If one were to summarize the performance of the 2011 summer blockbuster season up to this point in a single sentence, more than eighty percent of people would choose this one: Oddities abound every year, but this year, they are particularly numerous.
The first oddity of the summer blockbuster season was the overall weakness of major films.
As the epicenter of annual box office earnings, the level of competition exceeded all expectations. Every film choosing to debut during the summer season was inevitably faced with the challenge of either soaring to victory or facing total defeat. Each year, several large-scale commercial films met their Waterloo, which was not surprising. However, this year seemed to have an unusual abundance of such cases.
"Thor" was a complete disaster; "Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides" fell short of expectations; "Kung Fu Panda 2" crashed and burned; and then, "X-Men: First Class" experienced a strange silence.
Failure seemed to spread like an infectious disease. In the first week of June, "X-Men: First Class" made a dazzling entrance, winning the hearts of the media with its all-time high ratings in media reviews, Rotten Tomatoes scores, Popcorn Index, and other metrics. Its Rotten Tomatoes and Popcorn Index scores even exceeded those of this summer's biggest winner so far, "Fast 5". However, it lost the affection of the audience, with a theater score of only "B+", setting a new low for the series and causing the opening box office to fall far short of expectations.
With an investment of $160M, it only garnered $55M in its opening weekend. Such a result was even slightly worse than that of "Thor".
Ironically, two years ago, "X-Men Origins: Wolverine", which was critically panned, also had a theater score of "B+", yet it managed to achieve an outstanding opening weekend gross of $85M. The box office trends of the summer blockbuster season were truly baffling.
First, it was "Thor", and then it was "X-Men: First Class". Could it be that this year's superhero movies based on comic book adaptations were truly not well-received? Major Hollywood film studios immediately became cautious, and the upcoming players preparing for battle were also filled with worries. This had an undeniable impact on the future direction of the entire industry.
The second oddity of the summer blockbuster season was the strong rise of comedies.
The low-budget comedy "Bridesmaids" became the biggest dark horse of this year's summer season. After four weeks of release, its cumulative box office earnings surpassed $100M and still maintained an astonishing drop rate. This week, under the pressure of "X-Men: First Class", the drop rate was still below thirty percent, stunning everyone. With such momentum, there was no doubt that this film, with a budget of only $32M, would eventually surpass $150M in total box office earnings.
The high-budget comedy "The Hangover Part II", after sweeping $85M in its insane opening weekend last week, although it suffered a sixty-one percent drop in the second week, it unexpectedly displayed unimaginable strength in midweek box office earnings from Monday to Thursday. In just two weeks, its cumulative box office earnings surged to an astonishing $185M, leaving all of Hollywood in stunned silence.
In comparison, "Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides", after three weeks of release, had a cumulative box office of $190M.
People were at a loss whether to be amazed at the poor performance of "Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides" or the insane performance of "The Hangover Part II".
The third oddity of the summer blockbuster season was the sudden emergence of dark horses.
"Bridesmaids" and "The Hangover Part II" could both be considered dark horses, but the true focus was still on "Fast 5". After once again delivering a 43% box office drop this week, its cumulative box office had now risen to $290M, making it the first film of the year to break the $300M mark, without a doubt.
This year's summer blockbuster season had indeed taken an unconventional route.
However, the box office chase of "Fast 5" had gradually slowed down. While it still maintained a slight lead in the same period over "Iron Man", the advantage had shrunk from nearly $30M to a mere $2M, and the strong upward trend was showing signs of a decline.
Although there were indeed too many factors affecting the summer box office, the limited audience base of the "Fast & Furious" series was gradually becoming apparent. After all, their fan base couldn't compare to the superhero genre.
Nevertheless, "Fast 5" had undoubtedly impressed the entire North American market, allowing Universal Pictures to hold their heads high. In the third week of June, the North American box office of "Fast 5" officially crossed the $300M mark, not only becoming the first film of 2011 to reach such heights but also the 37th film in cinematic history to achieve this feat.
In the end, the North American box office of "Fast 5" reached $315M, falling behind "Iron Man" with $318M but surpassing "Iron Man 2" with $312M. It even outperformed "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End" and "Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones", temporarily ranking 30th in cinema history. It had doubled the previous film's box office, demonstrating the potential to become a completely new and profitable franchise.
