"These reporters are really something—actually going to ask Dad what he thinks about The Dark Knight surpassing The Godfather, humph!"
At that time, the Dark Knight publicity had reached Atlanta. Sophia was filming there, so she came to show support and also catch up with Gilbert.
"Really? What did Uncle Coppola say?" Gilbert asked with interest.
Sophia pouted: "Dad ignored them. He thought it was boring."
"Hahaha, makes sense," Gilbert laughed. "I'll go fishing with him when I have time. Although it's not my doing, it still has something to do with me."
"No need," Sophia waved her hand. "Dad doesn't care about these things, but I actually want to ask you for a favor."
"What's that? Do you need investment? Or do you want me to convince an actor to join your movie?"
"Not that," Sophia smiled. "I mean, your future biopic should be directed by me. That's how we'll win an Oscar."
Gilbert rubbed his forehead. "Oh my, Sophia, I'm not at retirement age yet."
Sophia chuckled. "That's true, but I think your experiences are already legendary enough to make a documentary.
I want to include all your girlfriends, especially Scarlett, that petty one."
"What are you two talking about?" Jennifer Connelly came in at that moment.
Gilbert smiled and explained: "Sophia wants to make a biopic of me."
"Really?" Jennifer Connelly's eyes lit up. She quickly grabbed Sophia's arm. "Then I want to act in it. I want to play Sally."
Gilbert asked curiously: "Shouldn't you play yourself? Why Sally?"
Jennifer Connelly gave him a look that said, "You don't understand." "Playing myself is boring. I want to play Sally."
"All right, all right," Sophia winked. "You'll all appear on screen. I won't let any of you off the hook."
This was just a joke among friends. Of course, if Gilbert's biopic were really made in the future, Gilbert felt it should be produced by Sophia.
They had been friends for over ten years. Sophia knew him well and could probably make a decent biopic.
Speaking of which, Nolan also seemed interested in biopics. He especially wanted to make a film about Napoleon. Unfortunately, the previous Napoleon movie Ponzi scheme hadn't long passed.
Hollywood now hated hearing the name of this little French guy, and Nolan couldn't get a chance.
Gilbert also thought making a Napoleon film wasn't a good idea. The letters seemed like a curse—just touching them brought misfortune.
He suggested to Nolan to focus on Oppenheimer instead, recommending that he read the biographical books about Oppenheimer.
However, Nolan was currently busy with District 9 and had no time for biopics.
After winning the North American weekend box office with 182.11 million dollars and the global weekly box office with 337.78 million dollars, The Dark Knight's weekday box office began to decline.
From Monday to Thursday, the film only earned 39.47 million dollars in North America, still a decent result.
The explosive opening-weekend box office was due to strong publicity, with large numbers of fans flooding into theaters. But the heavy viewing experience of The Dark Knight made repeat viewings unlikely.
So Gilbert had already anticipated such a sharp decline in weekday box office.
During the final publicity stop in New York, Gilbert also visited Marvel Comics headquarters. Marvel had now shifted its focus to filmmaking, with comics becoming secondary, serving the films.
Seeing the success of The Dark Knight, Stan Lee couldn't help but suggest that Marvel Studios adopt a style closer to The Dark Knight.
He said: "I believe Hollywood will head toward darker, heavier-themed films. To meet the future market demands, Marvel movies need to adapt."
Marvel executives didn't blindly follow but consulted experts.
In filmmaking, who could rival Gilbert's expertise? All eyes turned to him.
Gilbert first acknowledged Stan Lee's idea: "The success of The Dark Knight is indeed related to its production style.
But we must recognize that watching The Dark Knight often leaves audiences feeling fatigued. This pressure comes from the film itself and is unavoidable.
I think summer audiences still prefer a light, popcorn movie rather than a mentally taxing one.
If all theaters were filled with films like The Dark Knight, I dare say it would never achieve such unprecedented success.
Marvel should maintain its lighter style. Iron Man has proven that Marvel's approach is correct. No need to worry."
Gilbert also assured that he would direct The Avengers 1, safeguarding the most important film in the Marvel Universe.
Many Hollywood companies now attributed The Dark Knight's success solely to its style, completely overlooking the essence of filmmaking.
The real reason for The Dark Knight's success was multi-faceted: style was just one part. There was excellent production delivering a superb viewing experience, outstanding performances by actors, and a brilliant story.
The film was also not lacking in humor, with Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman helping to balance the tone, delivering plenty of witty lines.
Believing that The Dark Knight was entirely heavy, oppressive, and dark meant either the audience was clouded or didn't understand the film.
During the second weekend, The Dark Knight still had no competitors and continued to top the North American and global box office charts. North American box office reached 280.11 million dollars, making it the fastest film to surpass 200 million dollars.
Global box office also grew rapidly, reaching 532.36 million dollars, becoming the fastest film worldwide to exceed 500 million dollars in revenue.
Many media outlets even boldly predicted that The Dark Knight might surpass the box office of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, and even overtake Titanic's record.
But Gilbert said it was impossible: "The Dark Knight is not a film people watch repeatedly. Even if they think it's good, once they've seen it, they won't want to watch it again in theaters.
This is different from The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King and Titanic. Those films accumulated such high box office because fans repeatedly watched them."
When Titanic set its box office record, the girls were a major factor, going to theaters over and over, shedding tears each time.
Many even brought their girlfriends, boyfriends, husbands, lovers, ex-husbands, or friends from sports clubs, all contributing to such a high box office.
More importantly, compared with The Dark Knight, Titanic had a broader audience and a larger market.
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King achieved its 1.8 billion-dollar box office due to its exceptionally high quality combined with the power of the series, prompting book fans and moviegoers to watch repeatedly.
Although it still didn't surpass Titanic, it remained the second highest-grossing single film globally.
In terms of commercial impact, ten Titanic films combined wouldn't equal the influence of one Lord of the Rings series.
So someone asked, "Which film could break Titanic's record?"
Gilbert answered, "There is one—next year."
..
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