In the dark bedroom, Francis Lawrence was suddenly awakened by a nightmare, and felt that a zombie was rushing towards him, so he quickly reached out and turned on the lamp, and the soft light instantly dispelled the darkness, he saw that there were no zombies in the bedroom at all, and he couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief when he knew that he had just had a nightmare.

But then he realized that something was wrong, and there was no one around.

"Where's Paula?" muttered Francis Lawrence, "it's almost twelve o'clock in the evening, and you're out again?"

He put on his dressing gown, went out of the bedroom, and faintly there was a light on the first floor, and quickly turned to the stairs, and went all the way downstairs, and followed the light to the living room, where he saw Paula Barton standing in front of the cross in the living room, as if praying sincerely.

Coming behind Paula Barton, Francis Lawrence hears Paula Barton's prayers.

"Our Father in heaven, may all be holy in your name, may your kingdom come, may your will be done on earth as in heaven, may Matthew Horner no longer be popular, and pray that "I Am Legend" will fall at the box office and make "Alien vs. Predator 2" a big hit. Amen!"

Paula Barton finished drawing the cross on her chest and stood in silence for a moment before she turned to look behind her and said to Francis Lawrence, "Why are you up?"

Francis Lawrence took a piece of clothing from the hanger next to him, draped it over Paula Barton's shoulders, and said, "When you wake up, you're gone, and I'm coming for you." ”

Paula Barton pulled Francis Lawrence to the couch and sat down, saying, "I was always thinking about 'I'm Legend' when I was lying down, and I couldn't sleep, so I came down." ”

Francis Lawrence patted her hand gently, but he didn't know what to say, he wanted to see Matthew Horner unlucky more than Paula Barton, so that his friend Spike Lee would feel better when he saw it, maybe he could get rid of alcohol and drugs, cheer himself up, and become a fighter for freedom and democracy again.

But this morning he saw the advance box office of "I Am Legend", and knew that this was destined to be just an extravagant hope.

"Don't think about it. Francis Lawrence comforted.

Paula Barton didn't know this, but she couldn't let go, and said, "How could I not want to? "I Am Legend" opened in 4,200 theaters at the same time, and almost all commercial theaters have screens, if the box office is super big on the first weekend......"

She shook her head, "I know, "I Am Legend" will definitely be a box office hit this week, but if it is going to explode to $100 million, its film schedule will continue to run at a high level next weekend, which will inevitably affect the film schedule of "Alien vs. Predator 2". ”

Francis Larens sighed, but did not speak, these are the questions that Twentieth Century Fox has to consider, he is just a small director, he has no right to speak.

Paula Patton drew another cross on her chest and said reverently, "I just hope that 'I Am Legend' will not exceed $30 million on the first day and within $100 million on the first weekend." ”

Pre-sales and early box office are here, and her prayers are very realistic.

Francis Lawrence patted Paula Patton's hand again, "I hope it won't be more than $100 million." ”

The clock on the wall suddenly struck, Paula Barton immediately stood up, went into the study on the other side, turned on the computer, and waited for Francis Lawrence to come over, and landed on the website of the box office tracker "Media Figures", but the data on the website has not been updated, and the box office statistics of "I Am Legend" are still $14.6 million in advance.

"Haven't updated yet?" Paula Barton couldn't wait to refresh the webpage one after another, and when she refreshed it for the fifth time, the box office statistics of "I Am Legend" finally changed.

She couldn't help but be stunned when she saw that box office figure, and so was Francis Lawrence.

$42.8 million!

The box office of "I Am Legend" on the first day of filming is $42.8 million!

Paula Barton and Francis Lawrence were stunned in front of the computer, if the box office on the first day was only $30 million, they would not be able to break the $100 million mark in the first weekend! If they exceeded $30 million on the first day, they would be very hopeful to hit the $100 million figure in the first weekend.

But the first-day box office was $42.8 million!

This means that the probability of "I Am Legend" surpassing $100 million at the box office in the first weekend of North America will be at least 90%!

Paula Barton looked up at Francis Lawrence, the two looked at each other, and both saw the helplessness and powerlessness in it, what is the use of praying?

"I hope ...... I hope ......" Paula Barton was firmly pressed to her chair with a heartfelt sense of powerlessness, "I hope our Alien vs. Predator 2 will have half the box office of "I Am Legend" in its first week. ”

Francis Lawrence shook his head, "I'm satisfied with $42.8 million." ”

The two looked at the numbers on the box office tracker Media Figures, sat there quietly, and said nothing.

