Made in Hollywood

"How many times did you watch it? I watched it twice yesterday, and I plan to watch it again today."

On the TV screen, a young man in front of the theater is being interviewed by a reporter, "Did you see it? I bought this specially, isn't it cool?"

The sun in May seemed to have no effect on him. This young man was wearing the exact same black trench coat as Neo, the same Ray-Ban sunglasses, thick black leather boots on his feet, and a Nokia in his hand. The phone, as if Neo jumped out of a movie screen.

"You like 'The Matrix' very much?"

“Love it very much!”

He looked at the reporter who asked questions like a fool, perhaps to show off, or perhaps to imitate, he picked up the Nokia phone and pressed it, the phone cover popped out immediately, and then imitated Neo's appearance and dialed a number...

Taking the remote, Spielberg turned off the TV and sat back on the sofa, his eyes once again falling on the North American box office statistics in his hands.

This is yesterday, that is, Friday's single-day box office statistics, there is no suspense in the first place, but the number is much higher than Warner Bros. and the outside world expected.

"The Matrix", 3,122 theaters, $18.67 million in a single day on Friday, with a total of $18.67 million in North America.

"Clash of Heaven and Earth", 2014 theaters, $4.52 million in a single day on Friday, and a total of $41.11 million in North America.

"Angel's Love", 1,522 theaters, $3.22 million in a single day on Friday, and a total of $45.87 million in North America.

"Titanic", 757 theaters, $2.41 million in a single day on Friday, $611.14 million in North America.

No matter what period the films were released, they were obviously impacted by "The Matrix", especially "The Clash of Heaven and Earth". Spielberg speculates that the North American box office of DreamWorks' blockbuster this weekend will drop by at least 50% compared with the first weekend. The box office in the first week was not ideal, and the second week is getting worse.

Fortunately, there are more unfortunate ones on this list, and Spielberg can find some psychological comfort.

Released by Lionsgate, the French film "Taxi Express" and "The Matrix", which performed well in Europe, were released at the same time. 455 theaters in North America, only got a pitiful $82,156 at the box office...

Spielberg shook his head, and that bit of psychological comfort was thrown behind his head. Lionsgate released "Taxi Express" at this time. Obviously, there was no hope. Continental movies were sold in North America. Also very few.

If nothing else, "Taxi Express" is destined to be a three-day tour of North American theaters.

Look back to "The Matrix" and "Crash". Spielberg is very clear that at this stage, DreamWorks has no power to change the box office trend of the two films.

As for The Matrix, he doesn't know where the final box office will go. But judging from the news from last night to this morning, the popularity of the film's peripheral products is even better than that of "Titanic", almost equal to the "Jurassic Park" series.

If things continue like this, Warner Bros. and Duke Studios only rely on peripheral income from cooperation with various manufacturers. I'm afraid it will pay for itself!

Why do Duke Studio's films always succeed? And DreamWorks every step forward is so difficult?

Frowning and sighing, Spielberg naturally knows why. They don't want to give up easily, but some people have come to the time to give up.

Picking up his phone, he dialed David Geffen.

"David, I suggest." His voice was extremely serious. "DreamWorks will no longer work with Martin Bob!"

There are a number of reasons why Clash of Earth fell short of expectations, but he and CAA's Martin Bob were most directly responsible for the project.

Spielberg doesn't want to lower his voice in DreamWorks because of this project, so Martin Bob is the best person to take the blame, and it's not just him who needs to be the scapegoat, but also David Geffen and Jerefer ? Katzenberg, they have to find someone or a reason to speak to shareholders and investors.

With the arrival of Saturday, "The Matrix" has further improved its single-play attendance after a day of screening and audience word-of-mouth fermentation. Especially in the later publicity, the Internet has become an important position for Warner Bros. and Duke Studios. Major websites And on the forums, you can see news and posts discussing the film everywhere.

In today's era when the navy is far from being flooded, the effect of such propaganda is amazing, especially the navy of Panney Kelly's network public relations department, who almost occupied the important video position on the Internet - IMDB.

Although the voting rules of this website are not as simple as calculating the average score, it is just like there were countless vote wars on IMDB. It is not too difficult for the huge navy to affect this website. , The score of "The Matrix" has been maintained at around 9.7 points, and the audience's film review column is even more applauded.

Yes, in the eyes of many people, this film is very philosophical. A few critics, such as Kenneth Turan, also praised the film's thoughtfulness, but the theme of the film's release promotion has nothing to do with it. , but is the most superficial slogan - cool enough cool enough cool enough!

