Gilbert had long anticipated Avatar's midnight box-office performance.
In his discussions with James Cameron, he also believed that the film would not see any explosive surge in its opening weekend. As long as it surpassed 70 million dollars, it would already count as a success.
In fact, over the past several years, the highest-grossing original films in Hollywood were basically all directed by Gilbert, with total box-office revenues generally ranging between 500 and 700 million dollars.
However, for a film with such an enormous investment as Avatar, that level of box office was unacceptable.
On December 18, Avatar officially opened in 3,452 theaters across North America, earning 26.75 million dollars on its first day.
On the 19th and 20th, it earned 25.52 million dollars and 24.88 million dollars respectively, bringing the opening weekend total to 77.15 million dollars.
For an ordinary commercial film, this opening weekend performance would be called outstanding. But for Avatar, especially considering its massive investment, this box-office result was considered a flop.
At this moment, two groups of people popped champagne: James Cameron and Gilbert, and Sky Dance Studios' David Ellison and Mel Gibson.
The reason David Ellison and Mel Gibson celebrated was simple. According to the logic of typical commercial films, the opening weekend accounts for a large proportion of the total box office.
Some films even have their opening weekend account for one-third of their total North American box office. It can be said that the opening weekend determines success or failure.
What they did not expect, however, was that Avatar could not be judged by the standards of ordinary commercial films.
By Monday, a regular working day, most commercial films would see their box office drop by more than fifty percent, or even sixty percent.
But Avatar was unusually resilient, dropping only about thirty-three percent and still raking in 16.38 million dollars in a single day.
If that still proved nothing, then when Avatar consecutively earned 16.08 million and 16.45 million dollars over the following two days, David Ellison and Mel Gibson gradually realized that something was wrong.
This was another Titanic-style film—one that might not have extremely high daily box-office numbers, but maintained a consistently stable curve.
By Thursday, it finally dropped by about thirty-two percent, earning 11.15 million dollars in a single day. Over four weekdays, it amassed a staggering 60.06 million dollars.
Then came December 25, the traditional Christmas holiday. Avatar's single-day box office surged by more than one hundred and seven percent, bringing in 23.09 million dollars.
After that, with its super-stable performance, the film raked in 75.09 million dollars over its second weekend, pushing its North American box office past the 200 million mark, reaching 212.30 million dollars.
Only at this point did those who had been pessimistic about Avatar realize something was wrong—Avatar was on a path to godhood.
And this was not the end. As Avatar began its overseas release journey, it started to trigger a box-office storm around the world.
Just like in the North American market, although Avatar did not explode right out of the gate overseas, its daily box-office curve was so stable that it felt terrifying, even creating the illusion that the world itself was fake.
Such an incredibly stable box-office performance inevitably made people marvel at whether James Cameron had some kind of magic.
He was practically a god—something only a god could accomplish.
Yet when faced with the praise showered upon him by the media and fans, James Cameron was unusually restrained, lacking his usual arrogance.
He said, "The success of this film is not my achievement alone. Behind it are countless people who worked tirelessly for this project.
I especially want to thank Gilbert. When I proposed this project, he supported me without hesitation, giving me the confidence and motivation to create Avatar."
When reporters tried to find Gilbert, however, they discovered that he had already announced the completion of filming for Inception and was busy with the film's post-production.
Although Inception was also an original science-fiction film, unlike Avatar, it had Leonardo DiCaprio, a true superstar.
Ellen Page, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Tom Hardy, Simon Pegg, and others were also rising Hollywood stars and golden supporting actors.
Gilbert's original films always managed to bring in major stars. The False featured the century-defining collaboration of the two Toms, along with Best Actress Charlize Theron, veteran Best Actor Dustin Hoffman, and a host of golden supporting roles.
The Last of Us saw another collaboration with Tom Cruise, while Knives Out once again brought in Tom Cruise, as well as Mark Wahlberg, Clint Eastwood, Meryl Streep, Jessica Alba, and others.
Each film featured a dazzling, star-studded lineup packed with highlights, and Inception was no exception.
After completing the promotion for Avatar, James Cameron also visited Melon Studio to see the post-production work Gilbert was doing on this film.
After viewing part of the footage, James Cameron said with some regret, "I think this film would be very suitable to be made into a 3D movie."
Gilbert, however, said, "Whether it's suitable or not depends on the nature of the film. At present, 3D effects are far from being a fundamental change to the film industry.
People are just shocked because they're seeing such astonishing effects for the first time."
He then asked James Cameron, "Now that the film is a success, are you going to strike while the iron is hot and continue with a sequel?"
James Cameron shook his head. "No, I plan to rest for a while and go on some adventures. I've heard that many places in China are very fun—maybe you can recommend a few."
"Go to Zhangjiajie, the real-life floating mountains. Jiuzhaigou is also great. You can also climb Yulong Snow Mountain, if you don't mind the exhaustion," Gilbert suggested.
James Cameron began his vacation life, and Guo Fan, who had already completed the post-production of Source Code, finally awaited his own major trial amid tense anticipation.
Gilbert watched the film in the internal screening room. There were still some differences compared to what he had seen in his previous life—after all, the director had changed—but overall, the quality was still outstanding.
Guo Fan looked at Gilbert nervously, waiting for his evaluation.
"The film's quality is quite good," Gilbert said with clear satisfaction. "You didn't disappoint me. It seems your learning has been very effective."
"Thank you, Teacher," Guo Fan now also changed the way he addressed him.
"You're welcome," Gilbert said. "The studio will discuss the specific release date with Disney. My opinion alone doesn't count—it has to be judged by the market."
"Of course."
Guo Fan let out a sigh of relief. Being able to hear even a single positive evaluation from Gilbert was already an extremely rare thing.
So many people in Hollywood dreamed day and night of opportunities like this, yet he had obtained it so easily—it was enough to make others jealous, envious, and hateful!
Soon, news came from Disney's side: Source Code was scheduled for release on March 12.
By coincidence, the Matt Damon–starring Action/War Green Zone was also set to be released in the same time slot.
With two films crowding the schedule—one starring Matt Damon, and the other written and produced by Gilbert—the pressure was immense.
This directly scared the comedy Our Family Wedding into withdrawing from the slot and moving to another date.
Meanwhile, Inception, which was still in post-production, naturally also announced its release schedule. The film would premiere at the beginning of the summer season on May 7.
As if by prior agreement, only after Gilbert's film announced its date did other films aiming for the summer season begin to reveal their schedules one after another.
Among them, the most eye-catching was Sky Dance Studio's production, the massive $200 million blockbuster Tron: Legacy, which also announced that it would enter the summer season on May 7.
David Ellison had been preparing for a long time, intending to use the project he had snatched from Gilbert to deliver a head-on blow, avenging the resentment of being suppressed for so many years.
...
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