After five days of international release, it had grossed over $100 million, and after 14 days, over $200 million.

The current global box office stands at $428 million.

The production cost of the movie was $135 million.

Lionsgate Films made a profit of over $100 million on this project.

This film was also the 12th movie from Lionsgate Films this year to break the $100 million mark at the North American box office.

As of early December, there have been 28 films in North America that grossed over $100 million, and nearly half were from Lionsgate Films.

With The Hunger Games 4 earning $300 million and The Revenant slowly approaching $200 million in North America, Lionsgate Films' total box office in the North American region reached $2.68 billion this year.

Disney ranked second. In December, Disney's release of Star Wars 7: The Force Awakens had a blockbuster opening day in North America with $119 million, setting a record for the highest opening day in North America. The film made $247 million over its opening weekend, breaking another record.

It grossed $390 million in its first week in North America, with predictions for a final North American gross of over $800 million.

The film also helped Disney surpass Universal Pictures, with total annual earnings of $2.4 billion.

The combined annual box office total of Lionsgate Films and Disney in the North American region exceeded $5 billion, nearly half of last year's total market.

This number was astounding.

No one expected Lionsgate Films to maintain the top spot in total box office revenue this year, nor did they anticipate that Disney, despite releasing blockbuster movies like Avengers: Age of Ultron, Star Wars 7, and Inside Out and grossing $2.3 billion, would not surpass Lionsgate.

The money-making ability of Lionsgate Films was enviable.

"Stop looking, Harvey, Lionsgate is too strong, we can't compete with them," said Bob Weinstein in the Weinstein Company office.

"How could this be, why is it like this."

Harvey threw down the newspaper and slumped into his office chair. Since last year, in an effort to catch up with Lionsgate, they had deepened their cooperation with Warner Bros. Pictures. They produced five films for release this year including Iron Fist and Focus. Although these films did well at the box office, they were nothing compared to Lionsgate.

This was a heavy blow for Harvey. As a former king of Hollywood and a top-tier producer, he thought he could catch up with Link if he tried hard enough, but after a year of desperate efforts, he couldn't even see Link's shadow.

The impact was fatal to him.

"Link is a genius. Not only can he make money boxing and singing, but he also makes a fortune from films. Such a person can only be described as a genius; we'll never match up," Bob said enviously.

He loved money, really loved it. In the past, running a movie company was quite profitable, but in recent years, with intense competition in the movie industry, small companies couldn't make much. That's why he envied people like Link even more. Earning over two or three hundred million from a single boxing match, making two or three hundred million in a year from releasing an album, and the movie company earning several billion annually, not to mention becoming a billionaire through stock investments.

To those who love money, Link was like a god of wealth.

"Yes, Link is a genius. Damn genius," Harvey said weakly as he looked up at the ceiling. When he met Link five years ago, he could manipulate him at will. Now even if he tried his hardest, he couldn't affect Link in the slightest.

The gap was growing ever wider, to the point of driving him to despair.

"But I won't lose. Even if I can't beat him in box office revenue, I'll outdo him at the Oscars," Harvey suddenly clenched his fist and slammed it down on the table.

Bang!