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Chapter 186: The More You Think, the Scarier It Gets
🕑 Added 2025-05-18 22:21:04 +0000 UTC“History’s fastest movie to break 200 million dollars at the box office has arrived! In just three days, it’s raked in a staggering 263 million dollars worldwide! That’s 117 million from North America and 146 million from overseas. It’s now the second film after that one to cross 100 million in its opening week in North America!”
“It took Dunn Walker just three days to prove once again that he’s the top commercial filmmaker of our time. 263 million dollars! Among all the movies released this year, it’s sitting at third place globally and don’t forget—it’s only been out for three days!”
“No doubt about it, Dunn Walker is Hollywood’s gift to the world. With his relatable heroes and fun, engaging stories, he’s won over movie fans everywhere. As a director, Dunn deserves every bit of praise! That 263 million opening week is the ultimate proof!”
“We’re running out of words to describe Dunn Walker’s talent. Just when we thought he might get distracted dabbling in other fields, this movie hits, and fans worldwide see it—Dunn’s still Dunn! He’s always a box office guarantee!”
“The madness rolls on with a 263 million opening week! With killer reviews, unstoppable momentum, and buzz off the charts, this is shaping up to be the summer’s biggest cash machine. It’s got a real shot at being the third movie after Titanic and Star Wars to break the 1 billion dollar mark!”
“Five hundred million in North America, a billion worldwide—tough? For other directors, sure. For Dunn Walker? Piece of cake! This summer, all eyes are on this movie. Let’s wait for the next miracle to unfold!”
After the opening week numbers dropped, newspapers everywhere jumped on the jaw-dropping news.
117 million in North America, 146 million overseas—mind-blowing!
Especially in the UK—three days in, it pulled in over 25 million pounds. People could hardly believe it!
An American superhero movie blowing up like that in Britain? Sure, it had some post-production done there, but at its core, it’s still a U.S. flick!
Before this, the UK box office charts had this one at 81 million pounds in first place, that one at 70 million in second, and another one at 59 million in third.
With this kind of momentum, shaking this one’s top spot might be a long shot, but snagging second from that one? Totally doable.
As for North America…
605 billion for Titanic, 581 billion for Star Wars—those are legendary numbers. Without a miracle, they’re untouchable.
But Dunn’s movie? It’s a crowd-pleasing action flick, Marvel’s big debut, and it’s got universal appeal—no cultural barriers for audiences worldwide.
That other one, though? That’s pure American culture through and through.
Overseas, topping that one should be a breeze.
“So, how’re our competitors holding up?”
Dunn had just wrapped up another script workshop for this movie. They’d nailed the final draft, and Luc Besson was now set to hammer out the storyboards and shooting schedule. Feeling good, Dunn strolled back to his office and started joking around with Reese Witherspoon.
Reese, who’d also been at the workshop, set her files down and grinned. “Their movie crossed 15 million at the box office—not terrible, all things considered. But Twentieth Century Fox’s other one? Total disaster. Two days over the weekend, and it barely scraped 3 million. Hands down the summer’s biggest flop!”
“3 million?” Dunn’s lips curled into a smirk, a hint of mockery in his eyes. “New week’s here— theaters can reshuffle the screening plans now.”
Screening plans cover the number of theaters, showtime percentages, and seat allocations. The last two can shift anytime, but the theater count? That only updates at the start of a new week.
And now, it was a new week.
With that flop’s numbers, did it deserve 2,734 theaters? Meanwhile, their movie pulling 15 million—decent under Dunn’s movie’s shadow—should hold steady with over 3,000 theaters.
Reese laughed. “Rossman’s in for it now. McNick just got canned, and here he is making a fool of himself with this mess. That movie’s losing at least 50 million—worse than that other flop. Let’s see how he digs himself out!”
Dunn snorted. “He wanted to go toe-to-toe with me? Without a hard lesson, he’d think I’m a pushover! Did he really believe Fox’s deep pockets could let him do whatever he wants? Naive!”
“Right, right, you’re the best!” Reese shot him a playful glance, her face glowing with charm.
A guy this impressive—who wouldn’t fall for him?
Dunn chuckled and waved it off. “Oh, by the way—what toy did Taylor ask me to get her last time? Been too busy, totally forgot.”
“Disney Princess.”
“Huh?”
Dunn blinked.
Disney Princess dolls… those were a thing already?
Reese caught his surprised look and jumped in to explain. “Here’s the deal—‘Disney Princess’ is a new brand trademark Disney registered. It’s all about the princesses from their animated movies. Word is, they’re teaming up with Mattel to roll out a whole ‘Disney Princess’ doll line.”
Dunn frowned, a weird feeling creeping in.
Reese went on. “The dolls aren’t out yet, though. But Miss Swift’s got a little friend whose mom works at Mattel. She snagged an early set from inside the company. Taylor saw it, fell in love, and wants you to pull some strings to get her one too.”
“Not out yet?”
Dunn sucked in a breath, finally piecing it together.
“Disney Princess”—a brand that famous, landing with Mattel—and he had no clue!
Here’s the kicker: Dunn was already knee-deep in the toy biz. He was a shareholder and board member at Hasbro.
By all logic, if Disney was launching a “Disney Princess” doll line, they’d pit Mattel and Hasbro against each other in a bidding war, picking the best deal.
But right now? Hasbro hadn’t even gotten an invite to bid!
Which meant Disney and Mattel had already hashed it out behind closed doors and sealed the deal.
Dunn’s face darkened. The more he thought about it, the creepier it got!
