From Flower Vase to Film Emperor in Hollywood

Summer arrived, quietly.

The hottest, laziest, and most pleasant time of the year. Having endured a long and dull winter and a lingering, damp, and chilly spring, people finally couldn't wait to leave their homes, open their arms, and plunge headfirst into the golden sunlight, temporarily setting aside the pressures of life and enjoying a short vacation.

For children, it's summer vacation.

For adults, annual leave should be used here.

Especially for regions like Britain, Northern Europe, and Canada, which rarely experience the favor of sunlight throughout the year, summer is the only anticipation, with people counting down the days and nights until their summer vacation.

Thanks to the inherent advantages of weather and holidays, summer undoubtedly becomes the most important time of the year for major businesses. The discount season from July to August every year is always crowded with people, and the film market is no exception.

In 1975, "Jaws" and in 1977, "Star Wars" emerged one after another, using astonishing postures to tap into the huge potential of the film market, completely changing the position of film in the commercial market. The concept of the summer blockbuster season officially landed in North America, and market positioning, marketing, and other aspects fully developed, making the North American film market mature and scaled step by step.

After more than twenty years of groundwork, the positioning of the North American film market has become increasingly clear, and the divisions have become more and more detailed. The concepts of the spring season, summer season, autumn season, holiday season, and winter season have taken shape. Large and small film companies can arrange their release schedules according to the positioning of their works and their target audiences.

Among them, the box office frenzy of the summer season is undoubtedly the absolute focus of the entire year.

From the numbers, the box office data of the summer season can account for 50% to even 60% of the total annual box office revenue in North America. To win the summer season is to win the world.

Naturally, the summer season has become a battleground for all.

After "Iron Man" led the summer box office charts in 2008, comic book adaptations fully occupied the big screen, becoming the absolute king of the summer season.

And the reality is that the adaptation rights of novels, comics, and games are mostly in the hands of large film companies with a higher capacity to bear risks. Therefore, the summer season has slowly become a game for those at the top of the Hollywood pyramid.

But pulling the perspective back to 2000, the summer season was also very lively, but not a game for a few people. Some small film companies and even independent film companies would also choose to release their works in the summer season in a different way, allowing the audience to see more different choices on the big screen.

A hundred flowers bloom, and a hundred schools of thought contend. This also makes the audience more willing to go to the cinema in the summer.

The summer season officially kicks off in the second week of May and lasts until the first week of September.

To be precise, in North America, the second Friday in May is Arbor Day, and the first Monday in September is Labor Day. Therefore, the summer season should be from Arbor Day to Labor Day.

During this period, you can see top-tier commercial blockbusters with investments of over 100 million almost every week. Sometimes, you can even see three, four, or even five anticipated works in one weekend. The competition is so fierce that it can be described as hand-to-hand combat with bayonets drawn. This is a war of survival.

How to choose a release date, avoid major competitors, choose to face direct competitors, and eliminate indirect competitors is a complex subject.

The game between the major film companies is even more full of sparks, both overt and covert.

This year is no exception.

In the summer of 1999, "Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace" made a strong debut, leading a group of strong opponents to break the historical record of the total summer box office.

Under the anticipation of the public, the 2000 summer season, bearing huge pressure, performed mediocrely. The North American box office of the summer season champion "Mission: Impossible 2" was only half of that of "Star Wars: Episode I", and the total cumulative box office number of the summer season also decreased by 5%. This was the first time since 1991 that the cumulative total box office number of the summer season did not show an upward trend.

The continuous upward trend of the North American film market for ten consecutive years has finally shown signs of slowing down, which also reminded the major film companies.

Therefore, after the 2000 summer season came to an end, the major film companies had already begun to prepare and promote for the next year's summer season. It is conceivable that the competition for this year's summer season has already begun in the early stages of promotion.

In the bustling vision, "The Mummy Returns" made a brilliant debut, officially kicking off the 2001 summer season.

Subsequently, "Shrek", "Pearl Harbor", "The Fast and the Furious", "Lara Croft: Tomb Raider", "Artificial Intelligence", "Jurassic Park III", "Swordfish", "Moulin Rouge!", and other works successively met with the audience, with disappointment and surprises, success and failure, dark horses and explosive points, making it very lively.

In the midst of the hustle and bustle, "The Princess Diaries", produced and distributed by Disney, made a low-key debut, joining the party where everyone celebrates together.

Honestly, among the bombardment of top superstars and heavyweight works, a lightweight work like "The Princess Diaries" simply cannot find a direction or grasp the focus, even Disney has to lower expectations.

Romantic comedies still have a loyal audience market these years, but they are far from comparable to the late 1980s and early 1990s.

In those years, a large number of American sweethearts and traditional handsome newcomers emerged, and romantic comedies were always able to achieve good results, but these years still need to rely on superstar endorsements, otherwise, the genre films have already shown aesthetic fatigue.

An intuitive data point: only three romantic comedies in the past three years have crossed the 100 million US dollar threshold at the North American box office, "What Women Want", "Runaway Bride", and "Notting Hill".

The first was starring Mel Gibson and Helen Hunt; the latter two were both starring Julia Roberts—no wonder she can become the first actress in Hollywood's "20 Million Club" in history.

And what about "The Princess Diaries"?

Although directed by Garry Marshall, who proved himself again with "Runaway Bride", the cast is all newcomers, so the focus of the film's early publicity had to fall on Julie Andrews, which is far from enough for a romantic comedy.

What's more, this is the summer season, with strong enemies all around.

"The Princess Diaries" was finally scheduled for the first week of August, avoiding the disaster areas of June and July, but still fell into the dangerous situation of being surrounded by wolves:

The previous week was the premiere of "Planet of the Apes", and the following week was the arrival of "American Pie 2". In the same week, it also needs to face "Rush Hour 2" head-on.

Difficult. One word, it's really too difficult.

Disney said that they have really tried their best. This year's summer season is too dense and too crowded. It took a lot of effort to find such a release date:

"Planet of the Apes" is science fiction, "Rush Hour 2" is action, and "American Pie 2" is comedy—and it's a "sex" comedy. The target audience of these works does not overlap with "The Princess Diaries". Perhaps "The Princess Diaries" can win breathing space in such a predicament, blaze a trail, and write good results.

So, Anson, who had just finished the long filming of "Spider-Man" and took off his battle suit, didn't have time to catch his breath; he had already started the early promotion of "The Princess Diaries" non-stop, like a top, unable to stop at all.

For Anson, this is another brand new world.