Chapter 891: Fierce confrontation

The North American film market in the first week of June was completely detonated by the "speed of life and death". This week’s box office totaled 40% over the same period last year, and the top 12 box office totals soared 97%. This shows how lively the first week of June 1994 was.

"Life and Death Speed" conquered the audience with actual performance, and at the same time proved that the propaganda of 20th Century Fox was correct: this is indeed a high-quality work, and the audience who watched the movie on the premiere weekend quickly put the movie The excellent reputation of the film spread, and the news that the film has also received unanimous praise in the eyes of film critics has attracted countless audiences.

An action movie praised by even film critics, an action movie that even female audiences like, and an action movie that is completely different from today's mainstream. How powerful is it? The box office performance of the tens of millions in the first Wednesday is just the first step. Just how outstanding the box office decline in the second week is is that this is the point!

The so-called box office decline is actually the long-term selling ability of movies. Art movies rely on word of mouth and film reviews, and popcorn movies rely on audiences on special effects and topics. Generally speaking, the normal box office drop of popcorn movies is controlled between 30% and 40%, which is considered to be a good performance, but this cannot be generalized.

For example, after entering the 21st century, those works whose first box office exceeded the 100 million threshold, the next week’s box office decline can be controlled below 60% are very good data; for example, comedy movies and horror movies, because The target group is a specific group, so as long as the decline in the next week can be controlled at about 50%, it is a victory.

The box office decline is linked to the subject matter itself and the box office performance of the first week, and as time progresses, the box office decline in the next week and the third week’s box office decline measures will also change, but overall, it can be The next week’s box office decline is controlled below 30%, which can be regarded as "excellent." This also means that the movie’s long-term selling ability has withstood the test, and the movie’s final box office is a number worth looking forward to.

This is also the reason why major film companies are so sensitive to movie schedules, because the works released next week will have a huge impact on the next week's decline in the works released this week. For example, if the "true lie" is released next week, then It is a victory for the new work released this week to control the next week's decline at 45%.

Therefore, in the calculation of movie schedules, everyone regarded "life and death speed" as a soft persimmon, because "low-cost action movies" are really not attractive at the box office, even if it is starred by Hugo.

But the actual situation is that the performance of "Life and Death Speed" is good enough to make major production companies dig out their eyes. On the one hand, Columbia Pictures is fortunate that the "wolf" does not have to face the competition of "Life and Death Speed", but on the other hand, On the one hand, they began to worry that the "wolf" would start a desperate struggle with the "speed of life" in the next week.

This is the focus of the media’s most attention in the second week of June. When "wolf" meets "speed of life and death", when Jack Nicholson and Michelle Pfeiffer meet Hugo Lancaster, When Mike Nichols faces Hugo Lancaster again, when the 70 million dollar production meets the small cost of 28 million dollars, and most importantly, when the premiere meets the next week What will be the result when it is released?

Originally, the media was unsuspectingly optimistic that "Wolf" would be swept away, and at least a 20 million-level premiere box office could be expected, and everyone believed that after "Life and Death Speed" entered the second week of its release, it was very likely to receive works of the same type." With the violent impact of the "wolf", the box office fell more than 50%, and the box office completely collapsed.

But now, no one dared to make a blunt statement. "Life and Death Hour" had a box office of tens of millions in the first Wednesday. Even if the box office fell by 50%, the box office in the next week would be 15 million. Then whether the "wolf" can generate enough impact is still in accordance with the expectations of the media. The outbreak of a box office of 20 million at the premiere has become a huge question.

But the "New York Post" still put all hope on the "wolf".

Faced with the box office explosion of "Life and Death Hour" in the first week of its release, it is difficult for the "New York Post" to use any negative words to describe it, because the box office is always the most convincing statistic. Black and white are all expressed by numbers. , There is no room for sophistry, and there is no room for defense. This is also the reason why the "New York Post" chose the box office to set up the gambling game, because the results are clear at a glance.

Colin Mailer originally wanted to use the box office to make Hugo speechless and make Hugo's sharp teeth useless, but now it seems to be shooting himself in the foot, facing the "speed of life and death" leader. At the box office of 30 million, they really can't make any effective comments.

Since he could not attack the box office of the premiere of "Life and Death Hour", Colin naturally put all his expectations on the next week's box office decline, that is, he hopes that "Wolf" can complete the attack on "Life and Death Hour", although this seems a daunting Task, but it is not impossible to complete.

Therefore, the "New York Post" wrote a special review to praise "Wolf". From investment to casting, from script to production, he praised it severely, and thought that "Wolf"'s premiere box office was very good. It is possible to achieve an outstanding level of more than 25 million!

