Chapter 834: A Hugely Successful Opening-Day Box Office

"Why didn't he attend the Fast and Furious 5 premiere?" Standing in the VIP lounge of the El Capitan Theater, David Ellison demanded of an agent. "Don't forget, you signed a contract with the production. Attending the premiere is a mandatory obligation."

Facing the Hollywood upstart, the agent replied evenly, "I'm sorry, Mr. Ellison. Dwayne fell ill and couldn't make it to the premiere. Under our agreement, an unexpected situation like this doesn't constitute a breach of contract."

David Ellison narrowed his eyes, his gaze as sharp as a knife.

The agent stood straight before him, a faint smile still resting on his calm face.

When necessary, people in their line of work could bow their heads to anyone; when it wasn't, they could be just as proud and unyielding.

In this agent's eyes, David Ellison was already someone he had no need to bow to. He had learned from Nancy Josephson that during a private audition, Dwayne Johnson had won the approval of Duke Rosenberg's assistant, Anna Printz. Barring any surprises, his client was guaranteed a vital role in Duke Rosenberg's new film.

Dwayne Johnson had found an excuse to skip the premiere specifically to ensure no such surprises happened.

Choosing between David Ellison and Duke Rosenberg had never been a question for either him or Dwayne Johnson.

The wide release of Fast and Furious 5 dealt a noticeable blow to The Avengers as it entered its second weekend. Once the new weekend began, seat occupancy for The Avengers dropped by more than half compared to its opening. Meanwhile, riding massive buzz and the fanbase built up over the previous four installments, Fast and Furious 5 exploded on its opening day.

Vin Diesel still carried a fair amount of name recognition in North America, and his death gave the film a clear boost.

As the fifth installment of Fast & Furious, the plot picked up right where the previous film left off. O'Conner and Dominic Toretto fled into exile in Brazil, where a daring heist provoked a Rio de Janeiro crime lord and alerted an American police officer played by Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. One of the film's biggest draws was seeing Dominic Toretto assemble his own crew for the first time, bringing back most of the leads from the earlier installments. The finale, with two sports cars tearing through the streets dragging a massive safe, was pure adrenaline...

In Friday's North American film market, the newly released Fast and Furious 5 displayed all the vigor of a fresh blockbuster, overshadowing The Avengers—which had already been in theaters for a week—to take center stage.

First thing Saturday morning, a beautiful set of North American box office statistics landed on David Ellison's desk.

The numbers put David Ellison in a fantastic mood. Hadn't he pulled all those strings just to get the better of Duke Rosenberg? Now it looked like his first goal had already been achieved.

On Friday alone, Fast and Furious 5 raked in $48.65 million across 3,780 theaters, easily beating The Avengers—which took in $38.77 million from 4,480 theaters—to claim the daily box office crown in North America.

Whether in total gross or per-theater average, Fast and Furious 5 had defeated The Avengers by a considerable margin.

As for the fact that Fast and Furious 5 was in its opening week while The Avengers had already entered its second weekend, David Ellison automatically ignored it.

Stepping away from his desk, David Ellison took a bottle of red wine from a nearby rack. He poured himself a glass and strolled over to the floor-to-ceiling window, brimming with self-satisfaction as he looked down over the City of Angels.

Fast and Furious 5 was bound to succeed. It would make back all the losses he had suffered on TRON: Legacy, and it would make his father, Larry Ellison, and all of Hollywood look at him in a whole new light!

He, David Ellison, was no good-for-nothing relying solely on his family. In the future, he would spread his wings and soar, carving out his own domain in Hollywood and achieving feats that surpassed Duke Rosenberg!

Gazing at his faint reflection in the glass, the corners of David Ellison's mouth curled upward into a supremely confident smile as a thought rose in his mind.

'The David Ellison who created the glorious success of I Am Legend back then is back! Once the other big-budget blockbuster I invested in, Battleship, hits theaters in July, all of Hollywood will see how powerful I am in the film industry!'

A man who had failed too many times always clung to the slightest bit of temporary success, and someone like David Ellison was no exception.

While David Ellison was still reveling in the massive opening-day box office success of Fast and Furious 5, a knock sounded at the door, and his most trusted assistant walked in.

"Boss, CinemaScore just released their latest statistical data and projections."

CinemaScore Company had proven its expertise in this area countless times. Hearing his assistant, David Ellison drew his gaze back from the window, strode over, set his wineglass on the desk, and took the report. With just one glance, his brimming confidence vanished.

