Los Angeles, Beverly Hills.
It was December 23rd, a Friday.
Christmas Eve was tomorrow night, but Michael Ovitz still hadn't taken a break. Before 8 AM, he had already arrived at CAA's headquarters in Century City.
As soon as he settled into his office, the assistant promptly brought him the box office report for the past week.
Michael Ovitz was a master of multitasking. While reviewing the box office report, he also inquired about the status of CAA's Christmas gift distribution to its clients.
For years, Ovitz had made a habit of sending various gifts to express CAA's meticulous care for its clients. This strategy had become one of his key tools in running the talent agency. The concept of "no one ever resents receiving gifts" works everywhere, and it had proven to be highly effective. Many filmmakers had signed with CAA after receiving a thoughtful, albeit not necessarily expensive, gift.
One of CAA's veteran clients, Sidney Pollack, had even publicly joked that Ovitz suffered from a compulsive gift-giving disorder.
To acquire the wide variety of gifts needed, CAA had established long-term partnerships with suppliers of food, toys, books, artwork, and more.
CAA agents, influenced by Ovitz, instinctively paid attention to their clients' personal preferences and even short-term interests. Whether it was a book, a child's birthday, or tickets to an NBA game, clients would always receive a carefully chosen gift at the right time.
Intentional versus unintentional.
While other talent agencies tried to mimic CAA's gift-giving strategy, they often failed to grasp Ovitz's nuanced approach, and consequently, didn't achieve the same level of success.
During a major holiday like Christmas, gift-giving became even more crucial for CAA.
After spending half an hour discussing the gifts with his assistant, Ovitz dismissed him and returned his attention to the box office report for the first week of the Christmas season, covering December 16th to December 22nd.
No surprises there.
Another major film from the DC Cinematic Universe, Suicide Squad, had dominated the first week, grossing a staggering $91.78 million, easily securing the top spot on the weekly box office chart.
Suicide Squad was just a spinoff from the DC Superhero series, far less popular than established heroes like Batman and Superman. The related comic series didn't even launch until 1987, and many comic fans likely didn't know of its existence before the movie's release.
Before the film's release, industry experts generally predicted that Suicide Squad's box office performance would be comparable to that of The Flash.
The first Flash film had opened with a modest $72.86 million in its first week, going on to gross $253 million domestically.
Despite the Flash's significant popularity within DC Comics, nearly matching Superman and Batman, Suicide Squad—riding the wave of the DC Cinematic Universe—managed to open with $91.78 million. Even though it didn't quite reach $100 million in its first week, the performance far exceeded many expectations. The film's domestic gross was poised to hit $300 million.
Ovitz had shared the industry's modest expectations for Suicide Squad's box office performance before its release.
However, seeing the film's impressive $91.78 million opening week, he wasn't surprised.
The Flash had been released at the end of 1991, when the DC Cinematic Universe plan had already been announced, but only two Batman films had been released by then. The Flash was the third in the series. Moreover, Warner Bros. had complete control over the project, and the young man who had spearheaded the DC Cinematic Universe had little involvement in this particular project. Consequently, the film's quality wasn't on par with the Batman films, and its box office underperformance was expected.
Suicide Squad was already the eighth film in the DC Cinematic Universe.
By then, Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, The Flash, and Cyborg had all been featured in their own films, creating a cohesive and popular universe. With a strong plot and spectacular effects, along with the high-traffic Christmas release, Suicide Squad's $91.78 million opening week was entirely expected.
The impact of Suicide Squad was evident as Toy Story 2, which ranked second on the chart, saw a 27% drop in box office, bringing in $21.06 million for a cumulative total of $236.23 million.
Typically, during the busy Christmas season, older films often experience a boost in ticket sales due to increased moviegoer attendance. However, Toy Story 2 not only didn't see this boost but instead dropped by 27%, showcasing the sheer impact of Suicide Squad.
Disney's holiday comedy The Santa Clause ranked third, earning $16.39 million in its first week.
