Hollywood Drawing

Due to the temporary withdrawal of "Good Will Hunting" this weekend, only "The Matrix: Reloaded" is left among the movies that are eligible to host a huge premiere on Thursday night. This also indicates that As of this weekend, this film basically has no competitors of the same level.

The only new film that can be considered to be of any size is "Kingsman" jointly produced and distributed by Buena Vista Pictures and Touchstone Pictures. But no matter whether it is the media or film critics, insiders or ordinary viewers, no one will be fooled. Let's compare this film with the popular sequel "The Matrix" Part 2. Even the two companies, Buena Vista Pictures and Touchstone Pictures, have no such idea.

This is exactly the case. After the early screening of "The Matrix: Reloaded" on Thursday, it took in a box office of 13.06 million US dollars that day. The previous "The Matrix" left a deep sense of expectation among movie fans. , countless movie fans chose Thursday and couldn’t wait to stay up late to watch the advance screening.

And when the early box office results were immediately placed on the desks of Warner Bros. executives, it further strengthened Warner Bros.'s confidence in the announcement. Starting from Friday morning, there were constant reports about "The Matrix 2" in major media: "Reloaded" related reports and film critic columns, with the public relations support of Warner Bros.'s abundant "guidance funds", presented a rare scene of overwhelmingly recommending this film.

Television, newspapers, magazines, large billboards on the roadside in major cities in North America, advertising spaces on bustling commercial center buildings, etc., etc., almost overnight, were all replaced by celebrities led by Li Guohao and Charlize Theron. movie posters, even the mobile poster stands in the cinema were almost all replaced with posters of "The Matrix: Reloaded" overnight.

Of course, due to the nature of the film, the same is true for the Internet, the traditional exclusive territory of Warner Brothers. With the help of the trolls from the Warner Bros. Internet Marketing Department and the Wayne Fans Organization, countless soft articles promoting the film appeared on major portals, movie forums, and the main discussion section of IMDB.

No one knows better than Warner Bros. how lucky it is that this film can dominate the summer season for a week. Without other strong competitors to compete with each other, they almost determined the film’s market potential as soon as possible. We have invested all our efforts in publicity and marketing.

It seems like only one night has passed. Starting from the working day of Friday, all of North America has been bombarded with the cyberpunk style of "The Matrix" in an instant. All channels through which ordinary people can receive information have been replaced. information about the movie.

Such intensive bombing of marketing has indeed yielded results that surprised Warner Bros. and Wayne. Everyone related to the "Matrix" crew once again reaped greater success in the Big Apple City, the first stop of the promotional tour. There was even greater fan feedback a year ago. As the absolute protagonist of the film, Li Guohao was favored by the media. Needless to say, what was even more surprising was Charlize Theron.

This South African beauty experienced what it means to be popular for the first time when the first part of "The Matrix" was released. Unfortunately, before she could fully feel the pleasure of sudden fame, she jumped into it again. The crew began the long and complicated filming of the last two parts.

No anti-theft

And this time when "The Matrix" was released, Yin Shi's fascination with her among ordinary movie fans made her deeply feel that she had really become famous. "The Matrix Reloaded" has only been released for two days, and she has become the new dream goddess of North American men. She wears tight black leather clothes, slim waist, long legs, and high heels and performs all kinds of incredible action scenes, all of which are male. An important reason for movie fans to buy tickets and go to the theater again and again.

Some good media discovered during interviews in theaters that the popularity of Trinity, played by Charlize Theron, is almost as popular as that of the male protagonist among movie fans, especially in the hearts of male fans. The "cool" image in the spicy part is even more popular than the male protagonist.

"Neo's windbreaker and sunglasses, as well as Trinity's figures and dolls, are probably almost sold out!"

In an office at the headquarters of the live-action film and television department in the DreamWorks Industrial Park in Glendale, Los Angeles, veteran Hollywood actor Anthony Hopkins pushed the door in, and with him came his obvious emotion. Jealousy gurgles.

"Are those movie fans crazy? It's the hottest time in Los Angeles right now." After sitting on the sofa, Anthony Hopkins shrugged at the other people who had arrived early, his expression full of disbelief. "I just drove by a cinema. Almost all the moviegoers at the door were dressed in black trench coats and black sunglasses. Don't they think it's too hot? Oh my God!"

