The summer movie season, lasting from May to July, is the most important period for films in North America. During this time, there are numerous films vying for high commercial returns, with more than five films released almost every weekend, of which about two typically have competitive box office potential.
In this period, no film gets much opportunity to accumulate significant box office revenue. Since the late 1980s, the first ten days to a week after a summer release often account for a third or more of the total North American box office. Whether a film will be a commercial success can be discerned by looking at its opening weekend earnings and subsequent weekday drops.
Every film is subject to the inevitable rule of significant weekday box office drops the following week, and "The Rock" is no exception.
On Monday, the film's single-day box office dropped from $11.13 million on Sunday to $4.87 million. The following three weekdays saw similar figures, bringing in $4.95 million, $4.62 million, and $4.77 million, respectively.
By this point, "The Rock" had been in North American theaters for a full week, and its total box office exceeded $50 million, reaching a remarkable $56 million!
In the same period, "Interview with the Vampire," despite suffering from its genre and a rapid decline in audience ratings, still benefited from Tom Cruise's star power. Even amidst the smear campaign by Duke and Warner Bros, it managed to earn a respectable box office of $43.25 million in seven days!
As for how much of that came from Tom Cruise's personal investment, that's a secret.
A new weekend was approaching, marking the final promotional push from Warner Bros for "The Rock." Starting the following week, the studio would shift its main resources to other films releasing during the summer season. Having successfully overshadowed "Interview with the Vampire," "The Rock" now faced a new strong competitor—Sylvester Stallone's "Cliffhanger!"
Since "The Rock" was in its second week of release, the competition between the two films would be somewhat less intense, with a slightly higher baseline. At least Duke had not noticed any signs of mutual sabotage in the major media.
As the team behind "Cliffhanger" ramped up their promotional efforts, the final promotional blitz for "The Rock" ignited a new wave of excitement, primarily targeting general moviegoers.
David Gilf was a field reporter for NBC's film recommendation program "This Week at the Movies," responsible for interviewing regular audience members about their reactions to the films discussed in the show.
This episode focused on the film currently in theaters—"The Rock."
"Anna…"
In a living room near New York University, Erin sat cross-legged on the couch, calling into the bedroom, "Hurry up, they're reviewing our movie, 'The Rock'!"
"When did it become your movie?" Anna leisurely walked out.
"This is the movie we love!"
Once Anna settled onto the couch, Erin opened a can of beer and handed it to her.
"Like Duke Rosenberg's other works, 'The Rock' features car chases, collisions, and explosions, but it's even more exciting than 'Speed.' The theme is deeper, the narrative structure and emotional conflicts are more reasonable…"
On the television, the host was enthusiastically extolling the film's virtues, almost wishing to transport viewers from their screens to theaters to buy tickets. Much of what was being praised made Anna, a film major, feel a bit embarrassed.
For instance, he commented on the slow-motion scene where Guss signals for help.
"At the end, Guss waving the flare in slow motion, accompanied by the music, stirs the heart and leaves a lasting impact! It will undoubtedly become an unforgettable classic shot in film history!"
"That shot is indeed impressive," Erin said, setting down her beer and pointing at the screen. "I think many films will definitely borrow from Duke's scene in the future!"
"If I were to shoot a similar film…" Anna pondered, "I'd definitely take inspiration from it."
"The young director Rosenberg has not only pioneered the bomb perspective but also created a new cinematic technique!"
Erin had barely finished her sentence when Anna pulled her attention back to the television. "Can we be quiet for a moment, Miss Landay? The live link is starting!"
At that moment, the TV screen shifted to Times Square, where David Gilf stood in the lobby of an AMG cinema, speaking into the camera. "A screening of 'The Rock' just concluded, and now we're interviewing a few audience members."
He quickly intercepted a male viewer, introduced himself, and asked, "Did you just watch 'The Rock'? What did you think of the film?"
"Absolutely fantastic!"
The male viewer did not hide his excitement, clearly still in an adrenaline rush.
"What did you like most about the film?" Gilf asked.
"The action scenes!"
Before the reporter could ask another question, the fan excitedly exclaimed like a child wanting to share a secret, "The action scenes in this film are incredible! Three sequences will absolutely become classics: the Hummer vs. Ferrari chase scene, which is the most iconic chase I've ever seen, with fast editing, shaky cam, and real crashes that were explosive. My heart and veins nearly exploded!"
