Chapter 923: Head-On Confrontation

Since 1977, five of the previous six Star Wars films had topped the North American box office in their respective release years. It was an unparalleled franchise, and with Duke's name attached, its appeal was self-evident.

After a long wait, in mid-December with Christmas fast approaching, the highly anticipated Star Wars: The Force Awakens had finally arrived!

Duke hosted the film's global premiere on the famous Hollywood Boulevard.

"This premiere goes far beyond the Oscar Awards Ceremony."

Standing in front of the Dolby Theater, Leonardo DiCaprio looked at the long red carpet.

"Whether it's the number of fans present, or the amount of guests and media reporters, it's something the Oscars simply cannot match," he said to Duke beside him.

"You're absolutely right." Scarlett Johansson, holding Duke's arm, chimed in. "Even the red carpet television ratings will be higher than the Oscars."

"Darling..." Duke reminded her. "It isn't fair to compare the Oscars and Star Wars."

Scarlett curled her lips.

"Maybe in a few years, the Oscar ratings won't even be able to match the MTV Awards Ceremony or the Saturn Awards Ceremony," she muttered.

Duke and Leonardo exchanged a glance, both shaking their heads with a smile.

Although Scarlett's words were a bit exaggerated, they reflected the current predicament of the Oscar Awards Ceremony.

It was an indisputable fact that the viewership of the Oscar Awards Ceremony had sharply declined year after year.

Overall, the drop in the Oscar Awards Ceremony's ratings was due to various factors. A crucial element affecting viewership was the influence of the competing films. In 1998, when Titanic competed, it drew an audience of 55 million. The year Duke won his Golden Statuette brought in nearly 70 million viewers, establishing an insurmountable peak.

Secondly, there were simply too many forms of entertainment nowadays. Who would care whether a movie they disliked or hadn't even seen won an award?

Setting aside the audience numbers, this premiere was destined to surpass the Oscar Awards Ceremony in every aspect.

To facilitate the red carpet setup and venue construction for the premiere of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, the stretch of Hollywood Boulevard between Highland Avenue and La Brea Avenue had been closed off for four days starting at 11:00 PM on December 10.

In fact, the annual road closure on Hollywood Boulevard for the Oscars only spanned the section from Highland Avenue to Orange Drive.

In comparison, the red carpet for Star Wars: The Force Awakens was 2,000 feet long, two and a half times the length of the Oscar red carpet.

More interestingly, the premiere invitations for Star Wars: The Force Awakens, which Duke had personally finalized, did not inform the guests of the specific theater hosting the event. The closed-off section of the road encompassed a total of three theaters: the Dolby Theater, the Hollywood Chinese Theater, and the El Capitan Theater.

The guests only learned upon arriving at the venue that the premiere of Star Wars: The Force Awakens had booked all three theaters for a simultaneous global premiere. This was the grandest movie premiere in Hollywood history, with the number of attending guests alone reaching a staggering 5,000!

The 2,000-foot-long red carpet in front of the Dolby Theater was laid out inside a white tent. It was magnificent, resembling outer space. Overhead was a dazzling starry sky created by lighting, while dozens of Lightsabers stood imposing and majestic in the center of the red carpet. Flanking the sides were exhibits of statues featuring Stormtroopers, the male and female leads, BB-8, and other characters from the film. Every step offered a new spectacle, leaving everyone utterly dazzled and overwhelmed.

Even before watching the new movie, many guests already felt a deep sense of immersion into the Star Wars universe.

Although Duke and Scarlett had walked the red carpet early on, the true red carpet ceremony had only just begun.

The first to appear on the red carpet were the massive stars of the Star Wars franchise: C3PO and R2-D2. The newly added member for this installment, BB-8, also rolled back and forth along the carpet. The three droids led the charge, setting off a minor climax of excitement at the scene.

The stars who made their appearances next also triggered wave after wave of screams.

At this premiere, Han Solo actor Harrison Ford, Princess Leia actress Carrie Fisher, Star Wars 7 leads Daisy Ridley and Daniel Wu, and a host of other new and veteran Star Wars cast members were all assembled.

Numerous stars also came out to show their support, including Steven Spielberg, Francis Coppola, Sofia Coppola, Charlize Theron, Jaime King, and Sofia Vergara. Even the Mayor of Los Angeles attended to help boost the event. The sheer brilliance of the star-studded turnout was truly unprecedented.

Around the red carpet, fans holding up signs begging for tickets formed an unconventional spectacle simply because there were far too many of them.

These people wanted to see Star Wars: The Force Awakens as soon as possible, but having failed to snag tickets during the presales, they had to resort to this oldest method of ticket-seeking to try their luck.

Undoubtedly, the over 120-million-dollar presale figure for Star Wars: The Force Awakens was unique even in a Hollywood packed with blockbusters. It was enough to show the sheer weight of this film, establishing a new record in the North American film market.

On the day ticket sales opened, crazed fans crashed the two major platforms offering advance tickets in Britain—the Odeon and CineWorld websites.

