From Flower Vase to Film Emperor in Hollywood

The order of the global box office chart for 2002 is slightly different from that of North America.

Although not by much, it still reveals the differences in preferences among various countries and regions.

Champion: "Spider-Man," $1.27 billion.

Runner-up: "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers," $936 million.

Third place: "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets," $878 million.

Here, Warner Bros. wins big. "The Lord of the Rings" and "Harry Potter" are still absolute trump cards. Although the box office performance of the second films in both series declined, how to innovate in subsequent works to reverse the decline is a difficult problem. However, they still slightly gain the upper hand in the fierce competition at the top of the Hollywood pyramid.

Similarly, Sony Columbia also needs to learn from this experience. How to produce "Spider-Man 2" is undoubtedly a huge challenge.

However.

Unexpectedly, but reasonably, "Star Wars: Episode II" was squeezed out of the top three.

The competition is really, really fierce.

At the same time, this once again proves that "Star Wars" should just be a white moonlight for North American audiences; it is nothing special for other countries and regions.

Or, to be precise, audiences in each country and region have their own cultural heritage, and naturally, the objects of their fanaticism are also completely different.

Nevertheless, for Hayden Christensen, it is still a difficult situation to slowly digest, once again verifying the saying that "the higher the expectations, the greater the disappointment."

Originally, joining "Star Wars" was an important turning point in his career, and the future might be smooth sailing; but unexpectedly, he encountered a head-on collision, and at the same time had to watch Anson surpass him.

Being defeated by "Spider-Man" in a head-on contest was bad enough, but "Catch Me If You Can" actually slightly outperformed it, like a heavy right hook aimed at the throat.

This breath is hard to swallow.

Reality is so cruel.

However, the so-called disappointment is only relative to the high expectations. In fact, "Star Wars: Episode II" performed well in overseas markets.

Fourth place: "Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones," $645 million.

This also creates a situation that is both laughable and frustrating. Although "Star Wars: Episode II" performed better than "Catch Me If You Can" at the global box office, it doesn't seem worth celebrating—

A strange situation of seemingly losing despite winning.

Bystanders are clear.

The onlookers would calmly say that winning is winning, at least there is something to talk about, otherwise, look at those works that are lagging behind.

Sixth place: "Men in Black II," $440 million.

Seventh place: "Die Another Day," $430 million.

Eighth place: "Signs," $408 million.

Ninth place: "Ice Age," $380 million.

Tenth place: "My Big Fat Greek Wedding," $368 million.

Rankings, slight changes, although not many, are particularly important.

The "007" series still has appeal in overseas markets, strongly entering the top ten.

The two dark horses, "Ice Age" and "My Big Fat Greek Wedding," unexpectedly gained considerable feedback in overseas markets relying on word-of-mouth, and like "Catch Me If You Can," remained on the top ten list.

Surprise, surprise, and more surprises!

Anson, with the excellent performance of his two films, also successfully entered the top ten in the global year-end box office chart. The feat of having two films on the list made him a hot topic in all countries and regions around the world.

According to incomplete statistics, in January alone, 77 media outlets worldwide published exclusive interviews, of which 31 were all cover stories.

Not just North America.

From Europe to Asia, from Oceania to South America and even Africa, Anson's face and name are fully occupying the field of vision in an overwhelming manner.

Rising!

Ascending to the top!

It is difficult to distinguish for a while whether he is rising or has already reached the top. The only thing that can be confirmed is that Anson's momentum is still climbing.

The "People" cover is just a microcosm.

Undoubtedly, 2002 is Anson's year.

Of course, this is only part of Anson's story. When people look back on the past year, when people browse the North American and global year-end box office charts, there are other highlights.

In the global year-end box office chart, the biggest surprise is not "Catch Me If You Can" or "My Big Fat Greek Wedding," but from outside the edge of the top ten list.

Eleventh-ranked "Minority Report."

This film, directed by Steven Spielberg and starring Tom Cruise, performed mediocrely in the North American summer season, far below expectations, but relied on the appeal of the two superstars to fight a turnaround battle overseas.

It grossed $358 million worldwide, a remarkable performance.

However…

Tom Cruise's salary is expensive, taking away $20 million alone. Even if Steven Spielberg chose profit sharing to reduce costs, the film's production expenditure still exceeded $100 million.

After deducting the high distribution and publicity costs, 20th Century Fox barely maintained a balance of payments, and even needed to lose some money, and can only expect future DVD rentals and sales to turn the tide.

From this perspective, it is not unreasonable for major media outlets to exclaim that Steven and Tom have suffered a Waterloo, and the performance is indeed not satisfactory.

However, this is the risk—

The $20 million club!

High expenditure and high costs mean that the film's box office must also achieve better data, otherwise the risks are all squeezed onto the film company, causing the film company to work for the actors and directors, which they naturally do not want.

It is precisely because of this that even though Anson is now soaring into the top of the pyramid, Hollywood film companies are still particularly cautious about salaries of $20 million.

But!

The $20 million club is one thing, and cost-effectiveness is another.

As it stands, there is a very short window before Anson realizes his potential and asks for a $20 million salary. If a film company can seize this small window to secure a collaboration with Anson, it would definitely be the most perfect situation.

Obviously, there is more than one or two producers and film companies with the same clever ideas. To be precise, half of Hollywood's minds are now revolving around Anson, and this is the real superstar treatment.

Then, this scene appeared—

In January, when "Catch Me If You Can" was still in theaters, performing well, but had not yet climbed to the runner-up position in the North American year-end box office chart, and most overseas markets had not even begun to arrange distribution, the old foxes who were constantly observing the industry and seizing the opportunity had already acted keenly and taken the lead, racing against time.

What they are seizing is a time difference.

Projects are being submitted to the William Morris Agency; scripts are piled up on Edgar's desk; phone calls are filling Edgar's voicemail; chance encounters are frequently staged in Los Angeles.

"It's all your fault."

Edgar's cheeks were flushed and he was sweating profusely. Before he could finish a sentence, he downed a glass of iced tea to his throat, and then continued.

"You went on vacation to Napa Valley and turned off your phone, so I became the target of everyone's criticism. God, where did they learn the chance encounter scenes from those movies? Don't they know that you should never believe movies?"

"Professionalism, please maintain professionalism!"