On the second weekend of the summer file, "Fast Pursuit 2" was released on a large scale in 3,875 theaters in North America, and its hot momentum finally gave the film market what the summer file should be.

On the first weekend, Warner Bros. fired a squib, and the film really ignited the market.

On Friday's first day of release, the North American box office reported $29.24 million, squeezing out "Pharaoh and the Gods," which was released just last week, and topped the North American box office charts.

The latter was affected by the impact of new films and extremely poor word-of-mouth, and only $2.63 million came in in one day.

According to this trend, it is difficult for the North American box office of "Pharaoh and the Gods" to exceed $50 million.

In stark contrast, "Fast Pursuit 2", which cost only $75 million in production, not only exploded at the box office on the first day of opening, but also exploded with the audience's word-of-mouth.

From IMDB to movie forums, from Twitter to Facebook, you can see the positive reviews left by fans everywhere.

"Martin's exhilarating action movie, I watched the whole process!"

"Energetic and fun, this is definitely an epoch-making work of minimalist action movies!"

"After watching this, you can't watch other action movies this year, Stallone and Jason Statham should really come over and learn, your set is outdated!"

"Martin proved once again that he is the best star in Hollywood, and there is no one."

With the support of overwhelming audience word-of-mouth, "Fast and Furious 2" went one step further at the Saturday box office, continuing to hold the top spot at the box office with $31.2 million.

"Pharaohs and the Gods" fell below $2 million in revenue that day.

Three days after the weekend, "Fast Pursuit 2" grabbed the weekend box office championship with a box office of $78.55 million!

The epic blockbuster, which was released the week before, plummeted the following weekend, earning just $6.18 million.

While Warner Bros. has previously messed up big investments such as Catwoman, the tragedy of Pharaoh and the Gods has set Warner's worst records since the turn of the millennium.

Overseas, "The Fast Pursuit 2" was released simultaneously in more than 40 countries outside North America, easily earning $81.32 million.

In the first week of "Pharaohs and the Gods" overseas, the situation was slightly better than that of North America, but only $12.21 million came in.

…………

Warner Building, luxuriously furnished spacious office.

As the distribution producer of "Fast and Furious", Daniel has been paying close attention to the sequel, and he got first-hand data just after the weekend box office was released.

There are really no accidents, the second part has a good reputation and is a big hit at the box office!

On top of that, it also left enough suspense for the third part.

Daniel can imagine that the next box office will rise even more.

As for "Pharaoh and the Gods", I don't want to mention it.

He sighed in his heart, Warner Bros. should not give up the cooperation with Martin, if Moses is replaced by Martin to star, maybe it will be a different situation.

Kevin Tsujiwara and the new management he brought in made people feel very unreliable.

Daniel looked at the time, took his briefcase and walked out of the office, to the top floor of the building, and into the small conference room.

Hamada and Jon Berg also rushed over one after another.

It didn't take long for Kevin Tsujihara to enter the conference room, and the four-person meeting on the film business began.

The failure of Pharaohs and the Gods is a topic that cannot be avoided.

Jon Berg, of course, will not let the blame fall on himself, saying: "This defeat, the lessons are very profound, in the right project, you must choose the right director and actor, Ridley Scott's style is too stable, and Christian Bale, recommended by CAA, does not have the appeal of the leading actor of a first-line big production at all." ”

Daniel had already reached a tacit agreement with him and echoed: "I suggest that the company's future medium and large-scale productions should no longer use Bell as the leading actor, and the actors recommended by CAA should be systematically evaluated." ”

Poor Bell was forced to put the pot on his head by two Warner executives.

Kevin Tsujihara can still cope with the pressure of the board of directors, and he doesn't want to hold his cronies and subordinates accountable too much, thinking that Bell is the best person to take the blame, saying: "I will have people notify each subsidiary, and I should be cautious in cooperating with Bell in the future." ”

Daniel duly proposed: "Chairman, there are some big-budget films, we can invite Martin Davis!" Although there is no longer cooperation in distribution, the actor level is ......"

Kevin Tsujihara is not a big-hearted person, and directly raised his hand to interrupt Daniel's words: "Hollywood actors with box office appeal are not only Martin Davis. ”

He didn't want to discuss this person anymore and moved on to the next topic: "Hamada, is the finished "Green Lantern" all finished?" ”

Hamada said: "The soundtrack and subtitles have all been added, and the merchandise is being distributed one after another, and it is expected that more than 30 million US dollars of merchandise will be distributed in the United States by the end of the month." ”

"Too little." With $200 million invested in the production cost alone and more than $100 million in marketing and marketing, Kevin Tsuji wanted to see a return as soon as possible, and there have been successful cases in this area before.

