Domination in America, Starting from being a Boxing Champion

Chapter 718 - 523: Forbes Billionaires List

After the awards ceremony, the winning films and actors were widely discussed by the media and netizens.

Some movie fans complained that their favorite films like "Life of Pi" and "Lincoln" should have won Best Picture, while others in the media and online communities questioned the ownership of the Best Actress award, thus challenging Link's relationship with Jessica Chastain.

Some media maliciously labeled Link as the 'Academy Award-winning Actress maker', suggesting that actresses beloved by Link are likewise favored by the Oscar jury, and claiming that the shortcut to winning an Oscar used to be establishing a good relationship with Harvey Weinstein, but now it is through collaborating with Link.

Other outlets continued to sensationalize the relationship between Link and Jennifer Lawrence, implying an improper relationship between Link and Jessica, thus confusing the jury and making them withdraw support for the leading actresses presented by Lionsgate Films.

As a result, the legal department of Lionsgate Films issued more than a dozen legal letters.

Despite discontent with this year's Oscars, the discussions about Jennifer Lawrence winning Best Actress last year have significantly decreased.

Amidst media hype, films like "Argo," "Zero Dark Thirty," and "Beasts of the Southern Wild" garnered much attention, increasing their exposure and significantly boosting their box office results within a week after the Oscars.

Three months after release, "Tehran" has achieved a North American box office of 148 million US dollars, an international box office of 103 million, with a total box office of 250 million; the film's production, marketing, and PR costs were 68 million US dollars, yielding profits of at least 80 million US dollars for Lionsgate Films.

"Zero Dark Thirty," two months after release, has a current North American box office of 112 million US dollars, an international box office of 42 million, with total costs of 48 million US dollars; Palm Beach and Lionsgate, along with Annapurna Pictures, expect profits around 65 million.

"Beasts of the Southern Wild," nearly four months after release, has a North American box office of 20.77 million and an international box office of 8.19 million US dollars, with total costs of only 3 million US dollars, achieving a higher revenue ratio.

Moreover, with both critical and box office success, Lionsgate Films as the distributor has received much acclaim within the industry.

Although Lionsgate Films demonstrated strong performance in the Oscars since Link took over in 2011, it changed from producing low-budget mediocre films to launching over ten high-quality independent movies, becoming a leader and trendsetter in the film industry while making substantial contributions to North American and global cinema.

Link and Eva also graced the covers of magazines such as "Time," "People," "Vanity Fair," "Hollywood Reporter," being named by the "Hollywood Reporter" as 2012's most influential individuals in the film industry, under whose leadership Lionsgate Films is transforming the landscape of Hollywood and global cinema.

The market value of Lionsgate Films has been raised by Wall Street to between 2.8 billion and 3 billion US dollars after last year's acquisition of Summit Entertainment, though not yet matching MGM Studios before its bankruptcy, with media predicting that Lionsgate Films will emerge as one of Hollywood's 'big seven' in due time.

Palm Beach Films' market value also increased to between 100 million and 120 million, ranking in the top twenty among independent production companies.

Meanwhile, Weinstein Company and Relativity Media's market values declined compared to the previous year.

Weinstein Company, due to poor box office performance last year, saw its market value drop to around 360 million, and Relativity Media's value fell to 450 million due to creditor issues exposed by the media.

Neither in film production nor box office performance could these companies compete with Lionsgate Films, whose current goal is to maintain its position among Hollywood's top five.

"Hollywood Reporter" commented that it was initially thought that the competition between Link and Harvey in film would last four to five years, ending with Lionsgate's bankruptcy and the 'insider' Harvey victorious. Instead, the 'outsider' Link dramatically outpaced Harvey and Weinstein Company within just two years.

This prompted several Weinstein Company shareholders to call Harvey expressing their disappointment with last year's performance, initially believing that Harvey, an elite in the film industry, would easily win this competition; the outcome surprised them.

The board demanded that Harvey improve Weinstein Company's condition within the next two years, or they would consider pulling their investments.

"Damn it!!"

Harvey hung up the phone, his face contorted with rage, his chubby cheeks trembling slightly with anger.

He used to be an elite in the film industry, a top producer, chased after by Wall Street capital, when he could freely choose whom to collaborate with.

Now, due to last year's unsatisfactory box office results and dissatisfaction from the board, the worst part was that he temporarily couldn't sever ties with those board members; without their help, the company wouldn't have the funds to invest in more films.

"Damn it, all be damned!"

Harvey clenched his fist, staring fiercely at the "Time" magazine cover featuring Link and Eva in a white suit and black dress respectively; a handsome and beautiful couple perfectly matched, with the cover bearing the Lionsgate logo and titled 'Who truly leads Lionsgate Films?'

Harvey glared at Link's detestable handsome face, and furiously stabbed it several times with a marker.

Originally, he had been very fortunate in films, but since encountering Link, nothing had gone right, and the company's performance continued to decline, slightly faltering in the Oscars as well.