Steven Spielberg, who was looking down at the newspaper, raised his head, glanced at the disrespectful actor, and shook his head. He knows more than these people. In the three days since "The Matrix Reloaded" was released, Warner Bros.'s sales of related movies were as hot as "Batman" released last month. :dark Knight".

According to the summary of information obtained by DreamWorks and his own analysis, in just three days last weekend, Warner Bros. sold at least US$80 million in movie peripherals! Don't worry about the box office. If you just show this data, it will be enough for Warner Bros. and Greenberg Studio to recover all the investment in the movie early.

As one of the bosses of DreamWorks, even Steven Spielberg felt a trace of jealousy in his heart. You know, even if he lost to Wayne's movie at the box office, it didn't produce any Regrettably, it can be seen that "The Matrix 2: Reloaded" has had a huge impact after its release.

"The advance box office grossed 13.06 US dollars, which almost broke the advance record of R-rated films created by Wayne Greenberg. Zack Snyder, the commercial director, really started to become a mainstream commercial director this time. On the way."

An old black man sitting aside, who had been reading the newspaper silently, did not take his eyes off the newspaper in his hand. This was Monday morning, that is, the latest Los Angeles Times this morning. It published in detail the three days of North America last weekend. Box Office Express, he didn't speak in a low voice until Anthony Hopkins arrived.

Just as he said, three days after the release of "The Matrix: Reloaded", the response it received was unprecedented. Of course, whether it was the media's coverage or the booming sales of movie peripherals, it was inseparable from the most fundamental movie box office.

"...After receiving $13.06 million in advance on Thursday night, "The Matrix: Reloaded" performed out of control in the online market this weekend. After Friday arrives , the film made an incredible 24.2 million U.S. dollars on the last working day of this week. According to the box office statistics rules of the North American theater market, the first-day box office plus Thursday’s advance screening results are 37.26 million U.S. dollars. ! This is the first-day box office result of "The Matrix: Reloaded" in the North American theater market!

When Friday passed and the rest day came on Saturday, the enthusiasm of movie fans exploded even more completely. "The Matrix: Reloaded" once again reported US$34.38 million that day. What is even more surprising is that the film earned 34.38 million U.S. dollars on Sunday. On this day, the drop was so low that it was completely negligible. Even though the next day was a working day, it still earned a terrifying box office of $31.33 million in the North American theater market.

"The Matrix: Reloaded" hit the North American theater market on a large scale for three days, with a total box office of US$102.97 million. It undoubtedly took the top spot at the weekend box office and became the second movie of 1997. For a movie with a box office of over 100 million in the first three days of its first weekend, it is worth mentioning that the producer, backstage investor, screenwriter, etc. of this film are all Wayne Greenberg. Even the director of this film, Zach - Schneider also came out of Wayne Greenberg's core team behind the scenes.

Affected by the box office explosion of "The Matrix: Reloaded", the total number of North American theaters saw a strong rise again last weekend. According to the latest survey data obtained by our reporter, after the film was released, the number of theaters in North America rose sharply in the three days after its release. In the theater market, the box office accounted for an average of 62%, completely showing a trend of one company dominating the market.

Ranking second on last weekend's box office list is "My Best Friend's Wedding" produced and distributed by Sony Columbia Pictures. It reported a box office of US$15.32 million in three days last weekend, and the total box office in North America has reached US$102 million. , although relying on strong word-of-mouth among movie fans, the box office trend is very stable, but this work that broke the first weekend box office record of North American romantic films only sat on the top of the weekend box office for a week before being replaced by "The Matrix 2: "Reloaded" rushed down.

Ranked third last weekend was "The King's Man," co-produced and distributed by Bowie Pictures and Touchstone Pictures. This film was like a dark horse despite being generally unfavorable to the outside world. During its first weekend of release, It earned 14.37 million U.S. dollars in three days. According to data released by an authoritative third-party forecasting company, the North American box office of this film is about 55 million U.S. dollars.

Ranking third and fourth on last weekend’s three-day box office list were Wayne Greenberg’s great work “The Dark Knight” and Steven Spielberg’s “Jurassic Park 2.” The former earned US$4.32 million and the latter US$3.97 million. Although these two films have been screened for more than a month and have completely passed their hottest period, they have always made good box office revenue... "

"The total box office of "Batman" in North America is almost 550 million US dollars, right?" Anthony Hopkins tilted his head, glanced at the newspaper in the old black man's hand, and asked in a low voice.

