Huayu: Starting from joining the mainstream entertainment industry in 96

Chapter 456, Section 454: Global Opening Weekend Box Office

Monday, August 2002, 12.

Even before the chill of early morning had dissipated, long queues had already formed in front of newsstands in major cities across China.

The dizzying string of numbers on the front page seemed to carry a scorching heat, burning the gaze of every observer.

The China Film News announced this with a rare full-page headline:

"Night at the Museum" raked in $1.32 million worldwide in its opening week! Eastern fantasy conquers the world!

The subtitle further details: "Mainland China's opening weekend box office (December 12.13-12.19): RMB 9988 million; North America's opening weekend: USD 3612 million; topped the charts in multiple Asian regions; strong performance in the European market!"

This set of figures, meticulously compiled and authorized for release by Shengying Media's public relations department, has officially landed in the Chinese public opinion arena like a cultural hurricane sweeping the globe.

The reports on the mainland market are the most detailed.

The front page of the Beijing Youth Daily clearly listed the detailed performance of "Night at the Museum" in its first week in the form of data charts: from 1329 million on the first day, to a peak of 1985 million on Saturday, and a steady 1670 million on Sunday. In the following four weekdays, the afternoon prime time slots were completely sold out, and the total performance in the first week was locked at 9988 million RMB.

The article emphasizes that this achievement not only broke the record for the highest-grossing opening week for a domestic film, previously held by "Shaolin Soccer," but its highest single-day performance even surpassed the single-day record set by "Titanic" in 1998.

"This means," an excited commentator from China Entertainment Weekly wrote, "that our domestically produced films, in response to the enthusiastic market response, now have the confidence to compete with Hollywood's historic blockbusters! This is not just a victory at the box office, but a victory of confidence and expectation!"

On the Maoyan movie platform, discussions about whether it can surpass "Titanic" have become incredibly popular. The platform even temporarily added a "box office prediction" voting function, with more than 80% of participants casting the "optimistic" or "inevitable" options.

……

Hong Kong Island and Okinawa, which are adjacent to the mainland, received an even more enthusiastic response to "Night at the Museum".

The entertainment section of Oriental Daily News ran a headline, "Jackie Chan's fantasy comedy sweeps Hong Kong, grossing HK$3682 million in its opening week!" reporting on the film's success in Hong Kong, where it easily topped the weekly charts, outperforming several Hollywood blockbusters and "Infernal Affairs."

The report specifically mentioned that the film's rich Chinese cultural elements and Jackie Chan's signature action-comedy style evoked a strong sense of cultural affinity and identification among Hong Kong audiences.

……

In Oklahoma, the Australian Chinese Daily reported that the film achieved an astonishing opening weekend gross of over 300 million yuan, despite the limited number of theaters, with both average attendance and occupancy rates setting new annual records.

……

The performance in the North American market is undoubtedly the most significant part of this global success story.

GlobeScreen cited official data from New Line Cinema and data from Exhibitor Relations, a leading North American box office statistics agency, and reported on its front page: "Night at the Museum opened in 2050 theaters in North America and grossed $2415 million in its opening weekend, bringing its total box office to $3612 million in its first seven days!"

The article provides a detailed analysis of the significance of this achievement: in the fiercely competitive Christmas season, *Night at the Museum* achieved a box office comeback thanks to its unique fantasy setting, family-friendly appeal, and precise positioning as a "pure Jackie Chan action comedy." Its per-museum box office reached an astonishing $1.76, far exceeding market expectations.

"Jackie Chan is Back, and How!"—The Hollywood Reporter's headline was full of exclamation.

The article points out that after the box office failure of "The Tuxedo," many industry insiders doubted Jackie Chan's appeal in North America.

The success of "Night at the Museum" not only heralded Jackie Chan's triumphant return, but also proved the enormous energy that could be unleashed when he combined with an excellent local creative team (referring to Wang Sheng and Shengying Media).

Film critics have also changed their critical tone towards "The Tuxedo".

Roger Ebert, a well-known film critic for the Chicago Sun-Times, praised the film as "full of delightful imagination and genuine humor," and believed that "it presents the charm of Eastern civilization in a way that can be understood and enjoyed by a global audience, and is a successful cultural grafting."

...In the East Asian and Southeast Asian markets, Night at the Museum also achieved phenomenal success.