"Then there's the battle in the bathroom between the task force and the marines, and the gunfight when General Hammer's troops turn traitor—both are incredibly tragic…"
This fan was eager to continue speaking, but Gilf needed to move on and quickly offered him a small gift before turning to a new target.
"Why did you choose to watch an action film like this?" he approached a female fan.
"Honestly, the whole film is full of masculinity; it's a standard man's movie. But I have quite a few female friends who enjoy it too." The female fan laughed heartily, "Haha, I think it's because the director gave the protagonists so much charm, and there are so many beautiful visuals in the film. This is my second time watching it!"
Gilf then interviewed several other fans.
"The film is rugged, profound, and has tension; the music and cinematography are excellent. I heard the director is only 23; having such control and coordination skills is very rare!"
"Who knew action films could be this good! It's intense and thrilling, with fantastic music, stunning visuals, and amazing actors—truly a model for commercial films!"
"I believe this will be director Duke Rosenberg's masterpiece; the storyline is excellent, and more importantly, he has maximized his strengths in explosions and destruction!"
Of course, some people were not fond of the film and expressed their criticisms during the interviews.
"Director Duke Rosenberg and his film are nothing but noise machines!"
"Make sure to take motion sickness pills before watching this film, or you'll end up feeling nauseous!"
Hearing these criticisms, Irene, sitting on the couch, shook her fist in frustration. "No one is forcing you to watch it!"
"Miss Lauder!"
Irene's flailing fist nearly knocked Anna's beer out of her hand, prompting Anna to say, "In this world, there is no movie that can please all types of audiences!"
The screen switched back to the studio, where the host concluded, "With its tight story, stunning music, sharp editing, beautiful visuals, and profound themes, young director Rosenberg has produced an excellent film that balances commercial appeal with artistry, providing both thrills and emotional depth! In my opinion, 'The Rock' is destined to become the pinnacle of action movies!"
After the program ended, Irene grabbed the remote and turned off the television. She took a swig from her nearly empty beer can, her eyes landing on the poster of "The Rock" hanging on the wall. Despite understanding that the previous program was a promotional tactic, she couldn't help but want to watch the film again.
"Anna!" She grabbed her friend's arm and shook it, "Let's go watch 'The Rock' again this weekend, okay?"
"You've already seen it twice!" Anna held up two fingers in front of her. Irene persisted, "But it's really good! Way better than that vampire movie!"
"Alright! Alright!" Anna finally agreed.
On Tuesday, they had gone to see "Interview with the Vampire," but its slow pace and dull storyline made them leave before reaching a third of the film.
Starting Thursday, the promotional efforts for "The Rock" escalated sharply. From NBC to ABC, from local newspapers to the three major national papers, from gossip magazines to professional publications like "The Hollywood Reporter," news and reports related to the film were everywhere. Warner Bros had a clear goal: to capture as much box office revenue as possible before the film's heat cooled down, even aiming to compete with the new big production "Cliffhanger" for the box office champion!
Duke and the main creative team were also caught up in a busy promotional phase. One moment they were giving interviews to the "Chicago Tribune," and the next they were flying to Pittsburgh for a radio interview, followed by a visit to Boston, where they discussed the film's plot and future developments with students at Harvard University.
These efforts were not in vain. As the media coverage increased, public interest and attention from fans were piqued, encouraging those who had already seen the film to buy tickets again, while those who hadn't rushed to theaters…
When Duke arrived in Philadelphia on Saturday, the freshly released Friday box office stats thrilled the crew: "The Rock" had earned $6.24 million in a single day, surpassing Stallone's newly released "Cliffhanger," which made $4.87 million on its first day, taking the early lead for the weekend!
Although the box office of "Interview with the Vampire" also rebounded, its result of 4.21 million US dollars could only rank third in a single day!
After Duke looked at the specific data analysis, he found that the fact that "The Rock" was able to outperform "Cliffhanger" in its first week in its second week was also due to factors outside the movie.
.....
Hi For access to additional chapters of
Director in Hollywood (20 chpater)
MV Director (20 chapter)....
Douluo Dalu:Breaking Clan(20chapter)
Made In Hollywood (50 Chapters)
Join pateron.com/Translaterappu