With the box office success of "I Am Legend" on the first day, the media attention has further increased, and Warner Bros. has carefully planned and prepared, and a large wave of publicity and promotion has also exploded on Saturday.

In addition to an interview with Matthew, the New York Times also reported on this.

"I Am Legend" grossed $42.8 million on its first day of release, ranking 11th in film history and setting a record for the highest opening day ever at the North American box office in December, which is also the highest opening day box office of any vampire genre film. "I Am Legend" rushed to the top of the single-day box office list in North America, which is also Matthew Horner's best holiday premiere since the film, and the film once again proves Matthew Horner's unparalleled box office appeal. ”

Yahoo, on the other hand, highlighted the other side in the headlines of the entertainment section.

On the Internet portal, the media score of "I Am Legend" is 'A-', the audience score is 'A', the media reviews are mixed, most of them are debates about the apocalyptic atmosphere it creates, on the Rotten Tomatoes website on the 45 film reviews, the freshness of "I Am Legend" is 61 percent, and in the purely commercial films, the DB website also gave a high score of 8.5, according to the current situation, the final North American box office of "I Am Legend" is expected to exceed 300 million US dollars. ”

The Washington Post published this headline in the entertainment section: "I Am Legend", as a "science fiction horror film", is lucky enough to rush to such a high level in the season of family fun, which is really appalling!

However, a report in the Los Angeles Times may serve as the best commentary.

"Among the actors who are active in Hollywood today, there are not many people who are qualified to be called 'I am a legend', and Matthew Horner is undoubtedly one worthy of the name. Although the huge salary of '$20 million + box office bonus' has made many studios shy away from Matthew Horner, all the studios who have paid him high salaries have all received huge returns. ”

"So, when Matthew Horner, who is sci-fi, thriller, action, magical, voice-over, and story-telling, succeeds again, it's not enough to just count box office numbers. The contribution of "I Am Legend" to the entire industry, especially today, when screenwriters are on strike and the industry is uneasy, is really significant. …… What is a superstar? This kind of person doesn't get a salary of $20 million, I feel that I am at a loss, should I give this money to Warner Bros. to make "Catwoman" or to Sony Entertainment to make "Top Secret Flight"? For Matthew Horner, not to mention acting, the box office appeal is enough to say everything. ”

When it comes to acting, Warner Bros. and the production team of "I Am Legend" should also thank Matthew Horner for his unbeatable strength and star charisma, he contributed the best performance in the film this holiday season, and how the Oscars will judge Matthew Horner's wonderful performance in "I Am Legend" is also an attractive puzzle. ”

Extensive media coverage can attract more attention to Matthew and the film "I Am Legend".

On Saturday, "I Am Legend" was unabated in theaters, with both slots and attendance rates outpacing those released at the same time, and Paolo Degara Berdian, president of box office tracker Media Digital, once again mentioned Matthew in an interview with the media.

"Why is 'I Legend' so high at the box office? Because Matthew Horner is loved by all races in the United States, not only among whites, but also among African Americans, Latinas, and even Asians. ”

Paul Degaraberdian's praise for Matthew in front of the TV camera is unsparing, "In Hollywood, the 20 million club is usually used as the standard for A-listers, and the movies starring these stars usually have a strong appeal. However, in today's increasingly expensive production, 20 million club stars like Tom Cruise, Tom Hanks, Harrison Ford, Brad Pitt, and Julia Roberts have lacked new works in recent years, and their ability to sell is not as good as before, only Matthew Horner is still as good value for money as ever. ”

Finally, he also talked about the empty city in "I Am Legend", "No wonder Matthew Horner feels lonely because everyone else on the planet goes to the cinema to see the movies he starred in."

Taken together, these reports have formed many favorable conditions, so that many fans who originally did not belong to Matthew also entered the theater to buy movie tickets for "I Am Legend".

Also, those who turned fans in the middle of the real estate gift incident also contributed a considerable share of the film's box office.

If nothing else, according to Helen Herman told Matthew, many professional public relations companies in the Hollywood industry have studied this incident as a classic case.

Since Saturday, "I Am Legend" has collected another $40.2 million, and the North American box office has accumulated $83 million, which is only one step away from $100 million.

Of course, no one will ignore that Warner Bros. is also one of the key factors behind the box office success of this film.