72_72291August 9th, this is destined to be a day that will be engraved in the history of cinema!

On Saturday, August 10th, the North American Cinema Alliance announced the box office news in advance on this day, although it was not a detailed box office number, but the exhibitors gave a confirmed answer, "The cumulative box office of 'Independence Day' officially crossed the threshold of 400 million on August 9, creating history!" The box office figures will be officially announced next Monday. ”

On August 9, only 37 days after the release of "Independence Day" -- according to the calculation of the day of the premiere, this mythical film won a box office of 400 million US dollars, setting a new record in the entire film history, making the film not only the first work in film history to pay 20 million US dollars, but also the first work in film history to grossing more than 400 million yuan in the first round of screenings.

This is indeed a myth!

It took 67 days for the box office of "Jurassic Park" to exceed 300 million, which is a record in film history; But "Independence Day" broke through the box office of 400 million in only 37 days, this is not a myth, what is it?

What does $400 million mean in North America? As of August 9, 1996, there are a total of 22 works in North American film history that have exceeded 200 million at the box office, and only 22 works have reached this height in the long history - of course, this is a number that does not account for inflation, if inflation is taken into account, then "Gone with the Wind" has achieved a box office record of 1.63 billion US dollars in North America, and I am afraid that it will never be surpassed.

Of these twenty-two works, only five films made it to the 300 million club. 300 million, this has always been considered an unattainable height by the news media, and at the same time it is generally considered to be a moat, and any work that can reach such a height is second to none in the annals of history - even in the North American film market twenty years later, this is still the case.

Five, just five, that's how rare a deposit zài," alien e. T", "Jurassic Park", "Forrest Gump", "Star Wars", "The Lion King". This is the only 300 million club members, and the rare Cheng dù is on par with the 20 million club.

Among them, no work was able to bring the box office over the threshold of 400 million at the first round of box office screenings, whether it was the oldest "Star Wars" - released in 1977, or the most modern "Forrest Gump" and "The Lion King" - released in 1994, none of them were able to create a miracle.

Only "Alien E." t", relying on the 1985 re-release, this barely touched this height, 400 million and 200 million dollars.

The North American box office of 400 million US dollars, which is recognized by all the media as an insurmountable gap, may one day break this record in the North American film market, but definitely not in the near future - most media believe that it will not reach such a height in five or even ten years, which is also an important reason why the supporters and opponents of high investment and high returns can be opposed: in the case of the North American box office is generally unable to break through further, this means that profits are always limited, even if they rely on the film periphery to plunder more profits, But it still can't generate more profits, so raising costs is a high-risk thing.

Four hundred million, that is, the bright stars hanging high in the night sky, which seem so close but so far away, as if they could never be touched. Perhaps only by waiting for the first human landing on the moon will the North American box office reach the level of $400 million.

In fact, although Hugo is calling for wind and rain in North America, it has never approached the threshold of 300 million US dollars, and the current "speed of life and death" with Hugo's most outstanding box office performance is only 239 million at the North American box office, which is still a long way from 300 million US dollars.

This is also the reason why people think that Hugo must take on real commercial films, although Hugo has starred in small-budget and small-scale films, and has repeatedly created box office miracles - this is enough for film companies, saving costs and winning profits, which they are happy to see; But from the perspective of a breakthrough, Hugo must challenge the commercial film blockbuster Zuò in order to achieve a new box office high: for example, a work that has achieved a box office of $300 million.

You don't see "Schindler's List" applauded and acclaimed, but the box office is still not as good as a simple and crude "speed of life and death", which is ironclad evidence.

When Hugo took over the filming of "Independence Day", some people joked, "The box office exceeded 300 million, this is Hugo's task". As for 400 million, it is a distant goal that is a pipe dream and cannot even be thought of, and it is impossible to achieve it at all.

But now?

After the release of "Independence Day", it was like a bamboo, devastating, and sweeping thousands of troops, showing an invincible and powerful momentum, setting a zào record almost every week, from the single-day box office on Independence Day, to the fierceness of the box office in the first weekend, and then to the domineering spirit of winning the championship for five consecutive weeks, every footprint of "Independence Day" has left a deep imprint on the North American continent. Thirty-seven days later, the world has changed completely.

