Best Director in Literature Department of Huayu

Chapter 114 Box Office Results Announced; A Legend Born at the End of June

Just after midnight, reports of the premiere flooded the internet:

Chinese director and Oscar-winning actress return to China for premiere!

Meryl Streep is one of the most stubborn directors I've ever worked with.

Lin Ruiyang responds to future plans at the premiere of "Going Home Never Requires a Visa"

"The Devil Wears Prada" Ignites Beijing Premiere

News articles appeared on the homepage almost simultaneously, and audience comments also began to be published.

"I just watched the premiere, and all I can say is that this film is completely different from the fashion movie I imagined."

"I was originally going for Anne, but Meryl went on a killing spree."

"I felt a chill run down my spine when the female demon appeared."

"That costume-changing scene was outrageous! When will China be able to produce urban dramas like this?"

"I recommend all recent female graduates watch this."

"Who says fashion movies are only about clothes? This film is about growing up."

At 1 a.m., an in-depth entertainment commentary issued by Xinhua News Agency further ignited the fire at an industry level: "In the past, we always regarded Hollywood as an insurmountable industrial mountain and domestic modern dramas as a synonym for being rustic. But tonight, Lin Ruiyang deconstructed the Western world of luxury and fame from his perspective."

This is not only a victory for a commercial film, but also the beginning of a new generation of Chinese filmmakers viewing the world on equal footing and mastering top international industry standards.

In the printing plants of major newspapers, huge machines roared, and the smell of ink filled the air as newspapers like the *Yanjing Evening News* and *Xinbao*...

Southern Metropolis Daily and other newspapers revised their headlines overnight, preparing to deliver the aftershocks of this visual feast to breakfast tables in thousands of households within hours.

While the outside world was discussing it enthusiastically, Lin Ruiyang didn't have much time to pay attention to it.

That evening, after the premiere, the film crew had a simple late-night snack together, arranged by China Film Group.

At 2 a.m., the dinner party ended, and the crew went straight back to the hotel to wash up and rest.

In the following period, Fox's meticulously crafted global marketing network, like a steel monster running at full speed, carried Lin Ruiyang and the creative team at breakneck speed over the European continent.

The drizzling rain in Leicester Square, London, and the fashionable luxury of the Champs-Élysées in Paris, in Lin Ruiyang's eyes, were ultimately condensed into the dense flashing lights on both sides of the red carpet and the discerning yet irrepressibly amazed gazes of European film critics.

During this period, the British magazine Empire even gave this fashionable popcorn movie a four-star rating for the first time, calling it "the most concise and sophisticated urban symphony in the last five years in terms of audiovisual language, and the one that best understands the consumption psychology of the middle class."

After a whirlwind tour of Europe, the crew returned to the United States late at night on June 29, battling jet lag.

However, just as the crew boarded their flight to Europe, the spotlight in the North American market was focused on another film, "Superman Returns".

As Warner Bros.' annual superhero blockbuster, costing over $200 million, this film was considered one of the most important works of the 2006 summer season from the very beginning of its development.

The film premiered in North American theaters two days earlier, on Wednesday, June 28.

Warner Bros.' original plan was to use Wednesday and Thursday to lock in the box office and use their unparalleled Kryptonian superpowers to sweep up the entire box office at the end of June.

But the allure of the film market lies precisely in the fact that those high-ranking Hollywood studio executives can never fully grasp the psychology of the audience with cold, hard money.

The New York Times: "Warner Bros. expected Superman Returns to replicate the success of Spider-Man and Batman Begins, but so far the market response has not met the most optimistic expectations."

The Los Angeles Times: "Industry insiders had predicted that 'Superman Returns' could hit the $150 million mark in its opening weekend, but now that goal seems virtually impossible."

On June 30th, The Hollywood Reporter ran a scathing industry commentary on its front page: "With a massive $270 million budget, Warner Bros. thought they had a Kryptonian savior for the summer box office, but director Bryan Singer has clearly played a huge joke on the market. From its opening Wednesday, June 28th, to late Thursday night, June 29th, this blockbuster, carrying the hopes of the entire nation, only grossed $32 million in 4065 theaters across the US over two days."

While this number sounds enormous, for a mega-production film with marketing and distribution costs approaching $350 million, Warner Bros. originally expected a two-day clearance sale box office of at least $45 million to $50 million.

The current results are far below expectations, and even seem somewhat mediocre. Superman hasn't crushed his enemies on screen; instead, the dull storyline is threatening to erode his dominance.

Following this, Variety's chief film critic also delivered a scathing critique in his column: "Bryan Singer made a hugely expensive, melancholic epic, indulging in having Superman stalk his ex-girlfriend like a stalker through a window, forgetting to give young people who bought tickets a thrilling, epic battle in the popcorn-filled summer. On Thursday night, single-screen revenue in major cities saw a significant drop."

If Warner Bros. fails to stabilize its core audience over the next weekend, the Kryptonian giant will face its most devastating fall of the summer.