If the "Wolf" premiere box office performed well, then the corresponding box office of "life and death" will naturally lead to an avalanche decline. According to the "New York Post", the drop of "Life and Death Hour" is likely to exceed 60% in the next week. This is a possible decline for a commercial action movie, and once the "Life and Death Hour" declines more than Sixty percent means that the hope of 100 million box office is completely shattered.

Therefore, the "New York Post" pinned all its hopes on the powerful sniper of the "wolf".

Although everyone knows what the "New York Post" article really means, the media did not refute it because they are also very much looking forward to the outcome of the frontal confrontation between "Life and Death" and "Wolf". Box office gambling? This is the focus of everyone's curiosity, and the media itself is no exception.

More interestingly, there is also a highly anticipated comedy that premiered in the second week of June, "City Hillbilly 2 (.:the.legend.of.curly’s..

"Urban Hillbilly (. is a work released in the summer of 1991. It is starring Billy Christo. The investment of 27 million was finally exchanged for a box office of 124 million U.S. dollars. It is very famous. A masterpiece of comedy, and this work also won Jack Palance (.) the Sixty-fourth Oscar for Best Supporting Actor, the Golden Man, which is a model of fame and fortune that year.

Now, three years later, the sequel "Urban Hillbilly 2" has made its debut, still led by Billy. Although the sequel to the comedy movie may be slightly less powerful at the box office, it is still highly anticipated.

Originally, "Wolf" was set for the second week of June because it believed that "Life and Death Hour" and "Urban Hillbilly 2" could not pose a threat. This was generally regarded as a wise move by Columbia Pictures and even forced the "Life and Death Hour" to advance the schedule. Confrontation with two comedy movies.

But now the situation seems to have changed drastically. How much energy can be released in the second week of "Life and Death Speed" has become the biggest suspense, while "Urban Hillbilly 2" has become an untimely bomb. Under the circumstances, what kind of strength the "wolf" can exert, people have to put a question mark on it.

But it is undeniable that the confrontation between “Life and Death Hour” and “Wolf” also continued the noise of last week into this week, making the North American film market continue to be hot in the second week of June.

On June 8, "Wolf" took the lead. The National Theater held a grand premiere. This fiery premiere called "Beyond the Speed ​​of Life and Death" attracted nearly 2,000 fans, and the scene was even more famous, attracting nearly 70 people. Reporters went to the scene to conduct interviews, and even played Hugo's congratulatory video on the scene, which really surprised the media.

Hugo, who returned to the "Road to Glory" tour after the premiere, unfortunately missed the premiere of "Wolf", but due to Jack Nicholson’s friendship, Hugo personally I recorded a congratulatory video and sent my blessings.

Under such circumstances, "Wolf" has at least caught up with its rival "Life and Death Speed" in terms of the topic, and squeezed "Urban Hillbilly 2" severely. Billy, who attended the premiere, laughed and laughed. "It's a pity that I haven't cooperated with Hugo yet, but I will try to find some opportunities through Nora Efron and Rob Reiner."

Nora and Rob once collaborated with Billy on the classic "When Harry Meets Sally", and they collaborated with Hugo to launch the classic "Night Sleep in Seattle". This kind of friendship really makes people can't help but smile. you.

However, after the premiere of "Wolf", it ushered in a disappointing situation. The media was generally dissatisfied with the work. The New York Times even thought that "this is Nicholson's worst role in history." This has cooled Columbia Pictures' heart by half, and when the premiere weekend ended, Columbia Pictures was completely depressed.

The media review scored 58 points, and the theater scored "b". This kind of evaluation is really unreasonable and the related comments of the two top actors Jack and Michel are also lamenting all the way, and they have not played one plus one at all. The effect of greater than two is even more frightening. Whether as a director or as a producer, Mike Nichols seems to have lost his outstanding ability over the past two decades after entering the nineties.

After 1990, Mike’s current productions have failed to meet expectations, and his collaborating objects include Meryl Streep, Shirley McLean, Harrison Ford, Annette Bening (ante .), Anthony Hopkins, Emma Thompson and other top big names, but the results are still disappointing.

Obviously, "Wolf" cannot be pleased by film critics. It is not on the same level as "Speed ​​of Life and Death" at all, but the reason why reporters think that this week's box office competition is intensifying is because even if the film critics do not buy it, However, the production cast of "Wolf" is still very attractive to the audience. Whether it is Jack or Michel, they are currently the most popular actors in the audience, and their ability to pull the box office of the premiere is still not to be underestimated.

So, what exactly will the "New York Post" expect to achieve? supply. If you like this work, you are welcome to come to Kazakhstan to read it, and vote for recommendations and monthly tickets for the work. Your support is the biggest motivation for me to continue to create! )

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