In Salt Lake City, seven or eight school kids were standing in front of a movie theater, animatedly discussing something. Several groups of young people were also gathered nearby.
"Hi, guys! This is ABC. Can we interview you?"
The kids turned around. One of them, a black boy, immediately asked, "Is this live?"
"No, it's a recording, but I can keep your interview in."
"O-o-oh..."
The kids instantly brightened up, jumping with joy. Being on TV was cool and would give them something to boast about to friends and family.
"It's already nine in the evening. Why aren't you home yet?"
The black boy pointed at the theater behind them. "Why? We're here to see a movie."
"Let me guess, it's 'The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers,' right?"
"No, no, we've all seen 'The Lord of the Rings,' it's a great movie. But tonight, we're watching something even cooler—'Sharknado'!"
As soon as he said that, his friends began shouting and jumping.
"Sharknado!" "Sharknado!" "Sharknado!"
These shouts attracted the attention of other groups of young people, who immediately joined in.
"Sharknado!" "Sharknado!" "Sharknado!"
Such a strange scene puzzled office workers who had come with their families and children. They naturally intended to watch "The Lord of the Rings," but now they were suddenly curious about "Sharknado." What kind of movie excited the youth so much? Maybe it was worth checking out?
After a short time of shouting, the ABC reporter gestured for them to calm down.
"'Sharknado'? What kind of movie is that? Why does it attract you so much?"
The black boy smiled, "It's a disaster movie. My brother said it's amazing, and everyone on the internet says so too."
A white boy chimed in, "Yeah, my brother also said it's a classic, comparable to 'Jaws.'"
Another, an Asian boy, adjusted his glasses, "Online, some people say it's a terrible movie, but more people think it's great. If I don't watch it now, I won't be able to see it in theaters later."
The last of the kids, a Latino boy, pointed to his school badge, "I don't know what 'Sharknado' is, but many of my friends have already seen it. If I don't watch it, they'll stop hanging out with me. So, I came!"
Someone in the crowd shouted, "Time to go in!"
The kids immediately rushed towards the theater, and the black boy yelled as he ran, "Mom, big sister, second sister, third sister, little brother, I love you!"
The cameraman filming this was touched, "What a good boy, loving his family. Hm? Why didn't he mention his dad?"
Scenes like this were happening not only in Salt Lake City but also in New York, Atlanta, Seattle, and San Francisco. They even made it into local news.
These reports inevitably mentioned "Sharknado," which essentially became free advertising and drew even more attention to the film.
Those young people, tricked into the theater, then tricked the next wave of viewers, and sometimes even adults, out of curiosity, went to watch it.
This situation continued to develop until the second-week box office results were released.
Undoubtedly, "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers" remained at the top of the box office. Typically, box office revenue for a movie drops by half in the second week, but "The Lord of the Rings" was an exception—its earnings fell by only 20%, collecting $50 million in the second week.
Movies like "Harry Potter," "Spider-Man," and "Minority Report" couldn't boast such resilience.
But that wasn't the most surprising part. The second place in the box office ranking was taken by "Sharknado," grossing $35.1 million. The youth had given the film a new life.
Steven Spielberg's "Catch Me If You Can" took third place. Despite starring Tom Hanks and Leonardo DiCaprio, it grossed only $31 million in its first weekend, falling behind "Sharknado."
At the premiere of "Catch Me If You Can," Peter Jackson had invited Eric to support him. It was Eric's first meeting with the legendary director Steven Spielberg. They discussed the future of cinema and potential collaboration.
When the box office results for "Catch Me If You Can" were announced, many were shocked.
Film companies began to take action.
"What is this 'Sharknado'? How did it surpass Spielberg? Although it has more days in theaters, it's still surprising. It's Spielberg!"
"A.K. Films? Never heard of them. Check their background. It's amazing they managed to secure 400 theaters in the first week, and all in major cities."
"What is this 'Sharknado'? Find out everything about A.K. Films and try to buy the rights to the film."
Film critics also became interested and attended screenings to understand this phenomenon.
More young people kept flocking to the film, even attracting adults.
Film critics were interested and began attending screenings. But after watching, they unanimously left negative reviews:
Chicago Sun-Times: "I've never seen such a horrible movie. Who thought combining sharks and tornadoes was a good idea? I'd like to open up the screenwriter's skull and see what's inside, but unfortunately, the name isn't listed anywhere. They must have known what they were writing. Absolutely awful!"
Los Angeles Entertainment: "When I saw the shark on the poster, I had a bad feeling, but I didn't expect the movie to be this bad. I beg the director never to touch a camera again. That would be the best decision for audiences. Horrible!"
Atlanta Entertainment: "This film will waste 90 minutes of your life. The shark will eat your brain, and you'll become an idiot. Director Anthony Ferrante, you have desecrated the art of cinema. An absolute failure!"
Denver Morning News: "This film will stay with me forever. Not because it's good, but because it's terrible. An absolute disaster. Young actor Ryan Reynolds, what made you star in this film? It's a real disaster for the human psyche. Horrible!"
Such a powerful wave of negative reviews scared the A.K. Films team. Internet marketing efforts couldn't withstand the blow from critics and TV. A bad reputation threatened to ruin all their plans.
"Eric, what should we do? Do we need a crisis PR campaign?" Warren anxiously asked over the phone.
Eric, eating cherries fed to him by Gal Gadot, reassured him, "Don't worry, Warren. Did you forget our goal? 'Sharknado' was always intended to be a bad movie. When everyone says it's terrible, it means we've succeeded."
"Um... You're right. I almost believed it was a serious film. It is a true trash film."
"Exactly, so relax."
"Then should we continue to increase the number of screenings?"
"Of course. Now we've expanded to 1,900 theaters, including third and fourth-tier cities. But that's it, no more expansion."
"Why?"
"Warren, beyond that are only remote areas and small towns. There, people are less influenced by media and the internet. 'Sharknado' won't succeed there. And don't forget, the box office potential of bad movies is still limited. What we have is enough."
After calming Warren, Eric proceeded to the final step—reaching out to celebrity friends for film promotion.
Let everyone say the film is bad. But it's so bad that it's funny. It's bad, but uniquely fresh and original. It has become as much a classic as other famous films. Missing it means depriving oneself. When a film is so bad, it's already art!
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