I'm just trying to ride the wave of popularity!

Chapter 265 Box Office!

In 2004, DV and Warner Bros. were in a critical period of transformation.

With the successive successes of "S. Men" and "Nightcrawler," the Hollywood market for superhero movies expanded rapidly, but at the time, mainstream superhero movies still primarily catered to male audiences...

The failure of "Superman 2" led to a lengthy debriefing meeting between executives at Warner Bros. and DV.

After intense discussions, the decision-makers "keenly sensed" the enormous potential of the female market and decided to bet on the "Catwoman" project...

They ambitiously aim to create the first truly female-oriented superhero movie, attempting to seize the initiative in this untapped blue ocean market and grab the biggest slice of the booming superhero craze.
For this movie...

They abandoned their investment in another male-oriented film, "Batman," and abruptly halted director Kieran's ideas for reconstructing the "Batman" trilogy...

On one hand, they felt that "Batman doesn't need an origin story." Paul, president of DV Pictures, and Buster, head of the copyright department, believed that audiences were already familiar with Batman's origins, and that shooting action scenes directly was safer. Meanwhile, Kieran insisted on using an hour to develop the protagonist's growth, which was criticized as too slow…

On the other hand, they felt the film's tone was too dark and that it would put the audience to sleep. From Superman onwards to several successful films, almost all superhero movies have had a bright tone and a wide audience. Warner Bros. executives wanted to replicate this "family-friendly" success and were uneasy about Kieran's proposed "realistic cop movie style."

……

On the evening of September 20, the sky over Los Angeles was overcast and gray.

Amidst the commotion and excitement, Kieran quietly walked out of the premiere of "Catwoman".

Then, I looked up and stared at the overwhelming promotional posters for "Catwoman"...

Thinking back to the Batman: Origins project, which was halted last year, I feel a mix of emotions.

Those camera designs that were criticized by higher-ups as "too dark and too slow" felt like a thorn stuck deep in his heart.

At this moment, he felt conflicted.

He both hoped that "Catwoman," a product of a commercial assembly line, would flop to prove his artistic integrity, and feared that if it did, the entire superhero film market would fall into a more conservative quagmire...

There's a possibility that investment in DV Pictures' superhero projects will be further reduced, ultimately resulting in the Batman: Origins project not achieving the desired effect.

A gust of wind blew by, and Kieran stubbed out his cigarette and looked at another movie in the theater, "The Alliance: The Rise of Spider-Man".

This film is the culprit behind DV Pictures bringing forward the "Catwoman" project.

After hesitating for a while, he paused for a moment...

A few days ago, Kieran initially scoffed at Chinese films like "The Longest Nite"...

When his assistant inserted the pirated disc into the projector, he even sarcastically remarked, "Easterners can only clumsily imitate..."

However, when the scene of Chen Jianfeng tearing apart moral shackles and massacring the parliament building flashed across the screen, his hand holding the cigar suddenly froze. That narrative, which subverted divinity and violently vented humanity, was like a heavy punch to his nerves, which had been numbed by Hollywood's formulaic scripts, allowing him to feel a sliver of creative vitality...

As it turns out, this Chinese film caused a stir in the stagnant Hollywood market. This astonishment indirectly caught the attention of the executives at DV Pictures, and the market's expectations for "The Rise of Spider-Man" were extremely high, with a hint of a potential comeback for rival Marvel Studios!

When DV Pictures realized that Marvel Studios could potentially rise to prominence with this film, they couldn't sit still and ultimately decided to release "Catwoman" ahead of schedule...

After a brief pause!

Kieran watched the screening of "The Black Robe: The Rise of Spider-Man" end.

He saw a group of movie fans coming out...

He heard screams and heated discussions coming from the screening room.

As the audience left the theater, some angrily waved their fists, while others trembled with excitement...

It doesn't seem to be a reaction to simple violent stimulation, but rather a shocking experience of sudden liberation after being bound by rules for a long time.

There seems to be something subversive about the film that excites the audience, leaving them still immersed in the impact of the movie even after the screening.

He stared at the poster and subtitles for "The Black Robe Alliance" in silence for a long time, then suddenly walked towards the entrance of the AMC theater.

"Give me a ticket to 'The Black Robe Alliance'!"

……

About two hours.

Kieran as he walked out of the screening room for "The Black Robe Alliance".

A light rain began to fall outside the cinema, and amidst the noise and excitement of the young people, Kieran seemed utterly out of place.

Of course, contrary to his outward calm, his mind was constantly filled with bloody storms.

The image of Pad Picker being torn apart by the mechanical aunt burned his eyes like a branding iron!