He said: "I remember that in the first ten days of "The Dark Knight", more than $40 million of various peripherals were sold in North America, and your plan was too conservative, how could you have to store $50 million in goods in the first two weeks, and let the manufacturer prepare another $30 million in goods, and send them to major cities in the United States at any time. ”

Hamada also looked at the various data of "The Dark Knight" and said, "I'll revise the plan when I go back." ”

Warner and DC are full of confidence in "Green Lantern" and feel that the film can be an instant hit like "Iron Man", thus leading to the entire DC Justice League universe.

Not only these, but the resources of the entire Warner Bros. will be tilted towards "Green Lantern".

Kevin Tsujihara has big ambitions, and as long as this opening film is successful, he will be able to catch up with Marvel's Avengers cinematic universe in three years.

…………

Century City, CAA.

Bell walked into the agent's office with his bag on his back.

"Pharaoh and the Gods" failed so badly at the box office that Warner Bros. called for a halt to all follow-up promotion, after all, no more money would be invested, and no new losses would be generated.

Thinking about this film, Bell felt uncomfortable.

If you really want to count it, he has already messed up two first-line productions in a row.

Fortunately, there is also Batman's reincarnation.

The assistant told Bell that the agent had gone to a meeting and asked him to wait a little longer.

Bell sat on the couch and found a newspaper on the low table on the left, and I don't know who read it and didn't take it with him.

A well-known newspaper in the circle: "The Hollywood Reporter".

Got bored, Bell picked up the newspaper and flipped through it, finding that it had something to do with him.

News headline: "Christian Bale's appeal in perspective"

Although he knew that he might feel uncomfortable watching it, Bell couldn't help but look at the specific content.

"In recent years, the hottest male stars in Hollywood, in addition to the two traditional forces such as Tom, Will Smith and Johnny Depp, there are also emerging forces such as Christian Bale and Martin Davis.

The former has won the support of many fans with the huge success of two Batman movies, especially "The Dark Knight", and has a faint tendency to become a superstar, but if you want to step into the threshold of superstardom, it is not a false fame, but a real market achievement.

The two Batman movies seem to have laid a solid foundation for Bale's path to superstardom, but in fact, this foundation is as empty as clouds in the sky, which looks beautiful but can be broken when you step on it.

After Bale jumped out of the Batman series, he starred in two first-line productions, namely "Terminator 2018" and "Pharaoh and the Gods", the former has a production budget of up to 200 million US dollars, and the North American box office is only a little more than 100 million, and the latter has a production budget of 160 million US dollars, and the North American box office cannot exceed 50 million US dollars, which are two veritable box office tragedies!

These two films prove one thing, after leaving Batman, Bale's appeal is really average, he does not have the ability to carry the leading role of a first-line big production, and the superstar threshold has not yet been touched, and he has died.

When the Dark Knight was released, Bale's fans and Martin Davis's fans once launched a debate on the Internet site, discussing which of the two protagonists contributed more to the film's box office, the former thought it was Bale, after all, he played the male lead, and Martin Davis was just a supporting actor.

This controversy has continued until now, and now there is a clear answer, Martin Davis's appeal is more than a one, not to mention the first-line production of "Inception" with an investment of hundreds of millions, and even the medium-sized investment projects such as "Gone Girl" and "Fast Pursuit", whose various repercussions have also exploded Bell's two major productions!

I really suggest that Bell don't touch a first-line big production in the future, that's not your field......"

I really didn't want to read the rest of the contents, so Bell closed the newspaper and threw it aside.

When he took over the role of Moses, he knew that "Pharaoh and the Gods" was originally a project that Martin Davis was optimistic about, and he also wanted to prove that his blockbuster appeal was no worse than that bastard.

It was a beautiful thought, but the result was extremely tragic.

Bell knew very well that the failure of "Pharaohs and the Gods" essentially cut off his path to Hollywood superstardom.

In the future, it is difficult for companies and crews to find him to play the leading role in a first-line big production.

The most important point, and the most difficult point for Bale to accept, is that he is not as good as Martin Davis!

Thinking of this, Bell's psychological defense showed signs of loosening again, and he quickly adjusted his thoughts and stopped thinking about it.

Martin, that bastard, has become Bell's nightmare.

The door opened from the outside, and the agent came in, and when he saw that Bell's face was not quite right, he quickly asked, "Do you want me to send you to a psychiatrist?" ”

Bell waved his hand: "No, no, as long as I don't see that bastard Martin Davis, I'll be able to recover soon." ”

The agent understands Bale's psychological crux and says, "Let the past pass." ”

Bell glanced at the newspaper next to him and asked, "Is it still possible for me to become a superstar?" ”

"Yes, but plan slowly." The agent first relieved, and then said the truth: "There may be some troubles in the short term, and the first-line projects with the highest salaries ......"

"When the Dark Knight Rises is done, I want to leave Los Angeles, leave North America, and be quiet for a while," Bell said. ”

The agent picked up a document from the desk: "It just so happens that I have a film project from the East in my hand, why don't you go over and take a look?" ”

(End of chapter)