Ovitz had a particular interest in this film because it was a package project recommended by CAA to Disney. The film had no major directors or stars attached, so its budget was only $22 million. With a first-week gross of $16.39 million and the upcoming holiday weeks, the movie was on track to reach $50 million domestically.
Ovitz felt a twinge of regret.
If it hadn't been for the overwhelming success of Toy Story 2 and Suicide Squad, The Santa Clause—a film perfectly aligned with the holiday spirit and garnering excellent audience reviews—might have been a $100 million box office contender.
But, of course, that hypothetical no longer mattered.
Nonetheless, a domestic gross of $50 million would still yield a decent profit for Disney.
Ranking fourth was Little Women, an adaptation of the famous novel. With a wide release in its first week, the well-received film earned $11.39 million from 1,503 screens, averaging about $7,500 per screen. Though it didn't hit the $10,000 per screen mark that signifies a blockbuster, for a female-oriented, semi-arthouse drama like Little Women, achieving this box office performance under the heavy pressure of Suicide Squad was quite commendable.
Including the two weeks of limited release prior, Little Women had already grossed $12.07 million.
If the film followed a box office trajectory similar to Steel Magnolias years ago, and with the help of the awards season, Little Women could match The Santa Clause's domestic gross of $50 million. Given that its production cost was only $15 million, and its marketing budget was lower than that of a commercial film like The Santa Clause, Little Women was likely to be more profitable.
Warner Bros.' Interview with the Vampire ranked fifth this week, dropping 33% to earn $5.53 million, unexpectedly surpassing Jim Carrey's comedy The Mask. Interview with the Vampire had now grossed $92.43 million domestically, edging closer to the $100 million milestone.
The Mask, produced by New World Pictures under Daenerys Entertainment, fell to sixth place with a 45% drop, earning $4.5 million this week. However, the film's domestic gross had successfully crossed the $100 million mark, reaching $101.79 million and officially joining the $100 million club.
In CAA's headquarters office.
Michael Ovitz stared at the box office data in his hand, feeling a mix of emotions.
Out of the top six films on the chart, Daenerys Entertainment was involved in three. Moreover, Suicide Squad, a heavy hitter, alone took in 68% of the total weekly box office, leaving the other films with only scraps.
What troubled Ovitz even more was that the majority of the filmmakers behind these top films were not CAA clients. The package project model that CAA pioneered in the 1980s had dwindled, with only The Santa Clause remaining.
Due to past conflicts, CAA's collaboration with Daenerys Entertainment had never been particularly close. However, Ovitz could sense that apart from a few actors like Dustin Hoffman and Tom Cruise, who had been blacklisted by Simon Westeros, Daenerys Entertainment hadn't actively targeted CAA.
But it was clear that CAA's influence in Hollywood had been waning in recent years. In a way, this was all because of the young man who had taken Hollywood by storm.
Leaving aside 3D animated films, the rise of blockbuster films focused on special effects, especially the success of the DC Cinematic Universe, had significantly reduced studios' dependence on stars, thereby increasing their bargaining power.
As a result, for those blockbusters destined to dominate the box office, talent agencies could no longer monopolize entire projects as they once did. They now had to lower their demands and even reduce fees to secure key roles in these films.
Because if they didn't, someone else would, and the stars would be the ones to lose out.
The once nearly defunct WMA had made a comeback in recent years, thanks to the numerous roles offered by Simon Westeros. They had now firmly overtaken CAA, reclaiming their position as Hollywood's most powerful talent agency.
Michael Ovitz knew that the current situation was beyond his control. He had been contemplating leaving for the past few years.
In fact, ever since CAA stabilized in the late 1980s, Ovitz had gradually grown weary of the talent agency business. This led him to help Sony broker the acquisition of Columbia Pictures, and he also expanded CAA's business into advertising and sports star representation, collaborating with companies like Coca-Cola, Procter & Gamble, and sports stars like Magic Johnson.
