Near Chinatown, the merchandise store owned by Jack Zhao and Irene was brightly lit. The store manager, Liu Yue, was directing employees like Wang Zhenzhen to restock the shelves, preparing for the wave of midnight screening audiences about to exit the theater.
Jack Zhao and Irene had married late, and Irene was now pregnant, so she was resting at home while Jack personally oversaw the store, waiting for sales data from other branches.
Just then, a handsome white man arrived, holding hands with an East Asian woman.
"Collins, what brings you here?" Jack Zhao greeted him with a warm smile and hugged him.
Collins was the biggest merchandise distributor in the Bay Area and was rumored to have strong connections with a Disney executive.
Through his father-in-law's network, Jack Zhao had gotten to know Collins and had since become one of his largest partners in the Bay Area.
Collins grinned, "I came to check how The Lord of the Rings merchandise is selling. This will determine our annual performance."
"Don't worry," Jack Zhao said confidently. "I have a strong feeling we're going to break records. By the time the early screenings ended today, my eight stores combined had already sold $130,000 worth of merchandise."
"That's great," Collins said, relieved. "Some of these goods were manufactured in factories in China, and I was a little concerned about quality. But it looks like those factories are doing a solid job—not only are costs low, but the quality is on par with North American-made products."
Hearing this, the East Asian woman beside him, who had been curiously observing the spacious merchandise store, was momentarily stunned. She immediately asked, "Honey, are all these products made in China?"
"Some of them, yes," Collins explained. "The factories over there aren't fully operational yet, but by next year, most of the merchandise will be produced in China and then shipped to North America."
He then introduced the woman to Jack Zhao. "This is my girlfriend, a Chinese actress named Ziyi Zhang. She starred in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. This summer, she's also in Rush Hour 2 alongside Jackie Chan."
Jack Zhao shook hands with Ziyi Zhang and exchanged a few words with her.
As the screening was about to end, Jack Zhao turned to Collins, "You guys make yourselves comfortable—I've got work to do."
"No worries, we'll look around," Collins said, leading Ziyi Zhang to browse the store.
By now, the midnight screening audience had begun pouring out.
Perhaps it was the life-sized Gandalf figurine, mounted on a rearing horse, that was too eye-catching, but many audience members rushed straight into the merchandise store.
Ziyi Zhang was astonished to see these fans acting as if they were under a spell. They entered the store without even glancing at price tags—grabbing and purchasing whatever they could.
Even the $399 Rohan princess dress and the $599 Arwen elven armor were quickly snatched up by eager fans, many of whom didn't even consider whether the outfits would fit. They simply feared that if they hesitated, someone else would buy them first.
As for Gandalf's wizard hat, his white robes, Aragorn and Arwen's swords, Legolas's bow, plush dolls, necklaces, and pendants—everything was sold out.
Store manager Liu Yue kept restocking shelves, and it took nearly an hour for the frenzy to subside.
Ziyi Zhang and Collins returned to Jack Zhao, who was beaming with excitement. "That was incredible! In just over an hour, the store made $65,399 in sales."
Collins was very pleased. "Looks like you're about to get rich, Jack. After the official premiere, a single store could easily break a million in sales within a week."
Jack Zhao grinned and joked, "That's great—my kid's milk money is covered."
Satisfied with the store's performance, Collins chatted with Jack Zhao about their upcoming business plans before leaving with Ziyi Zhang.
On the way back, Ziyi Zhang asked Collins, "I understand watching a movie, but why do people waste money on all this merchandise?"
"Honey, you don't get it. If these fans didn't buy, how else would I make a fortune?" Collins replied.
Ziyi Zhang thought for a moment and had to agree, though she still didn't fully understand. After all, Hollywood's commercial model was entirely different from the Chinese film industry.
Merchandise sales weren't unheard of in China, but generating such massive revenue in a single day was unimaginable. And according to Collins, this wasn't even the peak—the real explosion in sales would happen over the film's opening weekend.
Ziyi Zhang had gotten involved with Collins partly because of his connections with Disney executives. The success of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon had given her the determination to make a career in Hollywood.
Now, Chinese media outlets were branding her as an "international superstar," even giving her the nickname "International Zhang."
Even if her Hollywood career didn't take off, she could always return to China and market herself as an overseas success story—an option that was far from bad.
Of course, if she could make it big in Hollywood, that would be even better. Ideally, she could use Collins to build connections and get closer to Gilbert—that was the ultimate power move.
Gilbert, however, had no interest in Ziyi Zhang's schemes. To put it bluntly, if he wanted, he could have goddesses like Liu Yifei or Yang Mi.
Not that he necessarily needed to—it was just a thought. Too many women could be a headache for Gilbert as well.
Take this morning, for instance. When he woke up, Anne Hathaway was curled up on his left, Cameron Diaz on his right, and Naomi Watts was draped over him.
Surrounded by three women, Gilbert felt his limbs going numb.
He carefully pulled his arm free, but Cameron Diaz, still half-asleep, instinctively snuggled closer, trapping him again.
After finally extricating himself, Gilbert managed to get out of bed, wash his face, and brush his teeth.
His assistant, Anna, arrived early. After Maid brought her a cup of coffee, she began reporting on the results from the early and midnight screenings the night before.
"The 2,200 early screenings brought in a total of $2.64 million at the box office. The midnight showings had an average occupancy rate of 85%."
"85%?" Gilbert paused and asked, "How did The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring perform?"
"80%."
"80%? Not bad. Go on."
Anna continued her report. "Our market research team collected data from 160,000 audience surveys. The A+ rating approval rate reached 95%, and the percentage of A and above ratings was 98%.
Less than 1% rated it C or below…
As for media reviews, 58 outlets have scored the film so far, with an average rating of 97—it's being hailed as a must-see masterpiece.
The IMDb rating hasn't been released yet, but I expect it won't be below a 9."
"Excellent. What about the midnight box office?" Gilbert asked as he finished his bread and milk, clearly pleased with the outstanding results.
"The midnight screenings brought in $9.83 million, breaking the midnight box office record previously set by The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring.
Boss, congratulations—it looks like we have another massive success on our hands."
A massive success was inevitable.
Anna had been Gilbert's assistant for years, and by now, she was used to his triumphs. If he ever failed, that would be the real headline.
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