Entertainment: Starting as a Succubus, Taking Hollywood by Storm

Martin wasn't wrong.

The buzz around Avatar brought to mind that massive ship from over a decade ago. After its opening weekend, Avatar saw the usual weekday box office dip. But with the rapid expansion of theater screens—from 3,452 in North America at its debut to 4,155, with nearly all 600 new screens showing the 3D and IMAX 3D versions—the drop was minimal. Monday raked in 29.5 million dollars, Tuesday 16.32 million, Wednesday 25 million, and Thursday 23.5 million.

By the time the second weekend rolled around, Avatar's North American box office had soared past 247 million dollars, with its global total smashing through the 700-million-dollar mark. This wasn't just recreating Titanic's box office triumph—it was poised to blow right past it, and by a wide margin.

At 20th Century Fox, Alan Ryder was thrilled but also kicking himself. If only they'd trusted James a bit more back then! If Fox had fully funded the film, they'd be pocketing so much more. Now, they had to split the box office and ancillary profits with Meyers Pictures—a massive sum.

At Meyers Pictures, Drew was practically glowing with excitement.

"A major data firm predicts Avatar's global box office will surpass 1.5 billion!" Cameron Diaz, who'd dropped by to see Drew, gasped in awe. "My God, that's insane!"

"No one will ever doubt this is an era-defining film," Martin said decisively.

Eight weeks after its North American release, Avatar's box office had crossed the 400-million-dollar mark and was closing in on 500 million. Only two other films had ever hit that milestone: James Cameron's Titanic and Nolan's The Dark Knight. From this revenue alone, Meyers Pictures stood to pocket 200 million.

Seeing this unfold, Martin felt an immense sense of accomplishment.

...

In the original timeline, Guinea had descended into chaos after President Lansana Conté's death, with a military coup seizing control. But now, with Guinea's military under Martin's influence, no coup had occurred—though no new president had been named either. This was the foundation for Guinea's rapid transformation.

Power plants, hydroelectric dams, and natural gas infrastructure were spreading from the capital to every city in Guinea. Steel mills, refineries, and chemical plants were springing up like bamboo shoots after rain across this ancient land. Once one of the world's most underdeveloped nations, Guinea was now changing by the day.

American workers who'd reluctantly come here, jobless back home, were now happily settled. Many had brought their families over, some even planning to make Guinea their permanent home.

"What the hell? This is Guinea?"

A group of American experts, arriving at Conakry's international airport and boarding a bus, were stunned by the vibrant, prosperous countryside and rows of beautiful buildings they passed. These were specialists and elites from various fields, sent by Obama at Martin's request in exchange for significant benefits. Martin was determined to keep them here, even if it meant using his influence to "persuade" them to stay and become Guinea's own experts and elite.

Because once a nation could independently build a nuclear power plant, it also meant it had the capability to produce nuclear weapons. Why else had Israel sent its air force to bomb Saddam Hussein's nuclear facility in Iraq years ago, reducing it to rubble?