novelraw Chapter 623: A New Legend Begins
Chapter 623: A New Legend Begins
[Chapter 623: A New Legend Begins]
In the blink of an eye, it was Thursday, Christmas.
Many new movies were released on this day, including MGM's top blockbuster and enduring top IP, Tomorrow Never Dies, and DreamWorks' blockbuster, Amistad.
Originally, according to the initial plan, the screening ratio for Titanic was supposed to drop from 44.4% to 25% at this time to make room for the new movies.
However, because Titanic had followed an incredible box office curve, and thanks to the efforts of the distribution staff, the theater chains also considered their own interests and ultimately retained a 32% screening ratio for Titanic, continuing its run in 3,600 theaters on 14,400 screens.
Tomorrow Never Dies fared okay; as a highly influential IP, its screenings were largely unaffected, opening in 3,200 theaters with 10,000 screens, reaching a 22% screening ratio.
But other movies suffered. Their screenings were inevitably cut, with Amistad's opening scale reduced to just 2,500 theaters and 5,500 screens, leaving it with only a 12% screening ratio.
However, Titanic's box office that day did not disappoint, easily raking in $25.37 million and becoming the undisputed box office champion. What was even more unbelievable was that its box office share for the day reached a staggering 45.3%.
Meanwhile, Tomorrow Never Dies, which the industry had high hopes for, took in $12.67 million on its opening day, securing second place. Its box office share was 23%, slightly exceeding its screening ratio, which could only be considered passable as it was completely overshadowed by Titanic.
Amistad fared even worse, with an opening day box office of only $5.13 million, representing just a 9.1% share. It experienced an inverted box office-to-screening ratio on its very first day.
Looking at the attendance rates, Titanic achieved a staggering average attendance rate of 74% throughout the day, far exceeding all other films. Tickets were nearly impossible to find during the prime evening slots.
It must be said that the reduction in screenings seriously impacted Titanic's box office. If it could have maintained the 44.4% screening ratio from its opening, today's box office would likely have seen almost no drop compared to its opening weekend.
In fact, today's box office was almost exactly the Saturday box office multiplied by the change in screening ratio, which demonstrates the box office potential of Titanic.
But it couldn't be helped. It was the peak Christmas season, with over ten movies released every week, including two major blockbusters, so the theaters had to allocate screenings to them.
Another more critical factor was that Titanic was too long, clocking in at 194 minutes—more than twice the length of other films.
In the time it took to show one screening of Titanic, a theater could easily show two of other movies.
According to United States's movie ticket prices, regardless of the film's length, the price was a flat $5.
Under these circumstances, an ultra-long film like Titanic was naturally disliked by theater chains.
Additionally, considering the popcorn and soda purchases made by each group of moviegoers, longer screening times affected the audience's other expenditures at the theater.
Therefore, even though Titanic had an extremely high attendance rate, the theater chains still unhesitatingly cut nearly 13% of its screenings.
Retaining a 32% screening ratio was only possible due to the full efforts of the distribution staff from Universal Pictures and Linton Film Company.
Over the following three days of the weekend.
Titanic took in $22.73 million, $24.83 million, and $24.51 million respectively. Including Christmas, the four days of the second weekend totaled $97.44 million, and the total box office after ten days reached a staggering $262.29 million.
Meanwhile, Tomorrow Never Dies earned $9.27 million, $11.87 million, and $10.37 million. Including Christmas, its four-day opening weekend totaled $44.18 million, less than half of Titanic's second weekend.
Amistad was even worse, with a four-day opening weekend total of only $17.26 million, which was not the box office trajectory of a major commercial blockbuster at all.
This is the cruelty of the film market. Whenever a phenomenal film appears, other movies in the same period are more or less seriously affected, with some even becoming cannon fodder.
Actually, Tomorrow Never Dies was quite good. It was a decades-old top IP with a large investment—a production cost of $110 million—directed by the renowned director Roger Spottiswoode.
The lead was also a top Hollywood male star, Pierce Brosnan. To make the fights look good, the crew even invited Kung Fu female star Michelle Yeoh from Hong Kong to play the Bond girl.
Truth be told, the movie was well-made, with a high-octane plot throughout. The various grand scenes left the audience thrilled; it was an excellent commercial popcorn flick.
If it hadn't run into the juggernaut that was Titanic, the box office performance of Tomorrow Never Dies would certainly have been better. Unfortunately, there are no "ifs."
As early as July, Universal Pictures announced that the release date for Titanic was set for December 19th.
Although the market was pessimistic about Titanic at the time, and the media generally believed the film was destined to fail.
But this was just Hollywood peers deliberately guiding public opinion. They knew very well in their hearts that a film starring Linton couldn't possibly do too poorly at the box office; this had already been proven repeatedly in the film market.
Say what they might, their actions were honest. After learning this news, the movies produced by other Hollywood majors all shifted their dates to avoid Titanic.
No major commercial production was stubborn enough to open alongside Titanic on December 19th, except for small productions and art films. Thus, Titanic was able to dominate upon its release, occupying a massive scale of screenings.