In an instant, all of North America rejoiced. The success of this film undoubtedly marked the best performance for its lead cast, Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Gal Gadot, and others. It wasn't just their first film to break $300M; interestingly, it was also their first film to break $200M.
With this film, both Vin and Paul immediately saw an increase in their market value, propelling them into the A-list. However, both of them were somewhat unique because their flagship works belonged to the same series, and the achievements of their other works were somewhat lacking. In other words, they weren't well-rounded actors.
If they continued to film the "Fast & Furious" series, an increase in their salaries was inevitable. However, it would be challenging for them to command a top salary of $20M like Arnold Schwarzenegger did for other commercial blockbusters. The exact figure would depend on the abilities of their agents.
Aside from them, there was another actor who had garnered significant attention: Renly Hall.
"Fast 5" was also Renly's first film to break the $200M and $300M marks. However, people wouldn't forget that this was Renly's first commercial film. As the third lead in this movie, Renly displayed charisma and charm, making him undoubtedly the biggest highlight of the film, and one could even say he was the star performer.
Following "Buried" and "Like Crazy", two films that showcased Renly's solid acting skills, people glimpsed his commercial potential. And it was boundless commercial potential—twenty-one years old, handsome and charming, witty and humorous, talented, and full of charisma. You couldn't ask for more.
Rumors had it that Renly's price tag had skyrocketed to $10M, and it wasn't limited to just one movie project. Before the summer blockbuster season, Renly's pay range was $1-3M. Now, he had instantly jumped two pay grades and directly entered the $10M club. It was simply unbelievable.
Of course, this was just hearsay for now, and no film company had officially announced anything. To be more precise, everyone was waiting for Universal Pictures. Everyone knew that Universal Pictures was bound to produce a sequel, and Renly was undoubtedly one of the first on the list for a new contract. So, how much was Universal Pictures willing to offer? That was the real conundrum.
Hollywood's salary system was highly complex. It wasn't just a game between agents and production companies; it was also a battle between actors and the market.
Take, for instance, the long-standing "Oscar Curse". It meant that actors who won Oscars would often face a career slump in the three years following their win.
Many actresses who reached for Best Actress Oscars saw their careers plummet afterward. Liza Minnelli in "Cabaret", Louise Fletcher in "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest", and Geraldine Page in "The Trip to Bountiful" all disappeared from the limelight after their wins.
A recent case was Halle Berry, who won Best Actress for "Monster's Ball" in 2001. After winning, she got trapped in a series of bad movies and couldn't recover until 2017.
The reason was simple. After winning an Oscar, an actor's value skyrocketed, and their pay often tripled. However, an Oscar only recognized an actor's performance in a specific movie; it didn't validate their overall acting ability or box office appeal. Especially for actors who mainly worked in art-house films, their commercial value was low, which made it easy for them to fall into a status gap between their public image and their actual worth.
Similarly, Robert Downey Jr. proved his box office draw in the "Iron Man" series, but after taking off the Iron Man suit, his other films struggled to perform well at the box office. Even the relatively successful "Sherlock Holmes" series didn't meet expectations.
So, while Robert could command a $50M paycheck for "Iron Man", including bonuses, it wasn't the same for his other works.
Renly faced a similar situation.
At the beginning of the year, "Like Crazy" garnered awards at Sundance, and "Buried" received an Oscar nomination. However, even "Oscar winners" were trapped in this cycle, so what about someone merely nominated? Without proving his commercial value and, more importantly, his absolute acting prowess, Renly's industry pay wouldn't see a substantial increase, especially in commercial films.
Now, "Fast 5" had triumphed, with Renly leading the way, showcasing his immense box office potential. But was this just a flash in the pan? Was it limited to the "Fast & Furious" series, or did it hold more untapped potential? This needed time to prove and required the juggling and balancing act between agents and production companies.
$10M? It sounded unbelievable, but it wasn't impossible. It ultimately depended on the negotiation between Renly's agent and the production company. However, before Universal Pictures made a decision, the overseas box office performance of "Fast 5" had added an important chip to the table!
Prior to this, relying solely on the excellent performance of the North American box office, Universal Pictures had almost recouped the $125M production cost. So, what about the overseas box office? This was pure profit. Universal Pictures, known for its cautious approach to production costs, had finally launched another wave of film franchise profit models since "Jurassic Park". They couldn't be happier.