The shooting incident in front of the TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood profoundly altered the North American movie screening industry. For the new weekend releases, even family-friendly films like "Despicable Me 2" enforced strict policies prohibiting any costumes, helmets, or masks. Movie-related toys like Gru's freeze gun were also banned from the premises.
All potential safety hazards were to be kept outside the theater.
As for "Dark City," which was still showing, security checks became even more stringent. Any attire reminiscent of the magician was strictly prohibited.
The impact of the shooting incident caused a continuous decline in the North American box office for "Dark City."
On the weekday before the weekend, "Dark City" saw its daily box office drop below one million dollars for the first time in twelve weeks of its North American run.
This negative trend naturally extended into the weekend. Despite a slight rebound on Friday, where it grossed over 2.2 million dollars, it still marked a 65% drop compared to the previous Friday. On Saturday, it continued its slow growth, reaching nearly 3 million dollars. By Sunday, it declined again, ending with a gross of 2 million dollars.
Over the weekend, "Dark City" garnered 7.22 million dollars in North America, a 63% drop from the previous weekend, marking the largest single-weekend drop since its release.
Despite this, "Dark City" held the fifth spot in the North American box office, finally surpassing the 700 million dollar mark, totaling 700.368 million dollars. However, it still fell significantly short of "Avatar's" record of over 760 million dollars.
Given the current circumstances, it seemed almost impossible for "Dark City" to surpass "Avatar's" North American box office record due to the fallout from the shooting incident.
These unexpected events were beyond Murphy or any film company's control, as the film industry is always influenced by the social environment.
Fortunately, the negative impact of the shooting was most significant in North America. Overseas markets, except for some parts of Europe, were less affected. "Dark City" maintained a steady performance in most international markets.
"Dark City" expanded to over 120 countries and regions outside North America. After the first weekend of July, it earned another 21.8 million dollars from international markets. Combined with the 7.22 million dollars from North America, the global box office reached 2.19374 billion dollars.
This global box office figure finally placed "Dark City" ahead of "Titanic's" 2.18677 billion dollars, making it the second highest-grossing film globally, just as it was on the North American charts.
However, there was still a considerable gap between "Dark City" and the global box office leader, "Avatar," with its 2.77897 billion dollars. With the North American market hit hard, surpassing "Avatar's" global box office seemed highly unlikely.
Murphy and 20th Century Fox could only hope for a steady long-term box office performance for "Dark City" to have any chance of surpassing "Avatar."
Murphy was aware that if "Dark City" had been filmed in 3D, with 35% of North American screens showing 3D versions and heavy promotion of 3D in overseas markets, it might have had a shot at surpassing "Avatar."
However, there was another possibility to consider: the film's visual style and action design were not suitable for 3D. If they had opted for 3D and widely released 3D versions, the film's reputation could have suffered, making it impossible to achieve stellar box office results.
Even though it was a possibility, Murphy chose not to pursue it. He didn't need to risk his reputation for higher ticket prices, as maintaining the integrity and reputation of the Murphy Stanton brand was more important and harder to achieve. It had taken him over a decade to build it.
Additionally, there was a secondary reason that still held some influence. Murphy had once been a victim of films that weren't suited for 3D but were made into 3D versions to boost ticket prices.
People who watched "Batman v Superman" and "Jason Bourne 5" during that era could relate. The dark visuals of "Batman v Superman" became a mess in 3D.
If that was tolerable, watching "Jason Bourne 5" in 3D was an ordeal, making 3D movies infamous among hardcore fans.
Murphy remembered watching the "Bourne" series for the first time and being blown away by the shaky camera work and bone-crunching sounds. It was comfortable and not dizzying, unlike the handheld camera work in "Mystery of the Floating City," which made him nauseous.
The ability of some directors to create intense shaky cam effects without inducing dizziness was impressive.
When Murphy first entered Hollywood, he considered working on the "Bourne" series. However, the film rights to "The Bourne Identity" had long been acquired by a major Hollywood company, so he had to give up on that idea.
The first three "Bourne" films were classics, representing the best of handheld camera work in commercial cinema. Unfortunately, the later installments were disappointing.
Especially the fifth film, which was a huge letdown.
When the film was released, a college friend who had recommended "The Bourne Identity" called Murphy, sharing an unrelated story about dating a foreign girl. Murphy responded casually.
As they were about to hang up, the friend mentioned watching "Jason Bourne 5."
Murphy immediately warned him not to spoil it. The friend assured him it was a return to form, with the shaky camera work making it thrilling, almost to the point of nausea, with lots of close-ups.
Murphy asked if he watched it in 3D, wondering how he could feel nauseated.
The friend said there was no 3D version, only 2D, and even then, it was intense.
Murphy praised the film and hoped it wouldn't be released in 3D domestically.
The friend assured him it wouldn't, as a 3D version could be dangerous.
But when "Jason Bourne 5" premiered, Murphy found out it was indeed in 3D. No theaters in his city showed a 2D version, and even nearby cities didn't have any 2D screenings.
Murphy couldn't understand the studio's decision. Sure, 3D tickets were more expensive, but did they consider the film's style? Did they watch the 3D conversion?
This decision insulted the director and the audience. While the studio could claim it offered all formats, no theaters were screening the 2D version.
Thus, viewers experienced fatigue, nausea, and headaches from the shaky cam and 3D combination. It wasn't the plot but the visual effects causing discomfort.
3D screens were more prevalent in East Asia than in North America, where only about 35% of screens showed 3D films, and this was declining.
In East Asia, over 70% of screens were 3D, a percentage that was rising annually. Some claimed audiences in smaller cities demanded 3D, but that was underestimating the viewers. Others argued it was to combat piracy, a claim that even those making it didn't believe.
3D technology once ruined Murphy's anticipation for the "Bourne" series.
Therefore, Murphy wouldn't touch 3D for films that weren't suited for it. He wouldn't let a poor 3D version tarnish the brand he spent decades building.
"Dark City's" significant box office decline in North America after the shooting was expected, but unforeseen events always happen.
On Monday afternoon, after reviewing the latest North American and international box office data from 20th Century Fox, Murphy was about to take a walk in the garden when he received a call from Bill Rossi.
"Robert just got news from the police," Bill said urgently. "The magician has struck again!"
_________________________
[Check out my Patreon for +200 additional chapters in all my fanfics! $5 for all!!]
[w w w . p a t r e o n .com / INNIT]
[+50 PowerStones = +1 Chapter] [+5 Reviews = +1 Chapter]