No matter how hard Ye Xiaoyi racked her brain, she could never have guessed that Gilbert, the guy who made everyone exclaim "W**cāo!" (a Chinese expletive), actually had a Chinese soul, a heart of gold. If Ye Xiaoyi was a "banana" – yellow on the outside, white on the inside – trying hard to fit into mainstream North American society, then Gilbert was like a "cantaloupe man." There's a variety of cantaloupe that's white on the outside and yellow on the inside, which perfectly represents him.
Even though Gilbert was right in the thick of mainstream North American society, his heart was still with the Chinese side! He really missed all those beautiful ladies like Bingbing, Mimi, Shishi, Yan Yan, Yuanyuan, and Tiantian. But sadly, he couldn't go back now, and even if he did, he wouldn't be "one of them" anymore. So, Gilbert was stuck with sleeping with foreign women...
The Big Release Approaches
After a long period of promotion, Final Destination was finally nearing its release date. The closest film to Final Destination's release was Warner Bros.' Unforgiven, which premiered on August 7th and had already raked in over $70 million at the box office, a truly impressive performance. The rest were mostly small-budget films, ranging from a few hundred thousand to a few million dollars, making it tough for them to compete with Final Destination's $10 million investment.
The summer blockbusters were over. The remaining films slated for release were mostly set for November. For example, Disney's own animated film Aladdin, and 20th Century Fox's Home Alone 2. This meant that from late August to October – roughly two or three months – Final Destination could play without much pressure, no strong competitors to worry about.
Promising Survey Results
Another thing: according to data from a survey commissioned by Disney, out of 1,500 viewers who had seen The Shallows, 15% were willing to go to the cinema again to support Gilbert's new film. The rest preferred to wait for word-of-mouth and box office performance before deciding whether to watch the movie. Only a tiny minority, less than 5%, said they wouldn't go see Gilbert's new movie. This survey data was incredibly good, giving Disney a huge confidence boost.
Midnight Premiere Thrills
At midnight on August 28th, Final Destination opened its midnight screenings in 500 cinemas across the U.S. Horror movies, after all, are best watched at midnight to get the full experience.
Naomi Watts had just left Gilbert's apartment after visiting. Gilbert couldn't sleep; he was glued to his phone, waiting for it to ring. He had arranged with Touchstone Pictures for them to call him as soon as the midnight box office numbers were out. Cameron Diaz wasn't sleeping either. As the lead actress, she was also nervously waiting for the news with Gilbert.
Audiences Get Scared
Near the University of California, Berkeley, at a local cinema, Ye Xiaoyi and Megan bought tickets to watch Final Destination. Originally, Ye Xiaoyi hadn't wanted to come; she needed to focus on her studies and stay put. But Megan's invitation, coupled with her curiosity about this "W**cāo" director, convinced her to join.
After getting their tickets scanned and finding their seats, Ye Xiaoyi realized it was her first time watching a movie in a North American cinema. Looking at the luxurious facilities, Ye Xiaoyi couldn't help but nod. "No wonder it's a North American cinema," she thought. "The facilities are truly grand, much better than back home."
"Want some popcorn?" Megan offered a bucket of popcorn.
"Yes, please..." Ye Xiaoyi took the popcorn bucket, popped two kernels into her mouth, and found them delicious. The popcorn here was so sweet and fragrant...
The movie started quickly. Gilbert's drawing power wasn't huge, and the lead actors, Matt Damon, Cameron Diaz, and Jared Leto, weren't very famous either. So, the midnight screening's attendance wasn't high; Ye Xiaoyi thought there were only about a dozen people. "Looks like this Director Gilbert isn't that great after all," she thought, despite Megan's earlier hype.
But soon, Ye Xiaoyi changed her mind. The opening scene of the plane explosion scared both Ye Xiaoyi and Megan so much they huddled together. It turned out to be just the protagonist's dream. After waking up from the nightmare, the protagonist insisted on getting off the plane, and a few others followed. The protagonist, Alex, was arguing with the school bully when the plane that had just taken off actually exploded, terrifying everyone.
"So this protagonist has precognitive abilities, he can sense disaster coming?" Ye Xiaoyi guessed, completely engrossed in the film. The movie was captivating, engaging, and thrilling. The dozen or so audience members held their breath as the plot unfolded, occasionally letting out gasps of fright. The entire film was seamless, without any unnecessary drag, completely captivating Ye Xiaoyi, who was watching a Hollywood film in a cinema for the first time.
A Hit With Fans
After the movie, Megan suggested, "Hey Ye, how about we watch it again tomorrow?"
Before, Ye Xiaoyi would have definitely refused, but not now. "Sounds good! Let's invite a few more classmates. We can all watch it together."
Megan was very pleased with Ye Xiaoyi's suggestion. "Perfect! The more, the merrier. And the more people, the less scary it'll be!"
Ye Xiaoyi was hooked thanks to Megan. Meanwhile, Lewis, who had seen Gilbert's previous film, was incredibly excited for this new one. As soon as the movie premiered, he dragged a whole group of people to the midnight screening of Final Destination.
After the movie ended, everyone was still buzzing, discussing the plot.
Saladin Merton exclaimed, "Oh my God, I can't even imagine Director Gilbert's brilliant ideas! How did he come up with this movie?"
Lewis chuckled beside him. "If we knew how he came up with it, I'd go shoot it myself!"
A classmate nearby laughed. "Lewis, stop dreaming. Even if you could think of this story, you wouldn't be able to shoot it."
Lewis wasn't offended. "True, Director Gilbert's talent is simply unparalleled." He had completely become a fan of Gilbert. Gilbert certainly hadn't disappointed him, delivering yet another incredibly brilliant thriller.
Lewis suggested, "Shall we watch it again tomorrow?"
"Yeah! Such a fantastic movie, of course we should!"
"Anyone who doesn't watch it is a fool!"
"Couldn't agree more..."
And so, the suggestion to watch the movie again passed with unanimous approval.
The Box Office News
Back at the apartment, Gilbert received a call from Robert Iger. Hearing the midnight box office numbers, he felt much more at ease.
"Thank you, Bob, for calling me so late," Gilbert said politely.
"No problem," Robert Iger's voice on the other end of the line was excited. "I should be thanking you, Gilbert! The work you've done is outstanding. I can finally get a good night's sleep tonight..."
"Haha, well then, I wish you sweet dreams!"
"You too..."
Gilbert hung up and saw Cameron Diaz looking at him eagerly, clearly impatient for the news. Gilbert didn't keep her waiting. He directly stated, "With a thousand screens across 500 cinemas, we had a 15% occupancy rate, earning $324,000 at the midnight box office."
Cameron Diaz was stunned, not because the result was bad, but because it was too good. They had initially hoped for a midnight box office of just $100,000, but over $300,000 was a delightful surprise.
Cameron Diaz, realizing the good news, shouted excitedly, "Yes! We did it!"
Gilbert gestured for her to calm down. "Not so fast. We still need to see how the first day and first week box office numbers turn out."
"It'll definitely be great!" Cameron Diaz bounced into Gilbert's arms, wrapping her legs around his waist, and gave him a passionate kiss. She had a strong feeling that she was very close to becoming famous. The door to her dream of being a Hollywood star was now wide open.