But after "The Devil Wears Prada" opened simultaneously in more than 3,000 theaters across North America in the early hours of the morning, a peculiar scene unfolded on Friday noon that left countless theater managers speechless.

In the cinema lobby, the flowing crowd was clearly torn into two distinct halves.

On the left side of the line were mostly traditional sci-fi nerds wearing T-shirts who came for "Superman Returns"; while on the right side, the ticket window was packed with groups of urban white-collar workers, young female college students, and fashion professionals.

Even in several mainstream cinemas near Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, New York, the long lines at the ticket counters for "The Queen" stretched from the lobby to the corner of the street, subtly pushing the audience for "Superman" into a corner.

When North American audiences sat in dark theaters and watched Anne Hathaway on the big screen seamlessly change outfits across Manhattan in a 90-second sequence to Madonna's Vogue theme, accompanied by streetlights, passing yellow taxis, and moving pedestrians, the atmosphere in the theater instantly reached a climax.

It was a completely different kind of audiovisual experience from previous Hollywood popcorn blockbusters, and the clean and efficient narrative was like a powerful adrenaline shot to the North American audience, who were feeling drowsy after Bryan Singer's two-and-a-half-hour "Melancholy Superman."

"My God, did this really come from that Chinese director?" an audience member exclaimed in the theater.

On early film review websites such as Yahoo Entertainment and Rotten Tomatoes, The Devil Wears Prada's audience score soared to a staggering 92%, and CinemaScore's audience rating directly awarded it an "A," representing extremely high entertainment value!

Just as the positive reviews from North American audiences continued to grow, the official box office statistics for the first day were released in the early hours of July 1st.

The Hollywood Reporter immediately updated its front-page headline: "Fox's biggest summer surprise has arrived."

"The Devil Wears Prada, directed by Chinese director Lin Ruiyang and starring Meryl Streep and Anne Hathaway, grossed $1060 million on its opening day."

This result not only significantly exceeded Fox's previous internal forecast of around $800 million, but also created one of the best opening weekend performances for a female-themed film in recent years.

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The news sent shockwaves through Hollywood.

While $10.6 million may seem insignificant compared to a superhero movie, it's quite impressive for a stylish comedy with a budget of just over $30 million.

Especially considering that it broke through when the industry as a whole was not optimistic about it.

Variety magazine subsequently published a commentary: "When everyone thought the summer blockbuster season belonged to superheroes, a group of women dressed in Prada gave the market a different answer."

The Los Angeles Times: "As of June 30, Superman Returns had grossed approximately $52 million in its first three days of release."

"The numbers are still impressive, but considering its massive $2.7 million production cost and Warner Bros.' initial expectation of a $1.5 million opening weekend, this performance still seems somewhat undomineering. In contrast, 'The Devil Wears Prada' is generating a much higher return on investment with a budget that is far less than one-tenth of its competitors."

The New York Post: "Superman flew in the sky for three days, but Miranda Priestley stole all the headlines in just one day."

What surprised theaters the most was the audience demographics. According to data released by the North American Alliance of Theatre Registries, women made up more than 60% of the audience for "The Devil Wears Prada".

However, the proportion of male viewers was also much higher than expected, and the proportion of couples watching the movie was one of the highest that day.

This unusual audience composition directly triggered a chain reaction in the stock market the following Saturday.

Many male viewers who were originally wary of fashion-related topics went to the cinema after being bombarded with positive reviews on social media and being strongly urged by their girlfriends.

Variety magazine exclaimed in its Sunday morning column: "Miranda's fashionable high heels are ruthlessly crushing the Kryptonians' superpowers."

On July 1st, "The Devil Wears Prada" not only didn't see a drop in its North American daily box office, but actually bucked the trend with a surge thanks to its stellar critical reception, raking in another $13.2 million! Meanwhile, "Superman Returns," dragged down by its dull dialogue, saw a drop of over 12% on Saturday, showing signs of fatigue.

到了7月2日周日深夜，北美票房权威统计机构Bo，OfficeMojo将最终的周末三天（6月30日—7月2日）準确数据汇总并发送到各大製片厂高层的邮箱时，整个好莱坞彻底失声了。

The Hollywood Reporter: "A myth was born at the end of June! 'The Devil Wears Prada' raked in a whopping $3450 million in its first three days in North America."

$10,000! A staggering $12118 per screen! Not only did it secure second place at the weekend box office, but it also achieved the most terrifying single-screen revenue generation efficiency of this summer's 3,000 theaters.

The New York Times: "In contrast, Warner Bros.' 'Superman Returns' only grossed $5250 million over the three-day weekend."

As July 3rd arrived, regions around the world that were simultaneously releasing the film had all compiled their data.

With a $3450 million opening weekend in North America, plus a strong opening weekend in Europe and Asia, "The Devil Wears Prada" easily surpassed the $6800 million mark in its global opening weekend!