After circling the globe, Laila and the film crew finally returned to Hollywood in June, ready to devote all their remaining energy to the world's largest box office market: the United States.
This was the birthplace of superheroes and home to their most passionate fans. Nowhere else in the world had such a deeply rooted superhero culture. Whether Laila could live up to her bold claim would depend entirely on how the film performed here.
When planning the marketing strategy, Louise had once suggested that Laila tone down the early statements she'd made about breaking Avatar's record. As talented as Laila was—so talented that few in the world could compare—Avatar's box office numbers were simply too outrageous. Some even predicted that no film would cross the $3 billion mark again for another ten or twenty years.
Louise was worried that even if the movie just fell short—by a hundred million or two—it could tarnish Laila's reputation. In the face of relentless online criticism, even a decade of achievements might be dismissed entirely.
And this wasn't just a matter of missing the goal by a couple of hundred million. Globally, not a single film had ever surpassed $1.8 billion, the second-highest in box office history. To skip past that and aim straight for $3 billion? No matter how you looked at it, it just didn't seem realistic.
If they didn't harp on the "record-breaking" claim during promotion and instead used other marketing angles, audiences might simply view the film as "pretty good" and forget about the earlier hype. Even if they didn't forget, the focus might shift enough to reduce the pressure.
But Laila had flatly rejected the suggestion.
She knew Louise genuinely cared about her and didn't want to see her hurt by failure. But the words had already been spoken, and now that the release was right around the corner, trying to walk them back would be pointless. Sure, regular viewers might forget, but the media? They'd seize on it like sharks in a feeding frenzy.
"Promotion? Of course, we promote it! It's a great hook. Why not use it while we can? Or would you rather spend tens of millions on extra advertising that won't even be as effective as this?"
"Laila, are you really sure you can break the record?" Louise had asked her this more than once. And although she'd always received the same answer, she just couldn't put her heart at ease.
How could she? The goal Laila had set was beyond anything Louise could have imagined. Their company, trying to surpass the highest-grossing film in history? Whether it was ten years ago, five years, or even three—it still sounded impossible to her.
Laila rested her hands on the table and looked at her seriously. "I can accept failure. But I can't accept backing down. Louise, you've worked with me for so many years. Don't you know what I'm like by now?"
And it was precisely because she knew her that Louise was even more worried.
"I've seen too many unexpected failures here in Hollywood. Laila, you're incredibly talented, with a bright future ahead of you. There's no need to make a decision you might regret for the rest of your life, all because of pride. We replaced MGM as the top film production company in Hollywood. You haven't forgotten how MGM went bankrupt and restructured, have you?"
Laila stood up with a smile, walked around the desk, and wrapped her arms around Louise from behind. "You've believed in me all these years—why not believe one more time? I'll say it again: I can accept failure, but I'll never accept retreating without a fight. That's the decision I'd regret for the rest of my life."
What more could Louise say? Getting to where they were now had been no easy feat. Laila was the soul of the company. Even though things were running smoothly at the moment, who could say what would happen if she failed?
A body without a soul—everyone knew that was a recipe for disaster.
Laila had built Dragon Soul Studios with her own hands. She would never just stand by and watch it fall apart.
Seeing that Louise said nothing, Laila sighed. "What are you so worried about? Dragon Soul isn't the same as it was in the beginning. Besides me, we've got Nolan, Michael Bay, and a whole bunch of young, capable directors. The studio won't just collapse if I'm gone."
Louise shook her head. "It's not that simple. You are the soul of Dragon Soul. When people think of the studio, they think of you. Do you really think it can stay the same without you? Take Nolan, for example—he only signed on because you were here."
Laila couldn't argue with that, so she just smiled. "You already know what you're going to do, don't you? So why keep struggling over it?"
She was right. No matter how many doubts Louise had, she'd still follow through with what Laila wanted. But if she couldn't stop her, didn't she at least deserve to vent a little?
"You're always the one who's right," Louise muttered. Every time Laila pulled something like this, it left her heart racing and nerves frazzled. One of these days, she was going to have a heart attack. "I still want to keep working in Hollywood for a few more years. Hopefully, this time goes as smoothly as the others."
Laila wasn't the only one who loved and dreamed of cinema—Louise did too. She'd come here alone, chasing a dream. Then she'd met like-minded partners and built a company together. After that, came betrayals, near-collapse—she'd been through so much. But what kept her going was her love for film. For Hollywood.
In this town, women were still at a disadvantage. If even someone like Laila fell in Hollywood, Louise truly didn't know if she could keep going. The only thing keeping her standing now was Laila's undefeated streak. The woman had never lost. Maybe this time, too, she'd pull off a miracle—for the company, for Hollywood, and for that love they all shared.
As June arrived, the summer box office war kicked off in full swing. There were still two weeks before The Avengers would hit theaters, but the one leading the marketing blitz wasn't Laila's team—it was Warner Bros., with their upcoming release: Green Lantern.
Their premiere was just around the corner. To maximize publicity, Warner had poured huge sums into promoting the film. Even Laila's team was surprised—especially when they got an invitation from Warner to attend the premiere.
That was the most laughable part.
Normally, when two similar movies were released in the same timeframe, the studios wouldn't invite each other to premieres. Whether to avoid awkwardness or to prevent the other from stealing the spotlight, it just wasn't done.
So when Laila received the invitation, her expression was… odd.
That was how Demi described it. When she saw Laila's face, she instantly had a bad feeling—like someone was about to have a very, very bad day.
Why? Because she'd seen that look before. And every single time, something… happened to someone.