Chapter 634: Surpassing the Big Ship?

"Oh, dear brother, how unfortunate..." A girl with short golden-brown hair walked into the hotel suite's living room holding a newspaper, offering David Ellison no sympathy whatsoever. "You've lost again!"

David Ellison focused on his breakfast without even lifting his head. "Isn't this the situation Hollywood has always been happy to see?"

He knew very well that the traditional Hollywood powers, represented by Duke Rosenberg and Warner Brothers, would never welcome a newcomer like him. The two sides were naturally at odds.

Megan Ellison seemed deaf to the hint of defeated frustration and annoyance in his voice. She sat on the sofa, opened her newspaper, and curled her lip. "Let me read you last weekend's box office report."

Without waiting for his reaction, she began reading aloud with a deliberate, dramatic cadence.

"After setting the most glorious opening weekend record in North American cinematic history, The Dark Knight has created another miracle this week. It not only defended its weekend box office crown, but its total North American box office has also smashed past 350 million dollars within ten days of release."

"Riding its momentum, The Dark Knight swept up 89.76 million dollars this weekend, defending its box office title without suspense. Its cumulative North American box office has reached 375.66 million dollars, breaking historical records once again. The previous record was held by Pirates of the Caribbean 2, which took sixteen days to cross the 300 million dollar mark."

"Based on current trends, The Dark Knight is projected to break 400 million dollars in just thirteen days, shattering yet another record. The current record belongs to Shrek 2, which took a full thirty-three days to reach that milestone!"

"I Am Legend, starring Will Smith, has also performed exceptionally well, but under the dark shadow of Batman, it could only claim second place in its opening weekend. Produced by Sky Film Studio and distributed by Buena Vista Pictures, the post-apocalyptic sci-fi film premiered last Friday. It raked in 73.89 million dollars over the three-day weekend, exceeding the distributor's expectations..."

At this point, Megan Ellison paused and glanced up at David Ellison. He did not look pleased.

Seemingly unsated in her malicious amusement, she flipped the page and read from an editorial.

"The Dark Knight nears 400 million in ten days. The Titanic box office myth is about to be shattered..."

That finally got a reaction. David Ellison put down his knife and fork, wiped his mouth with a napkin, and scoffed. "This movie wants to hit 600 million dollars in North America? It wants to beat Titanic? It probably won't even match Duke Rosenberg's The Lord of the Rings 3: The Return of the King!"

He wasn't the only one holding this opinion. A number of other media outlets shared the sentiment.

With The Dark Knight's box office surging so rapidly that it was on the verge of effortlessly crossing the 400 million dollar threshold, many outlets were singing the film's praises, convinced Duke's movie would surpass Titanic and create a new box office miracle.

But the media always followed a pattern: where some heaped praise, others would tear it down.

The Washington Post published a front-page headline in its entertainment section expressing a pessimistic outlook on the future trajectory of The Dark Knight.

"Since its release, The Dark Knight has continually shattered box office records—the best opening weekend, the fastest to cross 300 million, the most successful superhero movie ever. People have begun speculating that it might eventually drag the unprecedented box office champion, Titanic, off its throne as the highest-grossing film in North America."

"This seems somewhat possible. In just 10 days since its release, The Dark Knight has already achieved nearly two-thirds of Titanic's box office figures. In a few more weeks, the remaining third will quickly be filled, allowing The Dark Knight to set a new North American box office record."

"Unfortunately, this will not happen. Everyone wants to see The Dark Knight surpass Titanic and witness the birth of a new box office king. However, it is impossible for Duke Rosenberg's work to overtake the film he himself invested in."

"Ten years ago, in 1997, Titanic premiered. But since then, the film industry has undergone dramatic changes. In that era, a movie could only earn tens of millions of dollars after several weeks in theaters. A few standout films would rely on strong word-of-mouth to stay in cinemas as long as possible, lingering for half a year or even longer."

"Since then, however, this operational system has drastically shifted. Today, both studios and audiences have lost their patience, focusing everything on the opening weekend. We are now completely accustomed to blockbusters making a third or more of their total gross in the first three days. And Titanic? Its opening weekend accounted for less than ten percent of its final box office."

