The Best Director

Chapter 373: Chapter 373: The Birth of a Myth! (Urgently Seeking Monthly Pass)

“Firefly stormed its opening week, rewriting chapters of North American cinema history.” “Mythology is born! Firefly’s North American box office hits $236 million in its first week, shattering 10 box office records.”…

“Weekly mainland box office summary: Firefly easily clinches the top spot, setting multiple records” — Tencent Entertainment; “Weekly Hong Kong box office summary: Firefly sparks citywide buzz” — Wen Wei Po Information; “Weekly Taiwan box office express: Magnificent Yang lifts Firefly to lead” — Taiwan Television Global Information; “Weekly Korea box office: The flames descend once more, Firefly tickets in high demand” — Yahoo Korea; “Weekly United Kingdom box office: Firefly’s glorious ascent, Batman in second” — Yahoo United Kingdom; “Weekly Australian box office: Firefly fiercely strikes” — SydneyPioneer.com, France, Germany, Greece, Mexico… “Weekly global box office: Firefly descends like a deity” — Yahoo Entertainment… Boxofficemojo, The-Numbers, IMDb, Rottentomatoes, Usatoday, Sina, Sohu, NetEase, TOM…

$236,590,511, 236.5 million! An average of $61,531 per each of the 3,845 theaters, this legendary achievement was created by North America’s weekly champion from June 17-23, Firefly! Alongside the awe, there was also deep sorrow.

Every media outlet scrambled to report, with the latest new film roundup from Yahoo Entertainment stating:

“The two-year wait has finally ended, Serenity takes off, rousing roars fill New Shanxi, Wang Yang returns to the silver screen, the summer battle is Touch & Go… Sharing the opening weekend with the spectacular Yang are Batman Begins, based on the classic comic character we all know; and a clearly untimely romantic comedy, The Perfect Man.”

Hardly anyone expected such a development, encountering Firefly was like a Shakespearean tragedy. No matter how exalted and noble your status, how strong your character, in the end, it all led to ruin and death.

In 1997, Batman & Robin caused a major headache for its old benefactor Warner Brothers, making them wary of collaborating with this superhero for many years. After 8 years, Darren Aronofsky, along with Christian Bale, revamped Batman Begins in an attempt to pull Wayne out of lukewarm obscurity and restore Batman’s rightful applause and glory. Director Aronofsky indeed made his mark on the new Batman, elevating Wayne to an Oscar-worthy comic hero, but he won over critics (Rotten Tomatoes fresh rating 85%/82%) without winning over the audience, particularly since his competition was Wang Yang and Firefly.

Nothing more needs to be said, who doesn’t know about Firefly? If you don’t, it means you’re completely out of touch with the world.

The premiere’s tickets, sold out long in advance, together with midnight screenings added at three and six in the morning, and the excited anticipation of audiences worldwide, all narrated the extraordinary tale of Firefly. Indeed, ever since its release on Friday the 17th, both critical acclaim and box office fortunes surged like a tidal wave, effortlessly toppling almost all box office records… $60.35 million on the opening day, $159.4 million for the opening weekend, $236.5 million for the first week box office, heralded the birth of a myth!

In comparison, Batman’s earnings seemed like an invisible speck of dust, perhaps a decent achievement under the heavy shadow of Firefly and its predecessor’s poor reputation with $30.27 million; the insipid and boring The Perfect Man’s snicker-worthy $3.25 million was even more laughable against Firefly, with Universal likely regretting their release date decision. But considering its reviews (Rotten Tomatoes fresh rating 5%/10%), they should think about how to make a quick buck on DVDs instead.

Despite the poor critical reception of Wang Yang’s last directorial work, The Devil Wears Prada, its strong word of mouth and explosive female market led to an impressive North American total of $235 million and a worldwide tally of $558 million. Encouraged by this success, Wang Yang and Firefly Films confidently set sail with Jessica Alba and a cast of renowned and new actors on their $200 million production, Firefly.

However, as is well known, just as film production was entering its later stages, Jessica Alba unexpectedly fell ill. Wang Yang’s originally brief cameo as Top-Captain was greatly expanded, wrapping Firefly in an even more mysterious veil, with Top-Captain becoming the character everyone was most looking forward to.