Not only that, December 25th, Christmas, was originally a very good slot, but under the pressure of Linton's Titanic, the majors also avoided it.
However, while the Christmas season is a big window, the time is limited, lasting from late November to December, no more than six weeks in total, which led to a clustering of blockbusters in the first four weeks.
Only the films produced by MGM and DreamWorks were squeezed into a Christmas release, thus becoming sacrifices.
This also shows that MGM has truly declined and been marginalized in Hollywood. Even a top film like 007 couldn't get a good slot during the Christmas season, let alone DreamWorks.
After the second weekend's box office was announced, it immediately ignited the entire North American entertainment and media circles. Everyone knew that Titanic's box office was now unstoppable.
The media outlets that had previously questioned and mocked the box office predictions for Titanic and Linton all turned around. They began to praise the film lavishly like the New York Times, singing its praises, including all sorts of flattery for the director and the leads.
Even the Los Angeles Times and the Washington Post were no exception.
The front-page headline of the Los Angeles Times: "Transcending the clichés of the Hollywood industry, a romantic epic about transcending class and death is conquering the United States with an unstoppable force."
The front-page headline of the Washington Post: "The juggernaut Titanic, co-created by Cameron and Linton, is already unstoppable and will surely conquer the whole world."
...
From the news pages of the internet to various forums, from television to radio, from newspapers to magazines, almost all media were reporting on Titanic.
Meanwhile, Tomorrow Never Dies and Amistad were in a sorry state. Aside from the media controlled by their own parent companies, there was hardly any coverage of them.
It could be said that these two major commercial productions had completely become foils for Titanic.
Tomorrow Never Dies was somewhat okay. After all, it was a top production with a top IP, and decades of operation had built up a large fan base. Although its box office would take a hit, it wouldn't be completely ruined.
But Amistad was miserable. All the glory and attention were drawn by Titanic, leaving it almost ignored. Its box office naturally plummeted, and its failure was a foregone conclusion.
At the same time, on Christmas, December 25th, the juggernaut Titanic officially set sail for overseas markets, triggering a movie-going craze.
In the United Kingdom, long lines formed at cinemas everywhere. In its first three days of the opening weekend, it raked in $21.2 million, setting a new historical record for opening weekend box office.
In France, it took in $23.1 million in its opening weekend, also setting a new opening weekend box office record.
In Germany, in Spain, in Italy, in Australia, in South Korea...
Across the world, Titanic conquered audiences of different skin colors, ages, and genders with its incomparable charm.
It is worth mentioning that the film has been confirmed for import into the Mainland China market, with a projected release in April 1998.
All the films Linton had previously starred in had already been released in Mainland China, and his popularity there was already significant.
It is believed that after Titanic is released, his popularity will experience another surge. If he goes there again this summer, it might not be so easy; he might have fans everywhere.
Through the explosive worldwide release of Titanic, Linton and Kate became idols for the whole world.
James Cameron also successfully leapt to the top, joining Lucas and Spielberg as one of Hollywood's premier directors.
James Cameron was given titles by the media such as "Genius Director, Tech Maniac, and Obsessive Director."
Kate Winslet was hailed as the "new generation English Rose." The media praised her for both her beauty and talent, and it wasn't just the British media; this title was recognized by the media in most countries worldwide.
As for Linton, the United States media had long since placed him on a pedestal, bestowing titles like "The New King of Hollywood" and "Incredible Box Office Superstar." The hit release of Titanic this time took his overseas influence to the next level.
What made Linton feel great was that with the hot global release of Titanic, he clearly felt his popularity surging once again, and the speed of Cultivate accelerated once again.
Kate Winslet was the same; her popularity skyrocketed. When Linton battled with her at night, he had a very clear sensation that the help to his Cultivate had further increased.
While she was still on the promotional roadshow, various endorsement and advertising invitations flew to her management company like snowflakes. Her endorsement fees also increased significantly, aligning with those of near-A-list actresses.
They felt this surge in popularity even more deeply during the roadshow.
Although Linton was already very, very famous, and every roadshow was packed with crowds and fanatical fans in a boiling atmosphere.
But this Titanic roadshow was different from before. The further they went on the itinerary, the more explosive the atmosphere became and the crazier the fans got.
Every time he appeared in public, Linton could feel the fanaticism of the fans. A simple smile or a single gesture from him could trigger frantic screams.
He also clearly felt that the proportion of Kate Winslet's fans at the scene was gradually increasing.
Under these circumstances, over the next four weekdays, Titanic continued to rake in $16.73 million, $16.49 million, $16.35 million, and $16.41 million in the North American market, totaling $65.98 million. The North American total box office had already reached $328.27 million.
The key was the drop. Compared to the weekend, the drop in box office during the second week's weekdays was controlled within 30%. This incredible drop made everyone certain that the $600 million North American box office goal for Titanic was definitely not just a dream.
And the film's box office in overseas markets was even more explosive. In just one week, the box office from the first batch of over 30 countries and regions reached $283 million.
By this moment, everyone knew that the juggernaut Titanic was already unstoppably Riding the waves across the globe, beginning its legendary global journey.
And Linton himself, with the help of the great ship Titanic, had begun a new legend.
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