A film cannot be popular with everyone, there are critics, and the rating of "The Matrix" will inevitably affect the choice of some audiences, especially family audiences with minors, will definitely not choose such an R. This also affects the box office of the film, so that the single-day box office of "The Matrix" cannot be as super-explosive as that of "Independence Day".

Fortunately, the sales around the film are hot enough.

"Rough stats just got."

Robin Grande almost ran into Duke's office, pulled a chair casually, and sat across from him, "Yesterday, the North American peripheral sales of "The Matrix" were about 7.8 million US dollars! A considerable part The sales outlets are selling out of stock!”

"What is the sales commission we have signed with major manufacturers?

I didn't sleep well last night, and I had been busy with the two heavy jobs of "The Lord of the Rings" and "The Matrix" at the same time. The exhaustion made Duke's head a little dizzy, "Why can't I remember?"

"Thirty percent!" Tina Fey reminded.

Duke nodded and took a sip of espresso, "It seems that peripheral income won't be a problem."

"Definitely not a problem."

Take the coffee from Tina Fey. Robin Grande thanked him and said, "According to the normal law, peripheral products generally do not reach a sales peak until a week after the film is released. Also, if the film's global box office can exceed 500 million US dollars, major sponsors will The business will also add 10% of the sponsorship amount.”

I don't feel very comfortable in my head. Duke stood up, "I didn't sleep well last night, so I went home first. If there is something, Robin, you and Tina will discuss it."

Out of the Duke studio, Duke drove the new Bentley he had just replaced. I drove on the crowded road in Burbank and headed towards Malibu. On the road, I deliberately passed the gates of two commercial theaters. There was indeed no queue like "Titanic", but it was near the theater. The savior appeared frequently, and the black trench coat and black sunglasses continued to spread around the theater with the theater as a fulcrum.

The Bentley passed by a movie theater in the western suburbs of Burbank, leaving only a trail of smoke. The few young people who came out of the theater never thought of the director of the film they were talking about. Just passed by and they were just discussing the movie they just watched.

"Neo's fight is so cool!"

A man in a black trench coat and black sunglasses said, "Especially the last fight between him and Smith!"

The other guy, okay. It was also a black trench coat and black sunglasses, and said, "Taylor, I think Trinity is still cool. Her gunfighting skills are light and quick, and her flexibility is incredible."

The only normal person in the crowd said, "Taylor, James, that's all you noticed? I think the coolest one is director Duke Rosenberg."

"But he's not in the movie at all, Jerry!" retorted the first person to speak.

Jerry curled his lips in disdain, "Don't forget, the director and screenwriter are Duke. He created this world and made this movie so cool. Do you think he is cool?"

After thinking about it for a while, several other people nodded in agreement.

Looking at the companions around, Jerry said again, "Also, this story is not finished, what will happen to Neo and the Matrix in the end?"

"And what is Zion..."

After discussing a few words, several people suddenly stopped at the same time, and Taylor said, "I just looked at the cool, and now I realize that I have neglected a lot."

"Me too." James agreed.

Jerry was the first to turn around, "Then let's see it again!"

Not all people only care about being cool and handsome. As time goes by, many people have carried out in-depth interpretations of the plot, especially on the Internet, various interpretations can make the director Duke feel a brain hole. Wide open, but this is not without benefits. Some fans think they have discovered the overlooked details and often buy tickets to enter the theater again.

Early on Sunday morning, when he got the single-day box office data for Saturday, Duke could only stay at home in peace, because he was ill, not a serious illness, just a common cold and fever, perhaps because of the exhaustion accumulated over the past few years. The outbreak, or perhaps it was a Caucasian system problem, the symptoms of a cold and a fever made him dizzy and had to choose to rest.

"Just give me the data for the three most recent films in release date."

After taking the medicine and sitting crookedly on the sofa, Duke said to Tina Fei in a loud voice, "Stay away from me, so that it won't spread to you."

Tina Fey sat on the sofa ten feet away. "The Matrix $19.97 million, The Matrix $3.85 million, and Taxi Express $62,156."

She looked at Duke, got up and brought a cup of hot water over, and said, "According to the feedback from the theater, "Taxi Express" will be dropped from North America tomorrow."

Duke was not surprised by the film supervised by Luc Besson. After all, he had a vague impression that this film, which was quite successful in other regions, once grossed less than $300,000 in North America. It's really hard to sell a pure foreign film in North America.

"The box office of "The Clash of Heaven and Earth" should not be able to recover the cost." Tina Fei said again.

Holding the cup and taking a sip of water, Duke simply lay down on the sofa, "After this weekend's box office is released, we will see the difference." (To be continued ~^~)

PS:   Ask for a monthly pass, ask for a recommended ticket~~