Joking aside, Firefly Films’ marketing offensive was still centered around Captain Mal, River, and the Blue Gloves as the main promotional figures (it’s worth noting, their choice of partners was quite peculiar, including the likes of Domino’s Pizza and Anbang Express). Of course, there was also the grand prank competition for trailers on YouTube, and Firefly Films disclosed that the promotional budget for Firefly reached $100 million, making a splash before the movie even premiered. It’s difficult to say how much hype the IMAX technology, Wang Yang’s performance, the ‘miracle’ of Heath Ledger, and the publicity surrounding Wang Yang’s, Robert Downey Jr.’s, and Heath Ledger’s marriages and his wife’s pregnancy gossip contributed to the box office. Indeed, many people entered the theater for one of these reasons.”

Thus, the public’s anticipation for Firefly intensified as the release date approached, erupting like a volcano when it finally hit. Firefly didn’t disappoint them, nor did they disappoint it, creating record after record to the astonishment of all.

All praise or contempt seems pale in the face of hard data, and here are the 10 major North American box office records set by the film after its first week of release:

One: The highest opening day box office record of $60.35 million (beating Star Wars: Episode III’s $50.01 million);

Two: The highest single-day box office record of $60.35 million (beating Star Wars: Episode III’s $50.01 million);

Three: The highest three-day weekend box office record of $159.4 million (beating Spider-Man’s $114.8 million);

Four: The highest seven-day, one-week box office record of $236.5 million (beating Spider-Man’s $151.6 million);

Five: The highest seven-day, per-theater box office record of $61,531 USD (beating Paranormal Activity’s 750 theaters with $37.5176 million, per theater $50,023, only counting the week of wide release);

Six: The highest midnight screening box office record (3,050 theaters taking in $18.76 million, beating Star Wars: Episode III’s 2,915 theaters and $16.9 million);

Seven: The highest IMAX theater weekend box office record: 64 theaters generated $8.1 million (beating the Star Wars: Episode III’s record of $2.7 million), with Saturday alone selling out all shows in all theaters for $3.75 million;

Eight: The fastest to reach $100 million at the box office (2 days, beating films like Spider-Man, which took 3 days);

Nine: The fastest to reach $150 million at the box office (3 days, beating Star Wars: Episode III’s 4 days);

Ten: The fastest to reach $200 million at the box office (5 days, beating Spider-Man 2 and Star Wars: Episode III’s 8 days);

And also the highest June and summer opening records; the highest non-opening day Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday records; the highest front-four, front-five, front-six, and front-seven day box office; the highest PG-13 movie opening weekend and week…

In short, whatever record you can think of, everything crumbles in front of Firefly… In just one week, Firefly has already become the second highest-grossing film of the summer of 2005, and it will undoubtedly soon surpass this week’s $352 million of Star Wars: Episode III to become No. 1.

Even more astonishing is the critical acclaim for Firefly, which has been so exaggerated it’s beyond description. We at Yahoo rated it an A+, Rotten Tomatoes gave it a freshness score of 97%/100%, MetaCritic 95 points, BFCA 97 points…

The average media score is 89 points, with 20 out of the mainstream media outlets giving a perfect score of 100: “There’s no better summer blockbuster than this,” “It makes Hollywood blush,” “Yang’s magic has reached a realm of sheer will, and Ledger’s historic blue glove has further fueled an irresistible interstellar adventure,” “Absolutely the most charming, emotional, and thoughtful Star Wars film in recent years,” “Brilliantly radiant, stunningly gorgeous,” “Although the movie is two and a half hours long, the story is lengthy without being confusing, rich and full, not letting your eyes leave the big screen for a second”…

Magic Yang, Heath Ledger, and others are already making waves as next year’s Oscar nominations; and the public’s word of mouth for this film is utterly fearless… On Yahoo, fans have rated it an A+, and on IMDb, it’s currently at an unbelievable 9.6 (at one point it reached 9.8), surpassing The Godfather’s 9.1 and ranking first on the Top-250 list. Given this momentum, Top-Captain will undoubtedly be this year’s box office and critical acclaim champion.

Driven by this shocking film, the North American box office saw an explosive increase this week, with total earnings reaching $347.5 million US Dollars, a 52.1% increase from the $227.2 million on June 10-16. Compared to the same period last year, June 18-24, which garnered $219.7 million, it’s a 57.3% increase. It also set the highest single-week box office record since The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King held the crown the week of December 26 to January 1 in 2003, with $356.6 million. Firefly has invigorated the entire market.

“To some extent, Firefly saved us,” said John Fithian, president of the National Association of Theatre Owners (NATO), who is very pleased, as it’s been a while since all the theaters in the association have been this lively. Many moviegoers waiting for a Firefly session would watch another movie first, and theaters even had to stay open until midnight sessions over the weekend. “This scenario is rare,” says John Fithian. “We have all been overwhelmed by Firefly, and some theaters that don’t offer midnight shows are now considering opening their doors for business exclusively for it.”

