At Boston Logan International Airport, Murphy and James Franco, leading their crew, had just exited the terminal when they were immediately surrounded by a throng of media journalists. Hundreds of reporters, nearly frantic, quickly converged, encircling every notable member of the crew.
The tightest circle of reporters formed around Murphy and James Franco.
These reporters didn't care whether Murphy wanted to speak; questions were thrown at him in rapid succession, making the scene incredibly chaotic and nearly impossible to address.
"Director Stanton, 'The Dark City' has set new records for the second weekend box office in North America and the fastest to reach $400 million. How many more records do you think it can break?"
"'The Dark City' has become the second film in North American history to gross over $100 million in its second weekend. Are you happy?"
"Is it true that your next target is the Oscars next year?"
"Do you plan to use this film to compete for the Best Director Oscar?"
With a barrage of questions coming all at once, even if Murphy wanted to respond, it was impossible. He had no choice but to push through the crowd with the help of security and get into the car.
Even as the car started, the reporters refused to leave, blocking the road as if fueled by adrenaline.
Murphy knew why these reporters were so excited, with some even chasing him from New York to Boston. It was all due to the extraordinary weekend that had just passed, where "The Dark City" once again broke records in the North American box office.
Over the weekend, "The Dark City" consistently topped the daily box office. After grossing $44.6 million on Friday, it rebounded on Saturday with $45.2 million, and despite a dip on Sunday, it still earned $36.8 million.
In total, the weekend grossed an astounding $126.6 million, easily outpacing "The Great Gatsby's" $30.2 million. Not only did it retain the top spot at the box office, but it also broke the record for the highest second weekend gross in North American history, previously held by "The Avengers" at $103 million.
Additionally, with an eight-day gross of $400 million, "The Dark City" set a new record for the fastest film to reach that milestone, surpassing "The Avengers," which took 14 days.
Simply put, from its release, this film had been breaking nearly every North American box office record in an unparalleled frenzy.
In just ten days, "The Dark City" had grossed $466.84 million in North America, nearing the $500 million mark. According to CinemaScore predictions, it was set to join the $500 million club by Wednesday or Thursday at the latest.
With such a meteoric box office trajectory, more and more people began to believe that "The Dark City" could challenge "Avatar" and "Titanic" for the top spots on the North American box office chart, potentially breaking James Cameron's monopoly.
This was the primary reason for the media frenzy.
After arriving in Boston, the crew, led by Murphy, didn't head to their hotel but instead went to an IMAX theater near Boston's Central Square for a fan interaction event hosted by IMAX and 20th Century Fox. Similar to their promotions in other cities, Boston's post-release activities included media appearances, fan interactions, and participation in local popular radio and TV programs.
Following the fan event, Murphy and his crew went to the Hilton Hotel in Boston. By then, it was already noon, and an assistant handed Murphy a fax just received from 20th Century Fox, containing the latest overseas box office statistics.
"The Dark City" had a massive opening weekend in North America, influencing many countries and regions. In today's global film market, any film that performs exceptionally well in North America typically also does well in other regions.
Last week, the film expanded its release to over ninety countries and regions, and in countries where it had already been showing, like Brazil, Mexico, Australia, the UK, France, and Germany, it remained the box office champion. In over thirty new markets, it took the top spot without exception.
In this week alone, "The Dark City" grossed $372.6 million overseas.
Adding the North American gross of $126.6 million, the global total reached a staggering $1.1028 billion!
Both North American and international mainstream media unanimously agreed that the film had a strong chance of reaching $2 billion globally.
However, not all news was good. 20th Century Fox informed Carla Faith that "The Dark City" was still struggling to pass the censorship in the Far East.
Five years ago, 20th Century Fox might not have cared much, as even a blockbuster could only bring in a few tens of millions in ticket sales from that market, with Hollywood only getting about 13% of the revenue, which meant relatively thin profits.
But a recent round of WTO negotiations between China and the U.S. had changed things. The quota for revenue-sharing films imported into China increased to 34, and the revenue share for Hollywood doubled to 25%.
Unlike other international markets, this 25% share was after deducting promotional and distribution costs and taxes, meaning it was mostly profit.
This new agreement significantly increased Hollywood's interest in the Chinese market, prompting them to push for their biggest commercial films to enter it.
Without passing censorship, Murphy had no solutions. Cutting the film to pieces to appease censors wasn't an option.
Such matters had to be dealt with by 20th Century Fox through proper channels, as censorship standards were flexible and not fixed.
Murphy focused on the North American promotion of the film and didn't let these issues distract him.
Meanwhile, Gal Gadot led the crew to Australia, beginning their promotional tour in the Far East.
"This is a magical country," Margot Robbie said, sitting opposite Gal Gadot on a flight from Brisbane to Sydney. "Wild animals are rampant. We should go hunting!"
Gal Gadot shrugged. "This time? No, our schedule is too tight."
"We could sneak out," Margot Robbie suggested enticingly. "Just the two of us, a day out on my family's farm hunting! You know, this is the time when the Australian government allows kangaroo culling, and with the right permit, we can hunt kangaroos."
She added smugly, "My family's farm has that permit."
Hearing this, Gal Gadot was quite surprised. "Aren't kangaroos a symbol of Australia? They're even on the national emblem. The government allows hunting?"
"Of course! It's true, you can ask David," Margot Robbie explained. "Many experts believe that an overpopulation of kangaroos disrupts the ecological balance."
She whispered, "Kangaroos in Australia have no natural predators. Though Australia once had apex predators like the Tasmanian tiger, overhunting has made them extinct. Then, colonizers eliminated predators like dingoes. Now, the grasslands are like a vast, plentiful pantry, with lots of grass and water but few predators for kangaroos, except for cars."
"Forget it," Gal Gadot shook her head. "Maybe another time."
After meeting Murphy, she wasn't as strict a vegetarian as she used to be but still had reservations about hunting.
Margot Robbie feigned a complaint, "You're just like Murphy, always thinking about work."
The continuous work was exhausting her, and she wanted to relax. Given the film's rave reviews, the media was enthusiastically covering everything related to "The Dark City," sometimes making her feel embarrassed by the excessive praise.
When they were in France, French media lauded "The Dark City" as the most successful Hollywood film and Murphy as the most successful young Hollywood director, claiming his film made other similar movies look foolish and childish.
British media considered "The Dark City" an ambitious epic masterpiece.
Even Australian media didn't lag behind their European counterparts, praising the film's strength and captivating power, stating it had completely conquered the audience, with Murphy Stanton hailed as a brilliant genius director.
Margot Robbie agreed with the praise to an extent but found it slightly over the top.
The plane soon landed in Sydney. On the way to the hotel, Margot Robbie shared a car with Gal Gadot and immediately raised the divider in the nanny van, separating the front and back compartments.
"You're really not interested in hunting?" Margot Robbie asked again.
Gal Gadot shook her head. "Not at all."
"Sweetheart..." Margot Robbie leaned closer, whispering in Gadot's ear, "I think you're just used to being the prey, so you don't like being the hunter."
"What?" Gal Gadot looked at her, "What joke are you making now?"
Margot Robbie stared at Gal Gadot. "Isn't it true? You've always been Murphy's prey, letting him hunt you as he pleases, and you've forgotten how to be a hunter."
Gal Gadot instantly understood her meaning and rolled her eyes. She didn't mind discussing this with Margot Robbie, as they had talked about it many times before.
"Do you think someone like Murphy..." She shrugged. "Would be my prey?"
Margot Robbie didn't answer, instead saying, "You can find a suitable prey for yourself!"
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