From Flower Vase to Film Emperor in Hollywood

The second week of May in 2002 saw a slightly "lackluster" North American film market.

The term lackluster doesn't mean a box office crash, but rather a scarcity of new releases. Typically, the summer blockbuster season is a vibrant time, with major films hitting theaters week after week, leaving audiences overwhelmed.

This year was no exception, with major film companies vying to carve out a bloody path in the summer season, but the second week of May was a unique exception.

Sandwiched between "Spider-Man" and "Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones," it was a deadly window. No film company wanted to court disaster by releasing a big movie then. Thus, this week became a Russian roulette for low-budget films to take a chance.

One was a low-budget comedy, "The New Guy," with a production cost of only ten million dollars. The other was a thriller, "Unfaithful," which, despite a production cost of fifty million dollars, didn't quite fit the summer blockbuster mold.

The distribution companies for both films knew the release window was perilous, so they hoped to differentiate themselves from the commercial blockbusters and carve out a niche for themselves.

The reality proved—

Difficult.

This summer belonged to "Spider-Man."

"Unfaithful" grossed fourteen million dollars in its opening weekend, not terrible, but far from outstanding, especially considering its fifty million dollar budget.

"The New Guy" earned nine million dollars in its opening weekend. While the numbers weren't impressive, with a production cost of only ten million, the film managed to scrape by.

However, neither film made a significant splash in the market because all eyes in North America were focused on one movie:

"Spider-Man."

In its second week, the film's popularity continued to soar, its reach expanding. More and more viewers flocked to theaters, and the release of positive audience scores sparked further discussion.

Unlike critical reviews, audience scores represent the tastes of the general public. With IMDB still in its early stages and Rotten Tomatoes yet to be founded, audience scores were the most authoritative reference data.

After watching a movie in a theater, viewers could, if they wished, fill out a simple scoring questionnaire at the exit, and the collected feedback would be used to give the film a score.

The lowest score was F, and the highest was A+.

Generally, if a commercial film wanted to succeed at the box office, aside from unique circumstances, it usually needed a score of B or higher. Most box office hits had a minimum audience score of A-.

"Spider-Man": A.

Although it didn't get the highest score, an A was more than enough for the general public.

As a result, large numbers of viewers continued to flood into theaters, showing a rare level of enthusiasm.

In fact, the weekday box office numbers from Monday to Thursday already hinted at this trend. Industry professionals began to predict the weekend box office, but the film's momentum didn't slow down as the weekend approached, forcing these experts to continuously revise their estimates.

However!

Even these predictions underestimated the market's enthusiasm.

"Spider-Man"'s box office revenue in its second weekend dropped by only 31.1%.

This figure would be commendable even for a film with a forty million dollar opening weekend, but the fact that it happened with "Spider-Man" made "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone"'s Thanksgiving performance pale in comparison.

Ninety-six million dollars.

That was "Spider-Man"'s second weekend box office. Not only did it set a record for its opening weekend, but its second weekend easily surpassed "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone"'s opening numbers.

Sweep. Crush. Gap.

"Spider-Man"'s second weekend box office was even more terrifying than its first.

Last week, people could still exclaim in surprise, but this week, they were speechless and dumbfounded, stunned into silence.

Including Sony Columbia.

Even though they had taken a gamble, fully expecting "Spider-Man" to perform well, they still felt a ten-thousand-point shock when they actually saw the numbers.

Why?

Other data might be too abstract. To put it in simpler terms, in 2002, one hundred million dollars at the North American box office was the mark of success, easily landing a film in the top twenty, or even top ten, of the year-end charts.

In other words, a cumulative gross of one hundred million was the goal for countless films.

Now, "Spider-Man" was approaching this benchmark for two consecutive weekends, which explains the shock throughout Hollywood. Even seasoned veterans who had seen countless big hits were almost scared out of their wits.

So, was this really another "Titanic"?

Based on the current situation, "Spider-Man"'s cumulative box office in two weeks had already forcefully entered the top fifteen of North American film history, temporarily ranking fourteenth, and this was just the beginning.

Three hundred million should be a sure thing, four hundred million shouldn't be a problem, and five hundred million or even six hundred million was the target. The entire level and scope were completely different.

This sweeping momentum completely overturned the existing perception of the North American market, and millions of eyes immediately focused on it.

The success of "Spider-Man" was undeniable, but this level of success was truly epic.

Thus, all eyes turned to the monster that was about to debut in the third week of May—

"Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones."

The tension of the competition immediately escalated, and it affected both sides.

For "Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones," "Spider-Man"'s sweeping success had almost drained the entire market. The pressure they faced was unbelievable. It wasn't just about planning and promotional strategies anymore; they needed a miracle.

For "Spider-Man," encountering such a strong opponent while creating records would likely cause a box office crash in its third weekend if "Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones" had a strong opening. At that point, not to mention six hundred million, even four hundred million would be in danger.

Mutual restraint, mutual entanglement.

This was bad news for Twentieth Century Fox and Sony Columbia, the pressure was mounting, and there was little they could control.

But for the onlookers and moviegoers, this good show was a source of great interest. In any case, the audience was the biggest winner.

This is the charm of the summer blockbuster season: intense competition, a fight to the death.

After the second week of May box office data was released, all eyes instantly focused on "Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones." This was an unprecedented summer blockbuster season, a first for Hollywood. They were about to witness the grand spectacle of "Godzilla vs. Kong."

Then, it came, it finally came—

"Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones" premiere, also held at the Chinese Theatre!