Theater owners are ecstatic, but Flame Films remains calm and composed. CEO Mark Strong stated, “We expected it to make a splash, but to dominate the screens like this has given us a pleasant surprise.” Simon Willis, manager of the distribution department at Flame Films, was perhaps the most excited: “Can you believe it? Every ticket for every session was sold out.” Greg Foster, chairman and president of IMAX Entertainment, was also thrilled to tell the media, “Every IMAX session is a full house. We’re doing our best to add more sessions, but still, they are 100% booked, unable to meet the demand of all passionate moviegoers.”

“If this continues, we will persuade global museums and science centers and other academic institutions to screen it on their giant screens,” Foster revealed. The whole of North America, no, the entire world, has gone crazy for Firefly.”

This week’s North American box office, aside from the dazzling champion, was a scene of utter devastation. Batman landed in second place with $30.27 million, averaging $7,846 per theater. Over nine days, it grossed only $54.42 million in North America, and production and marketing costs of $150 million are giving Warner Bros. a headache. Dan Fellman, Warner’s distribution manager, sighed, “We can only wait.” Third place went to Mr. & Mrs. Smith with $15.01 million, followed by Kung Fu Panda with $14.68 million, and Star Wars: Episode III with $14.25 million…

“Everybody-is-kung-fu-fighting~~~” If asked who benefits from this Firefly storm? Kung Fu Panda is undoubtedly it. After bringing in $11.55 million from October 16th, in such a terrifying week, it actually increased by 27% to $14.68 million, bringing its North American total to $208.9 million. With such a miraculous performance, it all depended on the fame of Flame Films and Wang Yang. Many viewers, while waiting for or after watching Firefly, became interested in this Chinese-style animation, mutually influencing and benefiting each other.

Firefly, slashing and hacking in North America, was unmatched globally as well, sweeping the champion title in over 50 countries and regions, crazily raking in $269.1 million US Dollars, with a weekly global total of $505.6 million!

It’s terrifying! Breaking half a billion globally on the first week is another historical first for the film industry, with an overseas opening weekend box office of $195 million setting a record, beating the previous record of Star Wars: Episode III’s $145.5 million, with The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King sliding to third at $125.9 million; the $269.1 million overseas opening week significantly surpassed The Lord of the Rings’ $185.9 million and Star Wars: Episode III’s $184.7 million; and the $505.6 million global first-week box office also broke the records of Star Wars: Episode III’s $303.9 million and The Lord of the Rings’ $250 million, everything happened so swiftly and powerfully.

Actually, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King wasn’t a complete global simultaneous release. New Line Cinema wasn’t in a hurry, only premiering in 28 countries and regions in the first week; Star Wars: Episode III had 113, with 20th Century Fox’s abundant resources, even the smallest countries and regions were conquered; Firefly had 58, which was thanks to Flame Film’s record of making a big profit with every movie, and Wang Yang making an even bigger profit, as well as the sweet relationships they have established with international distributors and theater chains. Of course, breaking records was part of the distribution plan, with the ultimate widest release not exceeding 62 markets, leaving only Japan as the remaining big-ticket warehouse.

Star Wars: Episode III and Firefly are true global simultaneous releases, never concerned about losing money, nor waiting for a good response from North America to drive the global market. However, although the former achieved the widest release, it didn’t have much of an amazing effect. Compared to The Lord of the Rings’ $742 million overseas total box office (66.3%), the Star Wars prequel series has not shown much of a box office difference between North America and overseas: The Phantom Menace had 53.4% overseas, Attack of the Clones had 52.2% overseas, and Revenge of the Sith is currently at 49.8% overseas; Firefly is now at 53.2%.

In one week, Firefly almost refreshed all the breakable records. Now what fans and audiences are discussing enthusiastically is, how much box office will it end up with? Does it have a chance to cross half a billion or even six hundred million in North America, or go over one billion globally? Without adjusting for inflation, does it have a chance to surpass Titanic’s $600 million in North America and $1.843 billion globally? After adjusting for inflation, could it break into the top ranks of North American film history? Top ten? Top twenty? It’s been a long time since there was such a movie.

In 1939, Gone with the Wind was ranked first; Star Wars in 1977 was second; The Sound of Music from 1965 was third; E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial from 1982 was fourth; The Ten Commandments from 1956 was fifth; Titanic from 1997 was sixth… Star Wars: Episode I from 1999 was ranked twentieth; Shrek 2, with an unadjusted $441.2 million, ranked twenty-ninth in 2004; Spider-Man from 2002 with $403 million is already thirty-third.