Thirty-seven days, only thirty-seven days, only thirty-seven days, but in thirty-seven days...... "Independence Day" has reached a height that has not been touched in the history of cinema for nearly a century, not only is the record of $400 million at the box office so appalling, but what is even more terrifying is the way "Independence Day" set this record, which makes any praise lose its color.

Even the "New York Post" and "USA Today" could not say anything at this time, and even those conservatives who opposed high investment and high returns could not say anything, "Commercial films have no connotation, this is the persecution of the film industry, this is an insult to film art", these words are completely vulnerable in the face of the 400 million box office.

Even the noblest art lovers know very well that no one appreciates their art, no one supports their art, no one consumes their art, and their works cannot be passed down through the ages, nor can they find their soulmates, let alone have enough food and clothing.

As a commercial film, "Independence Day" reached unprecedented heights, inaugurating a new history of North American cinema, and even proponents of art cinema had to lament that the moment of change in the world had arrived. Maybe in the future, commercial films will gradually encroach on the field of art films, maybe in the future, film art will be reduced to a means of making money on Wall Street, and maybe in the future, cinemas will no longer be able to find audiences who really appreciate movies with their hearts...... But that's the future, the unreachable, the unpredictable. At least for the moment, at least for this moment, they should cheer for "Independence Day", everyone.

Because "Independence Day" not only crossed the moat, but also surpassed the moat, became the leader of the world, and worked hard to explore the unknown world at the other end of the moat, creating a new world, so that the entire Hollywood film practitioners suddenly opened up, perhaps, from now on, the world's film industry will undergo earth-shaking changes.

Hugo created history, Hugo led the "Independence Day" crew to create history, Hugo represented the 20 million club to create history, Hugo stood at the highest point in history at a glance, he not only had the first 300 million box office work, but also the first 400 million box office work, leaving all the competitors far behind.

Tom Cruzon Guò's "Mission Impossible" victory once again stood on the same level as Hugo, but the King's Landing on "Independence Day" widened the gap again, and no one could beat it. As a competitor and a friend, Tom gave Hugo a thumbs up, convinced.

In the first week of August, "Jack in the Family" grossed $11 million at the weekend box office, "Killing Hour" again earned $10 million, and "Get Out of Los Angeles" earned only $9 million...... But none of these works were able to arouse any media interest, not even the film distribution companies of these works, because during this week, Independence Day was the only focus, unique.

After entering its sixth week of release, "Independence Day" handed over a 20% box office decline, grabbed another $18 million weekend box office, and once again broke all the suspense, raising the number of weeks he won the championship to six weeks. Although the momentum of the weekend box office exceeding 20 million in a row finally stopped, it still broke the sixth-week weekend box office record of $16 million set by "My Fair Daddy" in 1993, and continued to brush the North American film history record.

In the end, the cumulative box office of "Independence Day" not only broke through the threshold of 400 million US dollars, but also directly came to the height of 412 million, which also marked a series of rewriting of the historical records of North American films, and the North American box office has truly entered the era of 400 million, marking that the capped box office has been upgraded to a higher level. This is absolutely immeasurable for the turmoil of the entire film market.

The stunning expression of "Independence Day" created an uncatchable myth that lit up the entire summer of 1996, and more than 260 media outlets in North America all reported on it, and even widely affected various fields such as society and politics; Overseas, more than 530 media outlets have reported on Hollywood's hurricane-like breakthrough, and the "Independence Day" sensation is sweeping the world in an unstoppable manner, setting off a storm - comparable to the magnificent scene of aliens coming to Earth in the movie.

After witnessing the terrible performance of "Independence Day", the media was surprised to find that at this time, "Independence Day" still did not understand, the 20% drop in the sixth week of its release, the weekend box office of 18 million US dollars, and even the completion of most of the works that held premieres, can it be said...... Could it be that "Independence Day" is really going to hit the box office of $500 million? No way......

Leonardo DiCaprio's banter on the red carpet at the premiere seems to have what it takes to become a reality