King of Hollywood

Chapter 516: Chapter 237 A Small Request

I must admit, Spielberg and DreamWorks are extremely formidable; there’s no need to even mention Spielberg’s directing and producing capabilities. If it weren’t for Adrian’s preemptive vision, he wouldn’t even stand a chance against him. Besides, the influence of DreamWorks’ Three Giants in Hollywood is second to none. Plus, following ‘Jurassic Park’ setting a box office record, it was only natural for ‘The Lost World’ to premiere at the top of the North American box office charts with its release in over 3,200 theaters.

However, this doesn’t mean that ‘The Matrix’ was completely defeated at the box office. In addition to horizontal comparisons, vertical comparisons are also necessary. If Adrian’s memory served him right, the original ‘The Matrix’ premiered in over 2,700 theaters in April and garnered just over $30 million in five days, while his version, which only secured over 2,500 theaters, earned over $55 million in three days. The data spoke for itself.

With enough fame and resource support, coupled with proper marketing strategies, if the box office couldn’t surpass the original, then Adrian might as well not produce movies anymore. The premiere box office of the original ‘The Lost World’ was over $90 million. Now, delayed by a year, the figures should have risen but instead dipped slightly, clearly squeezed by ‘The Matrix.’ With this in mind, can we really definitively say who won and who lost?

Although Spielberg wasn’t as perceptive as Adrian, he did see something in the situation, which is why he was quite courteous over the phone. Adrian didn’t say much either; it wasn’t a big deal after all. Despite ‘The Matrix’ breaking $100 million in North America a week later than ‘The Lost World.’

The intense competition of the summer film season had thus kicked off. Every film company did everything in their power to ensure their films were hits, but sadly, the biggest profits this summer were destined for others. Three weeks later, just after Independence Day, AC Media released another movie starring Sarah Michelle Gellar, beloved star of the teen TV series ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer,’ as the protagonist of the comedy ‘Legally Blonde.’

“To be frank, this is an interesting movie,” Adrian read, smiling. “The director and the film company seem keen on challenging the stereotype of blondes being beautiful but brainless. Thus, even though the protagonist comes across as a bit clumsy and frivolous, she shines with brightness, innocence, and kind-heartedness. Unfortunately, the film doesn’t showcase much of her intellect, and the turnaround at the end seems more like luck, which is a pity. As for Sarah, she did capture that light, innocent feel quite well. Whether or not the fans will accept it, that’s another story.” Adrian finally stopped reading and laughed.

“They really do have a way with words, Sarah, whether the fans will accept it… Well, I’m even starting to regret letting you play ‘Buffy,'” Adrian said, shaking his head with a sigh.

“It’s okay, I chose it myself at the time,” Sarah responded nonchalantly, shrugging her shoulders and continuing to peel the apple in her hand diligently.

The premiere box office of ‘Legally Blonde’ wasn’t that great, only making $18 million across 2,500 theaters; of course, that’s just Adrian’s view. In other people’s eyes, a small production with a budget under $20 million performing this well at the premiere was quite an achievement, but Adrian knew the film’s box office should be higher.

This situation was actually quite normal. After all, the character ‘Buffy’ had become deeply ingrained in people’s hearts, just like ‘Rachel,’ causing fans to resist changes. The previous ‘I Know What You Did Last Summer’ was popular not only because its genre was similar to ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer,’ both being thriller types but also because the female protagonist displayed the same strength attribute as ‘Buffy.’

‘Legally Blonde,’ however, was different. The protagonist Elle was very sweet and adorable, sometimes appearing clumsy but kind, innocent, and smart, completely different from Buffy. Given this change, it wasn’t surprising that Buffy’s fans had strong reactions, and you couldn’t expect them to cheer and praise. In fact, on the official website of ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer,’ complaints flooded in the day after the movie premiere, claiming that the character Elle had ruined Buffy’s image.