"Come on, it's already 544 million US dollars now." The old black man raised his head, glanced at the people around him, and responded in a low voice. "But looking at the current momentum, the box office of this film in North America is only about 550 million US dollars at most. The box office potential has been completely squeezed out by the previous hot screening momentum."

"Wayne Greenberg!"

Kathleen Kennedy, a famous female producer in Hollywood, looked at Steven Spielberg after hearing this number, and sighed when she saw that he didn't express anything. "First, "The Dark Knight" dominated the summer season for a whole month. Just after the popularity had passed, "The Matrix 2: Reloaded" came again! This time he and Warner Bros. are going to make a lot of money again!"

After these years of development, at least among insiders, Wayne's title as Lord of Darkness at the beginning of the summer season is no longer a joke with a teasing nature. And as the films invested by his studio in the past two years have begun to be released, at this moment, in the hearts of several people in the office, there is a tendency that he will crush the theater market and spread it to the middle of the summer season.

This is basically the unanimous idea of ​​several people. With one hand, they are holding the DC movie series whose profitability is increasing day by day, and with the other hand, they are constantly developing commercial films from their film studios. In addition, when the Academy awarded him the Golden Award for Best Director, it was unprecedented. high-standard treatment.

Steven Spielberg looked out the window at Glendale, shook his head with a smile, and exclaimed: "Unconsciously, Wayne almost drew most of the Hollywood heyday of the 1990s! It's foreseeable. What’s more, at least in the next few years, he will go more and more smoothly on this road.”

After saying these words, he immediately turned back and looked at the old black man holding the newspaper with a serious expression, the sharp emotion in his eyes undisguised.

"Listen, Morgan!" Steven Spielberg's voice contained a strong warning. "The reason why I am willing to help you in "Unchained" is because of our friendship for decades. However, even the distribution of this film will be carried out by Warner Bros., I mean, you You should understand, right?"

After several years of decline, Morgan Freeman's gentlemanly temperament seemed to have gradually faded away. He nodded slightly, looked into Steven Spielberg's eyes, and said, "I understand, don't worry, I I will never speak nonsense to the media."

Just like most stars who were forgotten by Hollywood for a short period of time due to some bad things, as long as you still have residual value and some connections left over from your career, after a few years, someone will still give you A chance to return to the stage.

Just like Robert Downey Jr. was imprisoned several times, Mel Gibson strongly recommended him after he came out and kept promoting him to the crew. And Mel Gibson also briefly disappeared from the public eye for a few years because of his inappropriate remarks about Jews, and then came back again with "Hacksaw Ridge". These old guys who have been in the industry for decades, how much All have the capital to make a comeback.

The same is true for Morgan Freeman now. North American movie fans are very rational about Hollywood stars. Even if there was an incest scandal with his granddaughter and he was pursued by several female star victims, he would still be sued. It just cost him a large sum of money and then completely disappeared from the industry for a few years.

The main reason why Steven Spielberg will use this old man again in "Unlocked" this time is that he is cheap enough now, so cheap that he only needs a salary of less than one million U.S. dollars. Secondly, Just some feelings from before.

"Wayne and I have a good relationship. As long as you don't talk nonsense, believe me, neither he nor Warner Bros. will target you again." Steven Spielberg nodded and looked around at everyone in the office. , said: "Okay, let's get down to business. Regarding the issue of cooperating with Warner Bros.'s promotion and distribution of "Unchained", this is an attempt to start cooperation between the two of us. We will try our best to focus on the plan of Warner Bros.'s promotion department, Bruce -Rosenbloom is an expert in film marketing..."

It can be said that whether the cooperation between DreamWorks and Warner Bros. can enter the honeymoon period from the beginning, this film will have a tentative effect on both parties. When Warner Bros. scheduled it for the end of July, Steven Spielberg fully recognized it.

The summer season begins in May with "The Dark Knight," Warner Bros.'s top project this year, and its importance is undisputed. Then in mid-June, a more competitive time period, "The Matrix" with a more guaranteed success rate was placed to continue the gap after the hot screening of "Batman".

At the beginning of July, it was Warner Bros.’s last major summer investment, “Contact.” This film continues Warner Bros.’s production philosophy in recent years and was produced by famous North American astronomers, astrophysicists, It is adapted from the famous science fiction "Contact" by cosmologist and science fiction writer Carl Sagan.