"Look at the most profitable films of 2007. Not a single movie that grossed over 100 million dollars stayed in theaters for more than six months. The annual champion, Iron Man, premiered in early May and ended its theatrical run in October..."

"Current business strategies revolve around screening a film in as many theaters as possible simultaneously, raking in the cash over the first two weeks, and then releasing the DVD before the public's novelty wears off."

"Titanic once defended its box office crown for 15 consecutive weekends. Today? Many major productions hit the DVD shelves after 15 weeks in theaters. Furthermore, a new blockbuster arrives every week during the summer season. The Dark Knight faces exceptionally fierce competition—especially this weekend, with Spider-Man 3 hitting theaters. Seizing the advantage is no easy feat for anyone."

"When Titanic premiered, it faced virtually no same-tier competitors in its first few months. This scenario is unimaginable for The Dark Knight."

"Duke Rosenberg's film has topped the North American box office for two consecutive weeks, but its second-weekend drop exceeded fifty percent. This is entirely normal. The trend will continue, and next week's box office crown will inevitably be surrendered to Spider-Man 3."

"The Dark Knight's current box office approaches 400 million dollars, and its final gross may reach 550 million. It will surpass the historical third-place record—the 521.32 million set by The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers. But challenging the runner-up, The Lord of the Rings 3: The Return of the King, and the first-place Titanic is simply impossible, because the film industry will never go back to the way it was."

"There is one more point we cannot forget. Young girls watched Titanic over and over again, injecting endless vitality and box office numbers into the film. And The Dark Knight? To be precise, it is merely a repetitive commercial product. Its themes are too dark and heavy. It is far from a charming film that can touch people's deepest emotions and move their hearts; it will not bring any returns from the young female demographic."

"What could possibly dethrone the current ruler of the cinematic world? Inflation! For at least the next five years, no film will surpass Titanic's box office record. When will Titanic's record finally be broken? Wait until ticket prices have risen enough."

"This is how the hurried and superficial film business of the twenty-first century operates."

In the study of the Eye-Shaped Villa, Tina Fey set down her copy of the Washington Post and asked, "Does The Dark Knight really have no hope of breaking Titanic's box office record?"

Setting aside his documents, Duke shook his head at Tina Fey. "It would be extremely difficult. In my view, it's virtually impossible."

Think back to those years. Those girls had continuously bought tickets to see Leonardo DiCaprio, returning to the theater over and over again.

Even in death, Heath Ledger could not produce that kind of effect.

When a boy liked a character or a film, he might buy tickets to see it twice or even three times, but going any further was unrealistic. In comparison, girls were much less rational in this regard.

How many girls would be charmed by the Joker or a heavy, brooding Batman?

For a film to achieve North American box office numbers like Titanic or The Lord of the Rings 3: The Return of the King, it required a massive audience of repeat viewers. But The Dark Knight had neither Jack nor Legolas.

Of course, this was only part of the reason. The shift in distribution strategies was the true key.

Although DVDs were currently on a slow decline, they remained a major source of revenue for Hollywood studios. For the sake of DVD sales, neither Duke nor Warner Brothers would ever let The Dark Knight sit in theaters for a year and wait for all the hype to dissipate before releasing the home video.

Setting aside whether it could break Titanic's record, from another perspective, which was more important: the empty vanity of being first or second at the North American box office, or the actual revenue of the film?

For someone like Duke, the choice was all too easy.

"However, there is one point it makes that I disagree with," Duke said, tapping the newspaper. "No film will surpass Titanic's box office in the next five years?"

He slowly shook his head.

The report's analysis was spot-on in certain aspects, but inaccurate in others.

For instance, claiming that surpassing Titanic would require inflation and rising ticket prices was completely correct, but the writer had totally ignored the development of emerging projection technologies in North America—the growth rate of 3D screens was staggering!

A 3D ticket cost twice as much as a standard 2D one, and IMAX was triple the price.

As long as there was a solid foundation of enough 3D screens and IMAX Cinemas, it wouldn't be difficult for the film Duke had invested in to achieve that milestone.

Furthermore, there could be even more films doing exactly that in the future.

Although current 3D technology still had major flaws, no one could deny the sheer thrill of the visual impact it provided. Duke was also preparing to join the ranks of 3D production and utilize the technology in his next film.