From Flower Vase to Film Emperor in Hollywood

Good news! "Dawn of the Living Dead" had a small box office surge on Friday!

Absolutely good news.

Despite the heavy blow from media reviews, despite the comprehensive suppression of publicity and promotion, and unexpectedly retreating under the impact of "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind," all signs indicated that "Dawn of the Living Dead" was facing severe challenges.

However, the movie overcame all unfavorable situations, broke a bloody path through numerous difficulties, won the audience's love and support, and ushered in a box office harvest.

After experiencing such a difficult, arduous, and agonizing situation, finally seizing a glimmer of hope, the entire cast and crew breathed a long sigh of relief.

Zack Snyder was even more radiant and beaming with joy.

He knew that media reputation and publicity buzz were all虚的 (empty/false); what the audience liked was truly excellent, and box office victory was true success.

It has always been the case; zombie themes within niche genres, and horror themes within larger genres, may be sneered at and nitpicked by the media, with media reviews always particularly harsh; but market feedback always brings surprises, and audiences prove the enduring appeal of genre films with their actions.

The most typical example is Alfred Hitchcock.

This legendary director diligently cultivated horror, suspense, and thriller films throughout his life, and was hailed as a master-level director, but never gained recognition from the Academy. Like Charlie Chaplin, he was excluded by those stubborn old fogeys at the Academy, but their place in film history is undeniable.

Now, he, Zack Snyder, is the same.

The media misunderstands him, underestimates him, distorts him, and attacks him, but cannot destroy him. He will prove them all wrong with his actions—

He is a master. He will become a master. He will make those who laugh at him and despise him look up to his existence from the top of the pyramid. He will prove that he deserves a place in film history.

Look, the box office data has already proven this point.

Witnessing the single-day Friday box office data of "Dawn of the Living Dead," Zack breathed a long sigh of relief, his face beaming with smiles, unable to resist complaining to himself:

After the media reviews came out, I lost my composure and scared myself. Now it seems completely unnecessary; the market will give fair recognition. "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" and Ansen Wood are nothing to worry about. The audience's eyes are discerning; they can recognize what is a fake and what is a pearl.

Good or bad, it's clear at a glance. The market and time are the best standards for testing a work.

7.3 points!

Zack looked completely satisfied. This is the correct evaluation. Now it can be seen that the media's overall score of 59 points is purely prejudice and discrimination against zombie movies. Sure enough, the audience still knows how to appreciate good works.

In Zack's view, "Dawn of the Living Dead" does have some shortcomings. After all, it was his first directorial work, and he himself would give it 80 points. Now it seems that the audience's opinion is almost the same as his. Leaving some differences can be considered seeking common ground while reserving differences. He also looks forward to continuing to improve.

Then, Zack sat in front of the computer and began browsing the rainbow farts in the audience reviews on the IMDB page.

"Desperate yet romantic!"

"The director's first work is so outstanding, amazing!"

"The plot is tight, the characters are solid, must give a thumbs up."

"Good-looking, really good-looking, too excited to sleep in the middle of the night."

"The black humor is good, and the portrayal of human nature is worth affirming."

While browsing and commenting, gently nodding, as if reviewing memorials to the throne, Zack muttered, "This person has a little bit of insight," "Yes, yes, that's right," "My ingenuity was actually seen," his face filled with satisfaction.

Unfortunately, the movie has only been released for one day, and there are less than two hundred short reviews on IMDB, which were all read in the blink of an eye, but he was still not satisfied.

He flipped back and read the few short reviews that impressed him several times, and then a flash of inspiration came to his mind:

Cinema score!

How could I forget this!

Compared to IMDB, a gathering place for young people and movie enthusiasts, cinema scores are the most representative standard for the general public, and also a weather vane for the upper limit of movie box office.

So, what will be the cinema score of "Dawn of the Living Dead"?

A, or A-?

Wait, could it be A+? If it's A+, I can imagine the expressions of the media all falling apart, that would be very exciting.

Thinking about it, the corners of his mouth couldn't help but rise. Zack somewhat awkwardly opened the cinema score website and immediately saw the picture on the page.

His expression instantly collapsed.

B?

Wait, is he seeing it right?

B? How is that possible? The senior movie fans on IMDB gave it 7.3, how could the cinema score only be B?

A breath stuck in his chest, unable to be exhaled, his good mood vanished.

After searching, he didn't see the score of "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" on the cinema score website, which meant that the number of people who went to the theater to watch the movie hadn't reached the minimum standard, so the cinema score hadn't come out yet—

Hehe, this is good news.

Now it seems that the number of viewers for "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" on the first day should not be high, the opening day box office is sluggish, the momentum is loud but only a响 (sound/impact).

Maybe there isn't even a sound.

Thinking of this, Zack's mood became a little more relaxed.

At this moment, the phone on the desk rang. Zack answered it casually, but before he could say hello, he could hear an anxious voice coming from the other end.

"Zack, Zack!"

Zack smiled dumbly, "James, calm down, there are no bulldogs chasing you."

On the other end of the phone was the screenwriter James Gunn, but at this time he was not in the mood to joke with Zack, "Zack, the situation seems to be a little bad."

Zack, "What?"

James, "Their single-day Friday box office is nearly eight million dollars, almost the same as us."

Zack, "Who? Who are you talking about? 'The Passion of the Christ'?"

James, "That Eternal Sunshine... Ansen, Ansen Wood."

Zack laughed directly, "What nonsense are you talking about? How is that possible? How many theaters do we have, how many theaters do they have? Say something realistic. If it was Mel Gibson, it would be understandable. We all know they are gaining momentum now, but..."

James, "Zack, I'm serious, the situation doesn't look good now. All the entertainment headlines in the news media are about Ansen."

Zack's face stiffened, unable to say anything more. He quickly hung up the phone and opened the search page: Media? Media! Who? "Los Angeles Times"!

The page slowly opened, and what came into view was the promotional poster of "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind," Ansen and Kate wearing sweaters and curled up on the sofa cuddling each other.

"'Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind' Sets a New Record for Single-Theater Box Office!"

Record?

Another record?

"Elephant" had just broken the historical record for single-theater box office not long ago, how could so many historical records be broken one after another?

Moving the mouse down, roughly reading it, Zack's heart turned cold—

"...Single-day Friday box office of $9.6 million...Ansen Wood sets another record..."