Chapter 231: Asking for the Sky, Bargaining on the Ground

Chapter 231: Chapter 231: Asking for the Sky, Bargaining on the Ground

The atmosphere in the conference room gradually became serious as the Fox executive finished speaking.

At one end of the long conference table, Gil Leonard, the director of Fox’s Overseas Distribution Department, pushed up the glasses on his nose. His tone seemed sincere, but it carried an unquestionable forcefulness:

"Director Coppola, Mr. Hanks, we are very optimistic about the overseas potential of My Big Fat Greek Wedding. However, based on the market ceiling for low-budget heartwarming films,

Fox is willing to pay a one-time fee of $20 million to acquire the exclusive distribution rights for all overseas markets. Fox will take full responsibility for all subsequent overseas earnings, including box office, copyrights, and derivative shares."

$20 million?

Irene’s fingertips paused slightly on her notebook as she immediately began calculating in her mind.

In her previous life, this movie’s global box office was $369 million, with North America contributing $241 million and overseas $128 million. In this life, with her intervention, the North American box office had already broken records against the trend.

With the universal theme of "family warmth," the overseas market could conservatively be estimated to reach $150 million. Fox wanted to buy out all the earnings behind $150 million in box office for $20 million. It was simply a steal.

She didn’t speak immediately, turning her gaze toward Tom Hanks’s team. Sure enough, Tom’s Chief Negotiation Consultant, David Cohen, was already shaking his head, his tone carrying a professional composure: 𝘧𝓇ℯℴ𝓂

"Gil, your offer is simply lacking in sincerity. $10.71 million in the first week in North America, a 12% increase against the trend in the second week, and an expected North American box office of $150 million. With word-of-mouth spreading like this, how could the overseas market be worth only $20 million? We believe it should be at least $60 million."

"$60 million?" Gil Leonard acted as if he had heard a joke and spread his hands.

"David, are you kidding me? This is just a family comedy without superstars or special effects. Overseas distribution requires a significant investment in marketing and promotion, and we have to deal with cultural differences in different regions.

It’s not certain that other overseas regions can replicate the box office miracle of North America. The risk is extremely high. $20 million is already a price we’ve given based on maximum sincerity. It’s already four times your production cost!"

"High risk, high reward." David unhurriedly opened his folder and pulled out a data report.

"Look, the annual growth rate of the box office for family-themed movies in the European market over the past three years is 18%.

Australia has a very high acceptance of immigrant culture themes, and South Korea and Japan in Asia are fertile ground for heartwarming films.

Add to that Director Coppola’s current global appeal, the overseas box office for this movie is guaranteed to reach $100 million, and an optimistic estimate could even reach $150 million. At a $60 million buyout price, Fox is guaranteed to make a profit."

Gil’s face darkened slightly as he turned to look at Irene. "Director Coppola, you are the core creator of this movie. What do you think? While $20 million isn’t an astronomical price, it allows you to completely avoid all the risks of overseas distribution and receive a steady income. For your independent production career, it’s a very safe choice."

Irene put down her pen, her tone calm but her attitude clear: "Gil, I understand Fox’s risk considerations, but $20 million is indeed lower than my expectations. The core of this movie is ’warmth’ and ’resonance,’ and these emotions transcend national borders. The North American market has already proven its potential. The overseas market can’t possibly be worth only this much."

She paused and added, "Furthermore, I’ve done my homework. Fox’s release last year, A Touch of Sin, had an overseas box office of $80 million, and your marketing investment was less than $10 million. If My Big Fat Greek Wedding can reach the same box office scale, a $20 million buyout price would be simply unreasonable."

Gil hadn’t expected this young director to be so well-prepared. He was momentarily speechless. After a moment of deliberation, he made a concession:

"Then we can increase it to $28 million at most. This is the highest bottom line we can offer. Any higher, and the company’s Risk Control Department won’t pass it."

"$50 million," David immediately chimed in. "And we require Fox to commit to an overseas marketing budget of no less than $8 million, focusing on core markets in Europe, Australia, and East Asia, with release dates avoiding local blockbusters."

"The marketing budget can be guaranteed, but $50 million is still too high." Gil frowned. "How about this: $32 million, plus a 5% share of the overseas box office after it exceeds $80 million. This is the maximum sincerity we can offer."

Tom finally spoke, his tone gentle but carrying weight: "Gil, the reason we insist on a high price is that we believe in the value of this movie. Irene is a genius director. Her work never disappoints. The $32 million plus share model is too complicated. We prefer a one-time buyout. $45 million—that’s our bottom line."

Movie companies sometimes tamper with box office shares even in the United States, and overseas ones are even harder to monitor. Therefore, unless one has a company overseas, they generally wouldn’t choose the share model.

A brief silence fell over the conference room, broken only by the light sound of pages turning. Gil lowered his head and whispered a few words with the Deputy Director beside him, a look of struggle appearing on his face:

"$45 million... the company will find it hard to accept. How about this, we both take a step back: $40 million for a one-time buyout of all overseas distribution rights, a guaranteed marketing budget of $10 million, and priority for prime-time release slots."

Irene calculated in her mind. Although $40 million was short of her expected $50 million, considering the overseas box office from her previous life, this price wasn’t a loss.

But before she could speak, David insisted again: "$48 million, not a penny less. Otherwise, we might consider talking to Warner Bros. or Universal. They’ve expressed interest in collaborating before."

At this, Gil was completely left with no way out. The reason Fox was so eager to secure this movie was that they were afraid of being intercepted by competitors. Not only would they miss out on this dark horse of reputation, but they would also very likely alienate Irene Coppola, allowing other movie companies to step in.

He thought about what Adelaide Griffin had said yesterday: "You must keep Irene Coppola steady, even if it means losing a bit of profit. I’ve received word that not only Universal, Warner Bros., but also Paramount have sent people to closely contact Irene and her agent.

Her new project hasn’t even been submitted to our company yet. It’s very likely she’s already in negotiations with others. We’ve worked with her for so long and done so much preliminary work. We absolutely cannot let her run into someone else’s pool at this time!"