Chapter 325 Skyrocketing
Then——
Amidst the rush of people coming and going and the heat wave, the North American weekend box office rankings for the second week of August were released.
Winner, "American Pie 2," $45 million.
Runner up, "Rush Hour 2," $33 million.
Second runner-up, "The Princess Diaries," $28 million.
There was silence.
Shocked.
Just reading this set of data, it is really difficult to understand the shock and admiration of the media. After a little analysis, you can understand the true reaction of the market.
“American Pie” had an outstanding performance of 45 million US dollars in its opening weekend. Although the production cost of the sequel tripled, rising to 30 million US dollars, the sequel also lived up to expectations and took home the film again. With eye-catching data, he is undoubtedly in the first echelon this summer.
A good start!
"Rush Hour 2", as expected, had a huge box office collapse the following weekend. Not only was the media receiving negative reviews, but the general public's response to the movie was also generally lower than expected, which directly led to the movie's box office plummeting 50.9% the following weekend. %, which dropped by more than half compared to the opening weekend. The blood loss was serious and lower than expected.
Generally speaking, when the opening weekend box office exceeds the threshold of 50 million US dollars, the box office drop in the next week often needs to be controlled within 40% to be a healthy box office trend. If it can be controlled below 30%, That means the audience has a good reputation and the movie has long-term box office stamina.
However, "Rush Hour 2" lost more than half of its blood, and the outlook is not optimistic.
Originally, "Rush Hour 2" had the highest performance of this summer season during its opening weekend, which also meant that the film took the lead in the competition for the summer season championship and even the year-end box office championship, with a box office of 300 million in North America. The dollar was not impossible; but now, all plans were disrupted.
That’s not to say it’s a failure, it’s just that New Line Cinema needs to adjust its expectations.
In fact, "Rush Hour 2" is far from a "failure."
Although the box office dropped severely in the three days of the following weekend, the box office figures from Monday to Thursday were still good. The cumulative box office in the two weeks of release has easily reached 133 million US dollars. US$100 million is still the ultimate goal.
However.
The production cost of "Rush Hour 2" was as high as 90 million U.S. dollars. Coupled with the huge investment in publicity, the box office collapse in the next week really worried New Line Cinema.
And "Princess Diaries"?
The box office decline in the next week was controlled at an incredible 19.6%. Comparing it horizontally with "Rush Hour 2", you can immediately see the clear gap.
Although "Princess Diaries" received mediocre reviews and did not win applause from film critics, the film still relied on accurate market positioning to find its target audience, and the "New York Times" spark also started a prairie fire. This trend laid the foundation for the movie's shocking box office decline the next week.
Two weeks after its release, the cumulative box office of "The Princess Diaries" has soared to 90 million US dollars, and the box office threshold of 100 million US dollars is already within reach in the blink of an eye.
Compared horizontally with "Rush Hour 2", "The Princess Diaries", which cost only 26 million US dollars to produce, has already announced that it has entered the profit stage early. Withstanding schedule pressure and publicity disadvantages, the film is incredibly written. The box office track has become the first highlight of the summer season in August.
Even "Rush Hour 2" and "American Pie 2" were overwhelmed.
So, the question is – can Gary Marshall replicate the miracle of “Pretty Woman”?
At that time, "Pretty Woman" was so popular that the North American box office eventually reached 170 million US dollars. In 1990, the box office was 170 million US dollars, ranking second only to "The Love of Ghosts" in the year. Runner-up in the North American box office charts; and earned Julia Roberts her first career Oscar nomination for Best Actress.
As for "Princess Diaries", Oscar nominations aside, will this film be able to replicate the miracle of "Pretty Woman" at the final North American box office?
At least for now, hope still exists -
Those audiences who went to the cinema because of the "New York Times" and because of Anson gave positive feedback, which undoubtedly aroused heated discussion again.
Judging from Nicholas's writing, Anson's edges and colors are particularly distinctive. It is obvious that he is a young actor with an extremely rich and profound spiritual world; but in the movie, the role limits his development.
The narrative focus of "Princess Diary" is not on him, but Anson still gives the character soul in his own way and expands the possibilities——
Leaving aside other scenes, people generally believe that It's all due to the director or editor, but the scene with the mask left a deep impression.
From the eyes to the movements to the temperament, the moment is stunning. It not only makes Michael complete, but also makes the interactive arc between Michael and Mia full. More importantly, it makes the character of Mia richer, which makes the audience I can’t help but think back to that interview in the New York Times.
Anson is searching and exploring, trying to explore the space between appearance and character, and injecting soul into the performance with his own colors.
So, in "The Princess Diaries", the most touching scene is the moment when Anson covers his cheek, which gives the movie more room for interpretation.
From reality to movie, and from movie to reality, it is undoubtedly a pleasure.
Of course, it is not a one-sided review, and it is not liked by everyone. In the final analysis, the market positioning of "Princess Diary" is very clear, and it is not suitable for everyone; but the current discussion is enough.
Following the premiere and the New York Times, the third wave of heated discussions came again, which also made "Princess Diaries" always on the forefront.
Then, Disney took action -
They made an incredible move and launched a new trailer, this time a music video version, with the protagonist being Anson.
Or Michael, played by Anson.
The trailer features Michael's band, editing their rehearsal footage as a video to create a version of the "She's So Cute" music video, showing the weird footage of Michael, Mia, Lily and other characters. Paired with the lyrics "She's so cute", it's an alternative interpretation of the adjective cute.
Moreover, the most special thing is that Disney did not promote the movie in the same way, but promoted it with the debut single of the new punk band Hawaiian Pizza, including the MTV channel.
Anson said he was completely unaware of this -
How come he didn’t know he was debuting as a singer?
The amazing thing is that the song "She's So Cute" unexpectedly became widely loved. Unbelievably, it received numerous requests from listeners in major movies. For a while, it was not clear whether it was real or Disney. Controlled by oneself.
But.
I'm afraid Disney themselves didn't expect that "She's So Cute" would unexpectedly make it to the Billboard. Although it was not ranked high, it was temporarily ranked 96th on the singles chart, barely making it into the top 100; Disney is still confused, should they release the soundtrack?
This is not in the plan.
It is a routine practice for Disney movies to release soundtracks, and it is not unusual. It is just that there is no arrangement for "Princess Diaries" this time; however, there is no rush to discuss this matter for the time being, at least Disney has taken the first step:< br>
Increase the number of screening theaters.
(End of this chapter)