The Best Actor in the Vase of Meiyu

Chapter 1350 A Small Explosion

March 2004 was later hailed as the "first year of the new summer season," and the spring season in March and April opened up in a chain reaction.

Every spring when flowers bloom, cinemas also take on a new look.

Of course, what comes with this is that the market potential in August, the last month of the summer season, is slowly declining, which once again verifies the law of conservation of energy.

But that’s another story. In March of this year, the groping North American film market did bring some topics and surprises.

On one hand, "Dawn of the Dead" issued a call to fans of the zombie movie subculture, and the remake after many years attempted to awaken the craze for zombie movies.

However, unexpectedly, long-dormant zombie movie enthusiasts have surfaced one after another, and the gradually gathering momentum has brought a small surprise. Although it is a niche culture, it has made Hollywood deeply aware that there is a reason why genre movies can thrive in the video rental market.

Subcultures are subcultures, but zombie movies are still classified as horror movies.

In Hollywood, no one can underestimate the deep and huge audience base of horror movies, and hit horror movies appear every now and then.

Maybe, this time it's "Dawn of the Dead"?
On the other hand, "The Warmth of the Heart" has created a storm in art theaters and independent theaters.

Maybe Charlie Kaufman's appeal as a screenwriter was not enough, but the collaboration between Anson and Kate Winslet successfully brought the film into the public eye.

Especially Anson.

Anson, who quietly changed the general public's stereotype with "The Butterfly Effect" and "Elephant", Anson, who expanded his influence through the Grammy Awards, Anson, who missed the Oscars to focus on filming and shaping his professional image, and Anson, who once again sparked heated discussions with the "Midsummer Midnight" special deluxe edition.

One step, another step.

Over the past three months, topics and discussions surrounding Anson have never cooled down, and have been continuously grabbing the public's attention all the way. All the attention has fallen on the shoulders of "Nuan Nuan Inner Light" like trickles of water flowing into the sea, completely detonating the focus.

And this time, Anson, standing in the spotlight, succeeded again.

The film's excellent reputation spread from audiences to the media, from fanatical fans to professionals, and won countless attention through word of mouth:

Everything is just as Roger Ebert saw it. The three works have taken three steps forward, from quantitative change to qualitative change. The appearance of "Warm Light Inside" is indeed just right.

It is true that Charlie Kaufman's box office performance has always been sluggish; it is true that the marketing of independent art works still faces many challenges, but don't forget that works like "When Harry Met Sally" always have a small group of loyal supporters.

To some extent, they have something in common with supporters of the zombie movie subculture.

Two works, two genres, two market positioning, but they complement each other wonderfully. In different postures, in the early spring season of March when the weather is still cold, they quietly draw the film market's attention away from the Oscar-winning works and back to the newly released works, causing a small wave of movie-watching.

This is a good thing, 100% good thing, an unexpected good thing.

In fact, before the release of "Dawn of the Dead" and "Eternal Love", this year's North American film market had already experienced a blockbuster event that shocked the entire year:

The last week of February was the weekend of the Oscars and also the weekend when the special deluxe edition of "Midsummer Night's Dream" was released. A movie that had endured countless controversies and shocks from its production to its distribution to its promotion had its official premiere.

"The Passion of the Christ." This movie, directed by Mel Gibson, has been in the vortex of controversy since its production stage, and as the movie trailers are released one after another, the controversy surrounding the movie continues to heat up.

reason?

Just look at the movie title.

Mel Gibson's gory depiction of Jesus' betrayal and suffering has sparked an unprecedented culture war in Hollywood.

Although Mayer held an internal preview before the film was released and invited authoritative religious figures to watch it to ensure that the film did not violate doctrine and was faithful to the Bible before daring to release it; the film still dropped a bombshell among religious people, setting off a huge wave of opposition and boycott.

The most serious thing is that in the IMDB system, three months before the movie was released, countless loyal believers said that the work was full of loopholes, and not only asked the film company to ban the screening, but also asked the audience to boycott the movie.

However, controversy is the best fuel.

The darker the redder.

Because of the bloodiness and violence, the film was rated R and is recommended for viewers over the age of seventeen, which also means that the film's market potential is limited; but this still did not stop the film from soaring into fame amid controversy.

The film chose to be released nationwide on Wednesday, and after enduring the test of the market on Wednesday and Thursday, it raked in an incredible $83 million in box office in the first three days of its opening weekend.

amazing! Horrible!
"The Passion of the Christ" swept all R-rated movie box office records with a crushing attitude, and the final box office in the first five days of its premiere was 125 million US dollars.

Purple red.

This level of explosive performance is completely comparable to the sweeping data of "Spider-Man" that detonated the summer movie season two years ago. "The Passion of the Christ" was not even released in the summer movie season, but at the junction of the winter and spring movie seasons, and it still burst out with such energy, completely subverting people's cognition.

Of course, the entire Hollywood knows clearly that this movie cannot be judged according to common sense, and there are too many complicated reasons behind the box office blowout.

Despite this, "The Passion of the Christ" still managed to earn an incredible $370 million in North America and $611 million worldwide, undoubtedly becoming the box office champion of R-rated movies in film history.

Not to mention R-rated movies, it can even occupy a solid place among all movies.

When Dawn of the Dead and Eternal Love were released, The Passion of the Christ had just won the North American weekend box office rankings for three consecutive times, and the heated controversy had not dissipated.

On the contrary, it should be getting worse and worse.

The two films were released against such a backdrop. To some extent, "The Passion of the Christ" has already aroused and warmed up the attention and excitement of the spring market. The crowds rushing into the cinema are a scene that has never been seen in any March in previous years. This is also a positive signal.

Then, the good news came.

On Friday, "Dawn of the Dead" grossed $10.8 million in a single day!
A small explosion!
For "Dawn of the Dead", which cost only 26 million U.S. dollars to produce, such box office performance is a surprise. Especially after the heavy blow of media reviews, the market reaction brought positive signals, and the audience proved their support for zombie movies with practical actions.

The entire crew of "Dawn of the Dead" was filled with jubilation.

Zack Snyder clenched his fist and raised his arm and shouted: Oh yeah! I knew it, I knew it! What a beautiful mind, what Eternal Sunshine, all get out of here, it's all over your face!
(End of this chapter)