Taking a deep breath, he walked back behind his desk, sat down, and carefully read through the Fast and Furious 5 statistical brief issued by CinemaScore Company.

According to the brief, Fast and Furious 5 had a CinemaScore audience approval rating of 82%, with an average grade of "A". Demographically, however, men made up the vast majority of the audience, exceeding 80%...

The word-of-mouth figures were quite strong, even ranking as top-tier among commercial blockbusters in the summer season.

What truly infuriated David Ellison wasn't the statistics, but the projection that followed: CinemaScore believed Fast and Furious 5 lacked staying power, and that this week's North American box office champion would still be The Avengers!

David Ellison wanted to slam his hand on the desk and ask CinemaScore Company's forecasting department if they had lost their minds. Fast and Furious 5 had beaten The Avengers by nearly $10 million on its opening day alone—how could it possibly lose the weekend box office crown?

CinemaScore Company gave its reason further down—Fast and Furious 5 suffered from a severe lack of female viewers!

In David Ellison's view, however, the people at CinemaScore Company were crazy. So what if it was missing female viewers? What was the big deal? Male viewers alone were more than enough to prop up the box office for Fast and Furious 5!

True, with the marketing and buzz behind Fast and Furious 5, it would be a huge winner compared to most films. Up against a juggernaut on the level of The Avengers, however, relying on male viewers alone was far from enough.

Moreover, David Ellison had overlooked the fact that Fast and Furious 5 was heavily fan-driven. Friday's explosive opening had already burned through the enthusiasm of a massive wave of fans, along with the nostalgia brought by Vin Diesel.

The surveyors at CinemaScore Company always worked on the front lines of the theatrical market, which was exactly why they consistently predicted box office trajectories with such accuracy.

After resting for only a few hours, Bill Morrison showed up once again at the Hollywood Chinese Theater. Because CinemaScore Company maintained stable partnerships with several major theater chains, he easily obtained the morning's statistical data.

These figures told a completely different story from yesterday's. On Friday, Fast and Furious 5 had been as unstoppable as a runaway sports car, scattering every other film in its path—including The Avengers—and easily taking the single-day box office crown by a wide margin.

Today, however, Fast and Furious 5 had crashed—just like a sports car driven by Vin Diesel.

Yesterday had been a workday and today was the weekend, yet compared to Friday morning's figures, seat occupancy for Fast and Furious 5 had plunged sharply today, dropping by more than 40%. For a film in its opening week, that was anything but normal.

Unless it was a purely fan-driven movie like the Twilight series!

Fast and Furious 5 catered to fans to a degree, but it wasn't a purely fan-driven film!

Sitting in the theater's lounge, Bill Morrison knew his projection was very likely to become reality. The severe lack of female viewers was going to deal a heavy blow to Fast and Furious 5.

Throughout the entire afternoon and evening, Bill Morrison carefully observed and analyzed the two hottest films currently on the market, Fast and Furious 5 and The Avengers. By the time midnight approached, he had reached his conclusion.

Compared to Friday, seat occupancy for Fast and Furious 5 had plummeted by a solid 40%, whereas seat occupancy for The Avengers had not only held steady, but even climbed.

"A weekend is made up of three days. Fast and Furious 5 is going to have a hard time taking the box office crown this weekend!"

After muttering to himself, Bill Morrison left the Hollywood Chinese Theater, wrapping up his day's work.

Sunday morning was bright and sunny, and Los Angeles in May was quite hot. Dressed stylishly and looking gorgeous, Gal Gadot stepped out of her car and walked toward the cafe where she had arranged to meet. Paying no mind to the snapping cameras of reporters and paparazzi, she simply showed off the pair of impossibly long legs beneath her short skirt.

They were her favorite feature, and it was precisely those legs that had won her a vital role—one that would soon change her destiny and turn her into a hot Hollywood star.

Gal Gadot was brimming with confidence, because she was about to star in a film by Duke Rosenberg!

For that reason, she had specifically turned down Fast and Furious 5. Gal Gadot saw things very clearly: now that she had chosen Duke Rosenberg's side, she would stand firmly in his camp.

Pushing open the cafe door, Gal Gadot waved off the waiter and walked straight toward a corner booth, shoulder bag in hand. Thanks to her height, she could already see Natalie Portman, who had invited her out, sitting in the booth. Natalie was absentmindedly stirring a cup of coffee, all of her former radiance completely gone.