Directed by the famous director Robert Zemeckis, and starring A-list actress Jodie Foster, Matthew McConaughey and David Morse, the film is not only famous for its original work, but also for many famous directors and stars. With the blessing of celebrities, they all reflect the weight of the film without any scruples.

At the end of July, "Unchained" produced by DreamWorks, directed by Steven Spielberg, produced by Kathleen Kennedy, starring Morgan Freeman and Anthony Hopkins, was released in July. At the end of the month, when the competition is relatively less fierce, the film was not planned carelessly.

At this time, Steven Spielberg and the three giants of DreamWorks are waiting to observe the release process of this film. If all Warner Bros. performs impeccably, then starting from next year, including "Saving Private Ryan" "En" and a series of DreamWorks masterpieces will be handed over to the Warner Bros. distribution department one after another.

The external media reports on "The Matrix Reloaded" and the crazy global box office of "The Dark Knight" reached 1.12 billion US dollars. These were temporarily forgotten by Wayne. Throughout June, except for the Apart from attending the premiere of "The Matrix" in the middle of the year, he spent all his time busy.

In addition to busy preparing for the final work of "Charlie's Angels", he also has to pay attention to the filming progress of "X-Men" from time to time. The crew has moved to Montreal, Canada, and almost every week, he has to go to Canada for a day or two. God, watch the footage that Bryan Singer has already shot.

At the same time, he had to take time to care about the box office and movie peripheral data of "The Matrix Reloaded". Of course, Nina has always been in charge of this part of the work. Every few days, the assistant lady would Take the time to report on the recent trends.

After the film was released, although it received a large amount of box office and horrific peripheral sales figures in a short period of time, even Zack Snyder, who had followed Wayne's request and maximized the film's commercial attributes, still It failed to change the disadvantages caused by the film type.

After grossing US$102.97 million as an R-rated film in the first three days of its first weekend, the film's box office trend is far less strong than "The Dark Knight", and it feels like it will kill you if you get too excited. The momentum also perfectly complies with the market rules of R-rated commercial films.

Until early July, "The Matrix: Reloaded" was released for three weeks, with a total box office of US$230 million in North America. In the second week after the film was officially released on a large scale in North America, under the operation of Warner Bros., it also landed in overseas cinema markets in more than 60 countries. With some audiences rushing into theaters, overseas screening tours are much stronger.

So far, this film has been in the overseas theater market for two weeks. The total box office has reached 290 million U.S. dollars, and the global box office has accumulated 522 million U.S. dollars. No matter how you look at it, for a commercial science fiction film To me, this result can be considered a great success.

Obviously, overseas box office potential is still great, but North America has entered a stage of accumulation that requires time. According to the survey report sent to Wayne by Warner Bros.'s marketing department, they predict that the total global box office of this film will never be lower than 700 million US dollars, in this era, this is already an out-and-out commercial hit.

At the beginning of July, theater companies once again reduced the screening scale of "The Dark Knight". Now the number of theaters showing this film has dropped to about 1,550, and this number will basically be maintained until the summer. end.

The North American theater market in July has welcomed Warner Bros.'s masterpiece "Contact". Also released at the same time were "The Wild Ones" produced by Disney and distributed by Buena Vista Pictures, and "The Wild One" produced and distributed by Sony Columbia Pictures. "Anaconda", the competition for the summer release has officially entered the fierce competition.

What surprised the industry this year was not that Warner Bros. continued to lead the summer revenue list. After all, the same situation has become commonplace in recent years. On the contrary, it is Sony Columbia and Disney's Bowei Pictures. These two companies have made many small and medium-sized investments successful without making any noise.

For example, Sony Columbia's "My Best Friend's Wedding", "Air Force One", "I Really Want to Marry You", and "Absolute Power" jointly invested by Sony Columbia and Warner Bros., etc. Bowei Pictures is in a similar situation. Regardless of the films it releases, there are not those blockbuster films that make people shine, but they have achieved many successes with a good number of films.

The fiercest fight in the summer season is still going on, but Warner Bros. suddenly sent Wayne a message, asking him to gather back the core behind-the-scenes creative team and want to start preparations for "The Flash". This special news interrupted.

The moment he heard the news, Wayne took Nina and left the Warner Studio and rushed to the Warner Bros. headquarters building in Burbank, because what he really didn't expect was that the one he was thinking about on the other side of the Pacific Ocean The country, in a rare move, approved "The Dark Knight" to be released in the local theater market.