Chapter 301: Midnight Box Office Record

The North American Region was the most mature commercial film market in the world. Since entering the 1990s, the population of the North American Continent had not grown significantly, meaning the moviegoing audience wouldn't see a massive increase either. If a single movie drew huge crowds over a weekend, it would inevitably cause a drop in viewership for other films.

With Godzilla ramping up its promotional efforts, Warner Brothers naturally couldn't just sit back and watch.

However, compared to the multitude of fancy promotional strategies employed by Sony Columbia Pictures, Warner Brothers followed Duke's advice and stuck to the simplest, most direct countermeasure.

"Godzilla is receiving explosive word-of-mouth! Audiences are calling it a thrilling ride as monster fever continues to rise!"

That was the news hype manufactured by Sony Columbia Pictures, and Warner Brothers' response was simple: Godzilla is a native Japanese monster!

"Godzilla nears 10 million dollars at the box office on opening day, leading the Summer Season!"

"Godzilla is a native Japanese monster!"

"The male and female leads were scared weak in the knees by Godzilla during filming!"

"Godzilla is a native Japanese monster!"

"Monster invades Manhattan; various iconic landmarks reduced to ruins before Godzilla!"

"Godzilla is a native Japanese monster!"

Cultural differences were an objective reality, especially in North America, where the influence of isolationism remained strong. Although the internet was on the rise, it was far from connecting the entire world. It was inevitable that foreign cultures would face rejection on the North American big screen. Never mind a Japanese monster like Godzilla—even Taxi, a Western-style commercial film produced by Luc Besson, the so-called "Hollywood director of France," only survived a three-day run in North American theaters.

As for the actual box office trajectories of Godzilla and The Matrix, the weekly box office report published in Monday's entertainment section of the Los Angeles Times made things clear at a glance.

"During the third weekend of May, the North American box office market remained incredibly hot. While it didn't achieve the feat of having the top three weekend films all hit 20 million dollars, the overall market, driven by both The Matrix and Godzilla, continued to perform at a high level. It was nearly on par with the same period last year when Jurassic Park 2: The Lost World opened. As of this weekend, the annual North American box office is up seven percent year-over-year, showing an excellent outlook."

"Last weekend, Sony Columbia Pictures' heavyweight monster film Godzilla, produced for a massive 140 million dollars, struck with full force to challenge The Matrix, which had previously enjoyed critical and commercial success. The film grossed 8.42 million on Friday, 10.12 million on Saturday, and 8.25 million on Sunday, raking in an impressive 26.79 million dollars in its opening weekend!"

"However, this result was not enough for Godzilla to claim the weekly box office crown. This week's box office champion still belongs to The Matrix!"

"The sci-fi action film The Matrix—co-produced by Warner Brothers and Duke Studio, and directed by the renowned Duke Rosenberg—maintained strong earning momentum in its second weekend. Despite facing Godzilla's aggressive arrival and fierce competition, it still raked in 39.89 million dollars in its sophomore weekend, defending its weekend championship without breaking a sweat. Its North American box office blasted through the 150-million-dollar mark in one fell swoop, reaching a staggering 150.86 million dollars!"

"The small-budget film The Horse Whisperer, distributed by Buena Vista Pictures, was the biggest surprise of the week. It overpowered Deep Impact, now in its third weekend, and claimed third place on the box office charts with 13.68 million dollars. Meanwhile, DreamWorks' Deep Impact continued its disappointing run, earning a mere 5.61 million dollars in its third weekend. With a cumulative North American box office of 56.22 million dollars, the prospect of recouping its costs remains nowhere in sight."

"A similar surprise came from Titanic, which has been in theaters for over half a year. This massive ship seems to have no final destination; last weekend, it grossed another 3.56 million dollars across 521 theaters, bringing its North American box office to a towering 632.55 million dollars. Every step this film takes forward creates a brand-new record in cinematic history!"

"It is not hard to conclude from the box office data that over the past weekend, Godzilla and The Matrix jointly dominated the overall market. However, the audience reception for the two films showed completely divergent trends."

"Since its release, The Matrix has sparked a wave of cyberpunk culture across North America, receiving high praise ever since its test screenings. Director Duke Rosenberg successfully fused philosophical reflection with sci-fi elements, ushering in a new era for science fiction films. Even George Lucas believes that The Matrix will become a milestone in sci-fi cinematic history, holding a status no lower than that of Star Wars."

"Moreover, the word-of-mouth for this fan-favorite film remains astonishing two weeks into its release. Its audience approval rating has consistently stayed above 90 percent, and its user score on the famous movie database website IMDB is as high as 9.5 out of 10! Backed by such powerful word-of-mouth, 200 million dollars is definitely not the North American box office ceiling for this sci-fi film!"

