"The Dark City" charges forward, continuously creating miracles, marking the strongest opening in film history.
"Murphy Stanton creates a box office legend and a new height for crime action films."
"Darkness shrouds North America as Chris Dane and the Magician conquer the box office charts..."
On the same Monday, other media outlets were also hyping this news. Although "The Dark City" had a massive opening weekend, which couldn't be separated from the increase in ticket prices, the film's weekend audience of over thirty million also set a new North American weekend viewing record.
"What do you think of 'The Dark City'..."
In the rest area of the "Fast & Furious 6" premiere site in Budapest, Dwayne Johnson was discussing the latest North American box office report with Tyrese Gibson. "Does it have a chance to challenge James Cameron's 'Avatar' and 'Titanic'?"
"Hard to say." Tyrese Gibson shook his head slightly, having worked with Murphy before. "But there's a chance."
"I don't think so."
Another voice chimed in from the side. Paul Walker pulled his chair closer and said, "The box office for 'Titanic' and 'Avatar' is just too high. I think apart from James Cameron himself, other directors would find it hard to challenge the records of these two films."
Dwayne Johnson couldn't help but raise his voice slightly. "That's not necessarily true!"
Paul Walker looked unconvinced.
"'The Dark City' has already achieved the best opening box office in history!" Dwayne Johnson seemed very confident in Murphy. "And the film's word-of-mouth is exploding, completely surpassing last year's 'The Avengers' in quality. Its reputation is no worse than 'Titanic' and 'Avatar.' Maybe catching up to 'Avatar' is difficult, but 'Titanic' is still possible."
Tyrese Gibson, like a fence-sitter, said, "Dwayne makes a lot of sense!"
"Sense or not, it's not important," Paul Walker insisted on his viewpoint. "What matters is the actual market performance."
"Market..."
Dwayne Johnson was about to speak when a somewhat domineering voice interrupted, "You guys, shut up!"
They all turned to look, seeing Vin Diesel's bald head and a face as dark as Tyrese Gibson's.
Paul Walker and Tyrese Gibson immediately shut their mouths, while Dwayne Johnson frowned. Since joining the series, he had seen this situation too many times; this bald head was simply a fascist!
Tyrese Gibson pulled Dwayne Johnson's arm slightly and shook his head. Dwayne Johnson turned back, holding back his words.
Vin Diesel seemed to have something to do and left the rest area.
"What a piece of ****!" Dwayne Johnson cursed. "Does he really think he's a big deal?"
Paul Walker snorted disdainfully.
"Just treat him like a piece of ****," Tyrese Gibson seemed to comfort himself. "When you see such ****, it makes you feel sick, so just pretend you don't see it."
Dwayne Johnson and Paul Walker laughed.
Tyrese Gibson looked at where Vin Diesel had disappeared and curiously asked, "Mr. **** usually has a bad temper, but why is he so colored today?"
"It's simple." Dwayne Johnson shrugged. "The movie we're promoting just got a weekend box office that's not even a fraction of 'The Dark City.'"
Paul Walker added, "A significant part of the investment in the film was brought in by Vin Diesel. Now that the box office numbers don't look good, he's definitely under a lot of pressure."
"So that's it!" Tyrese Gibson suddenly realized.
Everyone in the crew basically knew that "Fast & Furious 6" had a second-weekend box office drop of over seventy percent, crushed by "The Dark City," earning only about $22 million over the weekend, nearly setting a record for the highest second-weekend box office drop for a summer blockbuster with a budget over $150 million.
As a producer and one of the investors, Vin Diesel's mood being good would be a miracle.
Paul Walker suddenly said, "This morning, I heard Vin Diesel mumbling something about investing more money in the next film and then challenging Murphy Stanton head-on."
Dwayne Johnson didn't care whether it was true or not, dismissively saying, "What does he think he is, comparing himself to Murphy Stanton? Although I participated in this series, having worked with Murphy, he's the kind of director who can impress you with a casual idea. On set, he's never a bully and always wins people over with his talent. Compared to him, Vin Diesel... hmph!"
