From Flower Vase to Film Emperor in Hollywood

"Oh, now you know why I still believe in Santa Claus."

As the reporters focused their attention on Anson, the absolute superstar who had effortlessly broken the $300 million mark with two films in a single year displayed his wit and humor.

Although Anson was on vacation, refusing all forms of interviews, including phone calls, and only responding through his agent, Edgar; it was immediately clear from the words that this was Anson's own response, not an official statement carefully crafted by his agent and public relations team.

In this regard, the reporters couldn't help but admire Anson's rationality, calmness, and magnanimity.

Admiration spread completely.

In the second week of January 2003, the North American weekend box office rankings were released.

Champion: "Catch Me If You Can."

Runner-up: "Just Married."

Third place: "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers."

Fourth place: "Swept Away."

Fifth place: "About Schmidt."

A small surprise was that "About Schmidt," which was highly praised during this year's awards season, also performed well in theaters. At least for now, it was more accepted by the general public than "Gangs of New York," proving that Jack Nicholson's skills were still sharp.

Additionally.

"The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers" had grossed $280 million in North America after four weeks of release, and breaking the $300 million threshold should only be a matter of time. Moreover, overseas box office numbers had not yet been tallied, and the film was still as successful as expected; however, this success paled in comparison to "Catch Me If You Can."

Warner Bros.' plan to avoid the summer blockbuster season and try to seize the initiative during the holiday season ultimately failed to gain traction. DreamWorks, unintentionally, achieved miraculous success during Christmas, providing new insights into market marketing while witnessing the birth of a superstar.

Thinking back carefully, this holiday season, although it didn't unfold as expected, was far from disappointing. To be precise, it was more interesting with more surprises than anticipated. Hollywood was once again experiencing a storm.

Obviously, this was still not the end.

After easily winning the North American weekend box office championship for three consecutive weeks, "Catch Me If You Can" stood out in the bleak midwinter, winning the championship for another two weeks until it relinquished the throne in the first week of February, but still maintained strong momentum and excellent staying power.

Ultimately.

"Catch Me If You Can"'s North American box office number was fixed at $377 million, leaving a series of exclamations in the holiday and winter seasons with its own unique style.

However, very regrettably, it ultimately failed to break through the $400 million barrier.

When the film's opening weekend and second-week drop-offs came out, expectations inevitably rose, and everyone was hoping for the birth of another historic moment; but the cruel reality was that the harshness of the winter season was still difficult to overcome. The subsequent drop-off of "Catch Me If You Can" was significantly higher than expected, and even positive word-of-mouth and publicity could not resist the onslaught of the snow.

Of course, regret is regret, and no one would express "disappointment" with this result.

$377 million, this performance allowed "Catch Me If You Can" to surpass "Jurassic Park" and rank among the top five in the North American film history box office charts—

Temporarily ranked fifth.

Looking at the top four, "Titanic," "Spider-Man," "Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace," "Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace"; and then looking at "Catch Me If You Can," which had carved out a bloody path, the shock and amazement simply couldn't stop.

"Catch Me If You Can" not only entered the top ten in film history box office but also directly entered the top five.

Incredibly!

When "Catch Me If You Can" was released, who could have predicted this scene?

No one.

Including DreamWorks itself.

Although the media did not report it, and DreamWorks, which was not yet a public company, did not publish its financial reports; rumors within Hollywood were that "Catch Me If You Can" generated more than $200 million in profit for DreamWorks—

This does not include DVD distribution and rentals.

Undoubtedly, "Catch Me If You Can" became one of the most profitable films of 2002, even more profitable than "Spider-Man," which was the real surprise.

DreamWorks, which had been plagued by cash flow problems for the past few years but had always refused to seek funding from Wall Street and Silicon Valley, was able to breathe a sigh of relief and find room to maneuver again in a difficult business environment.

Therefore, it was not surprising to see Steven praising Anson in interviews.

"I admit, I had doubts. I'm not a director who's good at trusting unfamiliar young actors, and even though Tom convinced me to use Anson to play Little Frank, I still couldn't completely settle down."

"Until the moment he stood in front of the camera."

"He made me believe that he could give this character a completely different temperament and color; he also made me believe that I could safely hand my camera over to him, 100 percent."

In Hollywood, there are very few actors who can receive such praise from Steven, even during the promotional period of a film.

Moreover, the interesting things were yet to come.

As the film's popularity continued to rise, becoming a grand collective carnival at the end of the year, more and more eyes gathered around the film, and Little Frank Abagnale, who had been completely invisible, finally appeared.

The real person, the original.

In fact, Little Frank Abagnale didn't want to be disturbed in his peaceful life. From the film's project initiation to filming and production, even Steven and Tom's joint visits failed to move this legendary figure who had retired to the mountains; but the film's influence was too great, and Little Frank's grandchildren had all seen it, and the memories that had been deposited deep in his thoughts resurfaced.

Later, Nicholas Flynn, a reporter from "The New York Times," visited three times with perseverance and sincerity, finally moving Little Frank, and he accepted his only interview from beginning to end.

"Movies are just movies. They are not the same as reality. There is no need to take them seriously."

Although Little Frank did not indicate whether the film beautified, vilified, or distorted himself, his words seemed meaningful.

"But I must thank Anson Wood. He is a very charming kid, so much so that my wife said she regretted it a little after watching the movie."

"If I had the opportunity, would I be willing to meet him?"

"No, I wouldn't, I don't want to expose my shortcomings in front of him, haha."

"In him, I can see a part of myself, and myself that I have never discovered but truly exists. From this perspective, I need to thank him for his work, giving me a chance to recall and examine myself."

The interview, of course, was more than that, but obviously, the prototype character was also particularly satisfied with Anson.

This was an extra gain.

Biographical films are often thankless, especially when telling the stories of prototype characters who are still alive. Even if they are careful, they may cause controversy; but "Catch Me If You Can" did not fall into such a dilemma.

The response from the prototype character was undoubtedly another kind of publicity, which also helped the film open up in the international market.