Just a year ago, Michael Ovitz had even had discussions with software magnate Bill Gates. However, because
CAA's scale was too small, Gates wasn't interested and instead invested in DreamWorks, founded by Spielberg and two others.
Perhaps it was truly time to leave.
This thought was not without reason.
The French Vivendi Group had completed its acquisition of Disney and had been searching for a new leader.
Vivendi initially targeted executives from Daenerys Entertainment, but the usual preference for being a big fish in a small pond didn't work this time. Several of the high-ranking executives they approached from Daenerys Entertainment had all clearly declined the offer.
After going through several candidates, the one who had almost been invited by Eisner to join Disney as president years ago—Michael Ovitz—once again became a candidate for the top position at the company.
Ovitz and Eisner had been friends for many years and were even neighbors.
If this had happened a few months earlier, Ovitz might have declined out of respect for their friendship. However, with Eisner now completely out of Disney, having faced a serious illness that changed his perspective on many things, Ovitz saw little issue with taking the job. After all, if Eisner still couldn't let go and tried to stop him, then perhaps their friendship wasn't as strong as he thought.
After a busy and heavy-hearted morning, Ovitz had a scheduled lunch meeting with Jean-Marie Messier, Vivendi's president of telecom and media, at Morton's Restaurant.
Truth be told, Ovitz wasn't particularly fond of this famous Hollywood steakhouse.
Not long ago, Eisner's wife had called Ovitz while he was working, saying that Eisner was upset at home because he had tried to book a table at Morton's for a dinner with friends, only to be told that there were no available tables. This was shocking, given that Morton's had always been accommodating to Hollywood bigwigs like Eisner.
But of course, Eisner was no longer Disney's chairman and CEO.
In fact, many famous restaurants in Los Angeles and New York are just as snobbish. This is likely their way of maintaining their so-called "prestige."
Having just undergone heart surgery and not fully recovered, getting upset wasn't good for his health. After receiving Eisner's wife's call, Ovitz quickly made some calls, not only securing a table for his friend but also demanding that the server who had turned Eisner away call to apologize. Ovitz, with his extensive Hollywood connections and as the head of CAA, which managed many big stars, wasn't someone Morton's could afford to offend, so they complied.
The lunch meeting itself wasn't particularly pleasant.
This wasn't the first meeting between Ovitz and Vivendi. Ovitz's demand was for full control of Disney, but given the lessons learned from the Columbia Pictures deal, Vivendi was unwilling to agree to that. The two sides had been deadlocked. As lunch drew to a close, Jean-Marie Messier finally laid out Vivendi's final offer.
After the lunch, Ovitz knew that he had no more room to negotiate.
It was either accept or decline.
Distracted, he carried on with his work for the rest of the afternoon. After going home and having dinner, Ovitz decided to visit his old friend next door and suggested they have a drink.
Eisner could now drink a little red wine.
The two long-time friends sat by the fireplace in Eisner's luxurious home, where a fire had been specially lit. Watching Eisner's wife bring over a blanket to cover her husband, Ovitz couldn't help but feel a bit sentimental, wondering what his own future would be like and whether he too would eventually face the decline of age.
In reality, aside from losing his position at Disney, Eisner had no other significant issues. Having served as Disney's CEO for a decade, his salary and the company's rapid growth in the 1980s had earned him a fortune of tens of millions of dollars. Even with his departure, Disney's shareholders and board, wanting to avoid any trouble, had given him a very generous severance package. This money would ensure that Eisner could enjoy a very comfortable retirement.
But then there was the Morton's incident.
For a man with even a hint of ambition, losing power was far more difficult to accept than losing money.
Ovitz's desire to join Disney was ultimately about gaining more power.
CAA, despite its outward success, actually had very little substance. Aside from its headquarters building in Century City, it didn't even have many fixed assets, and the income wasn't nearly as lucrative as running a major studio.
After drinking for a while, it was Eisner who brought up what was on Ovitz's mind: "Mike, I heard Vivendi is in talks with you?"
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