Disdainfully snorting a few times, Dwayne Johnson first gave a thumbs up. "If Murphy is this..."
He then flipped his hand, pointing his thumb down. "Vin Diesel isn't even worth this!"
Perhaps having had enough of Vin Diesel's unreasonable behavior over the years in the "Fast & Furious" series, Tyrese Gibson nodded continuously, even knowing that these two were somewhat exaggerating and biased.
While nodding, Tyrese Gibson said, "I've also worked with Murphy and seen how great a director and producer he is. Vin Diesel, in comparison, is nothing."
With "Fast & Furious 6" plummeting in its second weekend, other films released simultaneously didn't fare much better against the behemoth "The Dark City." Apart from these two films, no other film managed to earn over ten million dollars in the North American box office; the market was essentially monopolized by "The Dark City."
Not only in North America, but by Monday evening, Murphy also received a rough overseas box office report from Carla Fess, showing an equally positive trend.
In Australia, with its small population, "The Dark City" opened with an astonishing $15 million; in Brazil, the most important market in Latin America, it easily dominated with over $13 million in just four days; not far from Los Angeles, in Mexico, the film achieved a similar success, earning nearly $19.5 million and topping the weekend box office.
In the European market, a traditional dumping ground for Hollywood movies, the film swept across the continent, topping box office charts in every country it was released.
In its first week, France contributed $21.4 million, Germany $14.2 million, Spain $13.5 million, and Italy over $11 million...
In the UK, it grossed $31 million, making it the second-best opening after "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2."
"The Dark City" was a resounding commercial success globally!
In just one weekend, the film's overseas box office totaled $412 million. Adding the record-breaking North American opening weekend box office, "The Dark City" accumulated over $630 million worldwide!
This was a figure that ninety-nine percent of Hollywood movies, and indeed all movies worldwide, could not achieve in their entire theatrical run.
At the same time, various related products were also selling well. Just the Mercedes concept motorcycle driven by Chris Dane sold nearly ten thousand units in North America alone within three days of its release!
Murphy also received a rough sales report for the related products. In the first week of the film's release, the sales of various related products in North America easily exceeded $100 million.
Additionally, the studio jointly established by 20th Century Fox and Stanton Studios for the film was negotiating related licensing deals with multiple manufacturers. The toy doll licensing alone saw fierce competition among toy giants Mattel, Lego, and Hasbro, with the ten-year license fee already quoted at $30 million!
More negotiations awaited 20th Century Fox and Stanton Studios.
On another front, Murphy and Carla Fess maintained close contact, closely monitoring and participating in the post-release promotional and marketing efforts for "The Dark City."
Having reached his current position, Murphy naturally had more ambitions.
While others might see him as a genius director rarely seen in Hollywood, Murphy knew he had to solidify his reputation and achievements in the remaining time to pave a smoother path for the future.
For a commercially inclined director, the most direct measure is the box office.
Though Murphy wasn't solely focused on box office numbers, understanding the potential severe consequences, he knew that since his films targeted the market and audience, dismissing the box office would be foolish.
From the moment the first day's box office was announced, Murphy set his sights on a true legend—James Cameron!
With the box office and critical acclaim for "The Dark City," he wanted to test whether he could challenge Cameron's two commercial masterpieces, especially "Titanic," which seemed relatively more achievable.
Even if it was extremely difficult, especially since "The Dark City" didn't have a 3D version, putting it at a disadvantage compared to "Avatar."
"No 3D..."
On the plane to Seattle, James Franco looked at Murphy and said, "But we have IMAX."
"IMAX theaters aren't numerous enough." Murphy spread his hands. "There are only about 200 in all of North America. How can that compare to 3D?"
"Who can you blame!" James Franco said mercilessly, "Don't forget, Murphy, you insisted on not using 3D technology!"
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