According to a report by the Japanese newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun, "Wang Sheng's fantasy epic 'Night at the Museum' made a strong debut in my country this weekend, taking in 12.3 billion yen at the box office and topping the weekly charts!"

The report noted that the anthropomorphic treatment of historical artifacts and the heartwarming core of family emotions in the film deeply moved Japanese audiences, especially attracting a large number of families and young women.

In South Korea, the Chosun Ilbo reported on the film's impressive performance, with over 150 million viewers and 115 billion won in box office revenue in its opening week, under the headline "A Sino-Korean co-production? No, this is a victory for pure Chinese fantasy!"

Chinese-language newspapers in Singapore and Malaysia, such as Lianhe Zaobao and Sin Chew Daily, reported on the film's record-breaking opening weekend for a Chinese-language film in their respective countries, stating that it sparked a "family movie-going frenzy unseen for many years."

……

In the European market, despite facing stronger cultural differences and fierce competition from local films, "Night at the Museum" still achieved a solid start.

In the UK, it opened in over 500 cinemas and grossed £580 million in its opening week; in France, it opened in 350 cinemas and grossed €420 million; and in Germany, it opened in 400 cinemas and grossed €510 million.

Although it failed to top the local weekly charts, it still made it into the top three at the box office that week, and feedback from cinemas showed that its occupancy rate steadily increased in the second half of the week, demonstrating strong long-term potential.

Furthermore, through New Line Cinema (Warner Bros.)' global distribution channels, the film was simultaneously released in Australia, New Zealand, parts of Latin America, and the Middle East, achieving better-than-expected opening results. Preliminary estimates suggest that, excluding major markets in mainland China, North America, and East Asia, the film's total opening weekend box office in other regions exceeded $1000 million.

……

With the effective operation of Shengying Media's public relations department and the strong support of global box office data, the Chinese media in mainland China and overseas Chinese-language media have almost unanimously praised the company.

The Guangming Daily published a signed commentary in its international culture section entitled "Looking at a New Path of Cultural Export from the Global Popularity of 'Night at the Museum'", which pointed out that: "The success of 'Night at the Museum' marks the establishment of a new model of cultural export. It is no longer a simple imitation or pandering to Western aesthetics and narrative modes, but rather a creative transformation and innovative expression based on its own rich cultural resources and using internationally accepted film language."

This reflects a confident attitude of 'being self-reliant yet inclusive,' and its global box office success proves that truly excellent works rooted in one's own culture can transcend geographical and cultural boundaries and win the widespread acclaim of audiences worldwide.

Southern Weekly, in an article titled "Industry Insights Behind $1.32 Million," provided an in-depth analysis of the global competitiveness of the "Shengying Model": "From the initial foray into 'Shaolin Soccer' to the full-blown success of 'Night at the Museum,' Shengying Media has demonstrated a clear path: precise genre positioning + profound cultural core + top-notch industrialized production + strong global distribution capabilities."

This $1.32 million is not merely a box office success, but a groundbreaking and milestone victory for the Chinese film industry in the global market, achieved after years of honing its skills. It signifies that Chinese cinema has officially acquired the strength to compete in top-tier global commercial markets.

……

In the streets and alleys, in teahouses and restaurants, the global box office success has become a hot topic of conversation among ordinary people.

"About twenty million US dollars a day? That's a lot of money!" A taxi driver in Beijing exclaimed in astonishment as he listened to the news on the radio. "Chinese movies can actually be this successful abroad? That's really something!"

On university BBS forums, the film-related sections were flooded with posts about the global box office data for "The Museum." Students excitedly calculated exchange rates and compared box office figures from different countries, their national pride evident in their expressions.

"This wave of cultural export is a sure thing!" one highly-rated comment read.

Industry peers, while shocked, fell into deeper reflection.

Some private film company owners, while envying the astonishing box office figures, urgently assembled their teams to study the replicability of the "Shengying Model".

"Standardization, industrialization, and globalization seem to be the inevitable trend," a boss remarked at an internal meeting.

Some industry insiders who once criticized the aggressive expansion of the "Shengying Group" or still adhered to traditional creative thinking have had to re-examine their positions in the face of this set of data endorsed by the global market.

"There's no way to refute it," a veteran filmmaker admitted in a private conversation. "The data speaks for itself; the market has given the most direct answer. Wang Sheng's path, at least at this stage, has proven to be effective. If we continue to cling to old ideas, we'll probably fall behind."

(End of this chapter)