Since the turn of the century, only one movie has entered the top thirty, largely because today’s release patterns are radically different.

In 97-98, “Titanic” maintained a screen count of over 1000 North American cinemas for 25 weeks and was completely withdrawn after 41 weeks, falling from an opening weekend of 52.96 million in box office revenue to less than 10 million by the 18th week with 9.01 million. But in this day and age where everything but making love is about speed, BOM had long pointed out in an analysis that, starting with the sensation “Paranormal Activity” caused among the young crowd and with the rapid development of the internet, the movie release pattern gradually morphed into a ‘blast then falter’ scenario. By the time of “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King” in 03-04, the screen count exceeding 1000 had dropped to 14 weeks and the weekly box office fell below 10 million beginning the 6th week, with the movie completely withdrawn after 24 weeks.

On another note, the increase of entertainment options and channels to watch movies has led to fewer people visiting theaters on weekends; the big screen is no longer the first choice for watching films. Much of a movie’s box office revenue has shifted to profits from DVD sales, which inevitably has the North American Cinemas owners wailing in distress.

“It’s very difficult to make an accurate assessment right now.” That’s why when discussing the box office trend of “Firefly”, BOM analyst James Moore seemed rather helpless. Could it be that this magical film is breaking records just by unleashing its potential more quickly? And then just as quickly quieting down? Of course, Moore still expressed some personal insights: “Firefly has all the qualifications to be a global hit; unlike the series such as ‘Star Wars’, ‘The Lord of the Rings’, or ‘Harry Potter’, the audience doesn’t have a fixed impression of it. They’re neither compelled to watch it nor adverse to it. But the magic of Wang Yang allows them to place their hopes in it with ease.”

The current rave reviews and record-breaking box office have bolstered the confidence of the global audience, who have immense room for imagination. This appears to be the distribution strategy of Firefly Films. James Moore went on to say, “Firefly is truly a product of a blend between Western and Asian cultures. Its potential in every overseas market is fairly even and significant, and the Asian region is very likely to yield sensational results. You know how big Wang Yang’s appeal is in the markets of China, Japan, and Korea.”

Of “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King”‘s 742 million overseas box office, mainland China brought in 10.47 million, Hong Kong 4.98 million, Taiwan 11.75 million, Korea 28.46 million, Japan 94.96 million, totaling to 150 million US dollars, which accounted for precisely 20%. How much box office revenue will “Firefly”, which is currently sweeping Asian cinemas, eventually rake in? And what percentage will that be?

Whether in Asia, North America, or the entire globe, the second week’s performance is extremely important. Can “Firefly” generate an even greater wave? A storm of “I absolutely must go to the cinema to witness and enjoy this movie, or I might as well not have lived at all”? Awakening those who often visit and sometimes drop by theaters? Drawing those who haven’t been to a theater in years or never at all to the big screen? Will its overseas box office ratio exceed 60% or even 70%?

All of these are directly affecting the final outcome of “Firefly”, influencing whether it will break through the billion-dollar global box office barrier…

Last week, as various box office charts were being published, “Firefly” approached its second weekend from the 24th to 26th, expanding to 4065 North American cinemas from the 24th to the 30th of the following week.

In the last week of June, three more films made their large-scale debuts in North American theaters, entering the fierce market competition against the space cowboys! They are all formidable opponents: Nicole Kidman’s romantic comedy “Bewitched”, with a production budget of 85 million and released in 3174 cinemas; Lindsay Lohan’s sports comedy “Herbie: Fully Loaded”, with a budget of 50 million and screening in 3521 cinemas; “Land of the Dead by George A. Romero”, made for 15 million and shown in 2249 cinemas.

Furthermore, the long-awaited “savior film” “War of the Worlds”, which went into full release on June 29th with a production budget of 132 million and shown across 3908 cinemas, directed by Steven Spielberg and starring Tom Cruise, with Paramount aiming for a global box office over 1 billion, even reaching 1.8 billion.

“Oh my gosh! I originally planned to see ‘Firefly’ at an IMAX cinema, but the tickets are completely booked until next week. What happened!! Should I go see it in a regular cinema first, or should I wait? But I really can’t wait!” Fan Kittie posted this on a blog group’s message board.

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PS: We are about to drop out of the top ten in the monthly ticket rankings, what a tragedy!! I’m urgently calling for everyone’s support! Keep on holding on! Also, thank you to ‘The Taste of Milkshake’ for becoming the chief, thank you everyone! (To be continued. If you like this work, please feel free to vote for recommendation tickets and monthly tickets on Qidian (qidian.com). Your support is my greatest motivation.)