The CineWorld website still had not recovered from it, and its page continued to display, "We are experiencing unusually high traffic volume."

The websites in North America couldn't escape the doom of crashing either. The American movie presale platform Fandango released tickets for Star Wars: The Force Awakens early, and within minutes of the release, the midnight IMAX screenings were swept clean. Fans who tried to purchase presale tickets for the film on the site afterward were redirected straight to the website's maintenance page.

Meanwhile, 90 minutes into the presale event across Australia, midnight IMAX screenings across the entire Australian continent were declared sold out, and the 3:00 AM screenings were over half sold...

The massive explosion in presales was enough to demonstrate the box office appeal of Duke combined with Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Almost all the media believed that this film would go on to set a series of glorious records.

In addition to the red carpet ceremony, and for the sake of promotional needs, Duke also had Lucasfilm organize numerous fan events along this stretch of Hollywood Boulevard. Dispatching dedicated staff to visit and greet the fans camping out in tents in front of the Hollywood Chinese Theater went without saying, but interacting and celebrating with the fans was an even more essential program.

Looking back at 1977 when the original Star Wars film met audiences for the first time, it caused an unprecedented global sensation. Even director George Lucas had not predicted that the movie could achieve such monumental success.

Lucas had even run off to Hawaii for a vacation on the day of its release. It wasn't until he watched the CBS evening news that he realized the film's box office was a complete triumph, attracting massive crowds to form long lines outside major theaters nationwide just to catch a glimpse of the sci-fi film.

Today, that scene had reappeared.

Tonight, a massive crowd of fans gathered at the world-renowned Chinese Theater on Hollywood Boulevard. For Star Wars: The Force Awakens, they didn't hesitate to wait patiently in long lines and had even meticulously dressed up as characters from the film.

The Chinese Theater held quite an important position in the history of Star Wars. In 1977, the very first Star Wars film premiered right here. Even the symbolic characters from the film, such as Darth Vader and R2-D2, had left their handprints in the concrete outside the theater.

For Star Wars fans, the premiere day was also a great time to celebrate joyous occasions. Super Star Wars fans Caroline Ritter and Andrew Porter from Australia flew specifically to America to tie the knot in front of the Dolby Theater's red carpet, becoming the first couple in history to exchange their wedding vows here.

Correspondingly, Duke also became a witness for the newlyweds.

"Congratulations!"

In front of countless camera lenses, Duke gifted the crazed Star Wars couple two Jedi Lightsabers.

"I am honored to attend your wedding tonight," he continued. "Thank you for inviting me and allowing me to bring this surprise to everyone."

A wave of fanatical cheering erupted all around. The voices were too numerous and chaotic to clearly make out what they were saying, but these fervent fans were incredibly eye-catching. Their cosplay outfits were highly varied, turning the front of the Dolby Theater entirely into a runway for the moviegoers.

Besides the star-studded core creative team and the dazzling on-site setup rich with Star Wars elements, the Dolby Theater behind Duke had been specially transformed by the IMAX Company into a custom IMAX Cinema. It took a mere 24 hours to complete several crucial stages of work, including the theater's construction, structural securing, screen hanging, and calibration. The IMAX Company provided adequate technical guarantees to ensure the debut of Star Wars: The Force Awakens was sufficiently breathtaking.

Following the lengthy red carpet ceremony came the routine program of a Hollywood premiere. Duke and the rest of the main cast and crew accepted interviews from the on-site media. Afterward, sticking to the prearranged plan, Duke had someone bring George Lucas, Daisy Ridley, and Daniel Wu over.

The most special segment of the entire premiere was undoubtedly the event about to take place next.

All the reporters watched Duke, George Lucas, Daisy Ridley, and Daniel Wu with close attention, and every camera and video lens was locked tightly onto them.

The four of them walked over to a circular console situated in front of the Dolby Theater's steps. The surrounding staff, having rehearsed this long in advance, shouted together.

"10, 9..."

The other fans didn't know what was happening, but they had a strong sense of cooperation and followed along.

"8, 7..." they shouted.

The sound immediately spread outward. Everyone gathered on Hollywood Boulevard shouted in the exact same rhythm.

"6, 5..."

The roaring voices shook the heavens. It seemed as if, at this moment, the entire City of Angels held only this single sound.

"4, 3, 2, 1!"

As the fans' countdown finished, Duke, George Lucas, Daisy Ridley, and Daniel Wu triggered the ignition device. Two laser rigs placed in front of the Dolby Theater activated instantly, sending two dazzling beams of light shooting straight up into the sky. Ultimately, they transformed into the symbol of Star Wars—two giant "Lightsabers." These two Lightsabers, one red and one blue, tore through the night sky of the City of Angels, symbolizing the start of the head-on confrontation between the light and dark sides of the Force in the film!

The war of the Force had erupted once more, and the history of grievances of the Skywalker Family had begun yet another rendition.