When watching "The Distant Man: Reboot", he felt the roughness, but when watching "Black Robe Alliance", he felt the sincerity brought by the company called [Xuan Shi Entertainment].

While the visuals may not reach the level of Hollywood films, the cinematic language is very meticulous. However, the plot is even more refined...

It continues the madness of "The Distant Man: Reboot," but is even more profound and oppressive, with every frame stimulating his nerves...

Watching the young man's life being controlled on the screen, he vaguely felt a connection between his own soul and that of the screenwriter from China!
His "Batman: Origins" is also in this style!
In the rain.

He looked into the distance!
In the distance, the neon sign for "Catwoman" spread a pinkish-purple halo in the rain, but at this moment it seemed so pale and ridiculous.

Kieran sat on the chair next to him, took a deep breath, and could no longer contain his excitement. He wrote a line in his notebook.

It's not darkness, but lies that tear apart the light!

He recalled the storyboard for "Batman" that Warner Bros. had rejected last year...

Those Gothic compositions that were criticized as "too gloomy" now appear so prescient under the violent deconstruction of "The Black Robe Alliance"!

That's the feeling he's aiming for in Batman: Origins!

and!
This film provided amazing inspiration for the scriptwriting of the sequels to Batman: Origins!
As the taxi drove past the giant Catwoman ad, Kieran finally dialed the producer's number. "I'm going to rewrite the Batman script!"

"I want to make 'Batman'!"

"This is not darkness, but a form of resistance, and a path that no one has ever walked before!"

"It's no exaggeration to say that 'The Black Robe Alliance' will be a groundbreaking film!"

"And this groundbreaking work should have been our 'Batman'!"

To hell with competition!

"I think I should contact that damn Chinese screenwriter who excites me!"

"I want to talk to him about movies!"

"..."

He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down, but he still couldn't control his sudden surge of excitement!
But there was a long silence on the other end of the phone.

What do you think will happen with Catwoman?

"This is utter garbage!"

His bluntness silenced the other party even more!
....................................

night.

It got deeper and deeper.

The pattering rain outside the window shrouded the entire city in a hazy, gray gloom.

[Warman Pictures]

Carl took a sip of his ice-cold cola, but his gaze remained fixed on the distance.

This bottle of cola was sent by Zhou Yang through a third party, who said it contained "magical Chinese magic" and asked him to use his connections to deliver it to every movie theater.

They said this would increase the box office appeal of "The Black Robe Alliance"...

Beneath Zhou Yang's serious expression, Karl, who had always been a materialist and a believer in science, finally came to believe!
I did it too...

Every screening room he could contact had a bottle of "Iced Yang Coca-Cola" on display.

The giant LED screen advertising outside the supermarket in the distance is still blindingly bright.

Anne Desserlie's Catwoman poster gleamed coldly in the rain...

A budget of two hundred million dollars, the aura of an Oscar-winning actress, and an overwhelming publicity campaign...

Despite the cheers that followed the premiere of "The Black Robe Alliance," the sheer volume of publicity surrounding "Catwoman" still left the audience feeling suffocated.

Opening the internet, all sorts of film reviews about "Catwoman" still flood the internet, with endless praise. After scrolling through a few comments, I could only find some praise for "The Black Robe Alliance," but it was quickly drowned out...

Time slipped away little by little amidst the sound of rain.

Sitting in his chair, he watched the rain outside intensify, and his anxiety grew stronger.

He was confident that "The Black Robe Alliance" would not flop.

but……

The betting agreement spread out on the desk was as glaring as a time bomb.

The notarized document mortgaging his Los Angeles villa, the transfer agreement for 5% of Marvel's shares, and the $30 million transfer receipt—every piece of paper reminded him that if "The Black Robe Alliance" failed, he would lose everything…

The logo of Weiman outside the window was blurred in the torrential rain; a siege against Weiman, like these raindrops, was relentlessly washing away...

The phone rang, and he answered it quickly.

But on the other end of the phone was a hesitant feedback from the theater manager regarding film scheduling...

At that moment, he was reminded of the $2 million production and overwhelming publicity campaign of "Catwoman"...

Thinking about it...

He slumped in his chair.

Just then, a clap of thunder sounded outside the window.

A moment later, the office door opened!
Immediately afterwards...

The secretary rushed in!
"The opening weekend box office results are in, sir!"

"How many!"

"$550 million!"

"..."

The secretary's voice startled him. He quickly took the box office data and stared intently at the numbers on it!
After seeing the $550 million figure, he breathed a long sigh of relief!

It didn't flop in the North American market!
How much is "Catwoman"?

"$1350 million!"

(End of this chapter)