"Looking at Godzilla, on the other hand, behind its decent opening weekend box office, one cannot ignore its steadily declining word-of-mouth. On the day of its wide release, its audience approval rating was only 63 percent, and by the end of the three-day weekend, it had slid further to 58 percent. Furthermore, its audience score on IMDB sits at a pitiful 5.6 out of 10. Based on these projections, breaking the 100-million-dollar mark at the North American box office would already be considered a victory for Godzilla!"

"The Matrix has already achieved two consecutive box office crowns during the Summer Season. With North America about to enter the Memorial Day release window, Armageddon—produced by Touchstone Pictures and distributed by Buena Vista Pictures—is slated for release. Whether this massive 140-million-dollar sci-fi blockbuster can shake The Matrix is something we will wait and see."

It wasn't just the North American market. Over the past weekend, The Matrix began its rollout in overseas markets. Because all of the film's location shooting was done in Sydney, the response in Australia was particularly intense. It took in 7.52 million dollars over the three-day weekend, marking the highest opening week box office in Australian cinematic history behind only Titanic.

In Britain, the reception for The Matrix was equally fervent. Its opening weekend box office of 11.2 million dollars was outstanding enough on its own.

Looking around the world today, the internet was not yet truly thriving, meaning some of the concepts in The Matrix could pose comprehension difficulties for those who had never used it. However, Duke hadn't delved too deeply into philosophical debates about the two worlds. Instead, his strategy of highlighting sheer coolness and style brought a distinct advantage. Just watching the action sequences and explosive set pieces was enough to leave people thoroughly satisfied.

During this same weekend, The Matrix captured 6.84 million dollars in France, 7.85 million in Germany, 6.55 million in Spain, 5.67 million in Italy, 7.44 million in Russia, 7.11 million in Argentina, 7.26 million in Brazil, and 5.66 million in Mexico...

Although The Matrix had yet to hit the Asian markets, in just one weekend, the film's overseas box office had amassed 74.89 million dollars, easily pushing its global box office past 220 million dollars!

"Actually, the box office is nothing."

After discussing the next step in targeting Martin Bob, the topic in the office shifted to The Matrix.

Eno Martin said to Pat Kingsley, "The media and the public have both overlooked the merchandising revenue for The Matrix."

"Warner Brothers hasn't publicly released last weekend's merchandise sales figures," Pat Kingsley said, pouring herself a cup of coffee. "Eno, did you get your hands on last weekend's merch data?"

"I used my connections at Warner to get some rough merchandise statistics for The Matrix."

Retrieving a document, Eno Martin handed it to Pat Kingsley.

"See for yourself. Warner Brothers and Duke Studio are going to make a massive killing this time," he said.

"Last weekend, North America sold around 25.6 million dollars in merchandise?"

Even Pat Kingsley was a little surprised. She took a sip from her coffee cup, calmed her breathing slightly, and said, "If I remember correctly, the North American merchandise sales for The Matrix have already broken a hundred million."

"That's right. It definitely broke a hundred million."

Seeming somewhat emotional, Eno Martin rubbed his forehead and said, "I have confirmed intel. Duke Studio signed an agreement with the various manufacturers giving them a thirty percent cut of the sales revenue. That means their thirty-million-dollar cut is basically pure profit."

"The proportion of merchandising profits for blockbuster films is getting heavier and heavier," Kingsley sighed.

Eno Martin added, "Don't forget, this is just North America! Moreover, the discs, Videotapes, and television broadcast rights for The Matrix haven't even been sold yet. I think this film's merchandise profits might actually exceed its box office profits!"

"Short-term merchandise within a single year," he added.

Pat Kingsley nodded, thinking for a moment before saying, "Failing to sign a representation contract with Duke Rosenberg back then is absolutely the biggest decision-making blunder in CAA's history."

"It's a pity we didn't have a say at the time."

At this, Eno Martin's eyes flickered repeatedly. "This is fine, too. The more successful Duke is, the more unbalanced the partners will feel, and the more they will feel someone must take responsibility for that past mistake. And as for the person who needs to take responsibility, his package project with Spielberg this year can hardly be called a success. Our opportunity is coming!"

Not too far from their office, Martin Bob sat alone in his office, his brows furrowed in gloom. He had partnered with the most reliable filmmaker, Spielberg, yet he still couldn't shake off the bad luck that had plagued him over the past few years. Success seemed to be drifting further and further away from him. He was on the verge of becoming CAA's laughingstock, practically synonymous with failure.

With fierce rivals competing on the outside and hungry wolves circling on the inside, Martin Bob could already feel the crisis. Even if he was the largest shareholder among all of CAA's partners, once the opposition grew powerful enough, stepping down in disgrace would be his only way out.

He didn't want to be chased out of power as a dejected loser, like how Michael Ovitz had left Disney.

A tiny mistake from a few years ago—discarding a seemingly insignificant nobody—had now become a death knell. Was Duke Rosenberg truly so powerful as to be invincible?

Anyone who could climb to such a high position possessed a relatively resolute will. Martin Bob had no intention of admitting defeat just like that.