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Chapter 247: Box Office Dark Horse
🕑 Added 2025-01-15 17:31:47 +0000 UTCOn Monday morning, Duke once again dominated the entertainment headlines. Half the front page of the Los Angeles Times was dedicated to him and Chicago.
"When the ultimate unlikely event in Hollywood—Duke Rosenberg filming a literary drama—became a reality, the entire Hollywood and global film community was shaken. No one could accept that he would direct a musical, and many openly or secretly mocked him. But today! This past weekend! The man born during a comet's collision with Earth has achieved a remarkable comeback!"
"During its opening weekend, Chicago, despite limited release, achieved an astounding $31,875 per theater average. In its second weekend, with theaters expanded to 1,866 locations, it grossed $21.13 million over three days, surpassing Star Trek: First Contact, which remained in 2,812 theaters, to claim the weekend box office crown!"
"As of yesterday, Chicago, with a production cost of $25 million, had already earned $37.32 million. After two weekends in theaters, the film shows no signs of losing momentum. Duke Rosenberg is poised for yet another success. Following last year's deeply emotional and profound Saving Private Ryan, this young filmmaker is quietly undergoing a transformation. Like a dream machine, he turns the impossible into reality!"
"We can now imagine that Duke Rosenberg will undoubtedly explore more genres in the future. His journey to becoming a master filmmaker has just begun…"
Setting down the newspaper, Sherry Lansing frowned deeply. She couldn't understand how Chicago, which had initially opened in only 100 theaters and posed no threat to Paramount Pictures, suddenly managed to overtake Star Trek.
Even though this was Chicago's first weekend of expanded release and Star Trek had already passed its peak opening weekend, the latter was playing in 2,812 theaters and earned $17.8 million in its second weekend, which wasn't bad. Yet, it was still overshadowed by Duke Rosenberg's film.
There hadn't been any fierce competition between the two. No one at Paramount considered Chicago a threat upon its release. Who could have predicted it would explode so quickly and so fiercely?
Although Warner Bros. and Duke's studio employed relentless and borderline outrageous marketing tactics, Sherry Lansing knew the film's quality was the foundation. Duke Rosenberg managed to turn a slow and understated musical genre into something fast-paced, filled with black humor, and even capable of raising adrenaline levels, completely breaking the traditional constraints of musicals.
Sighing, Sherry Lansing decided not to take any action. Star Trek's critical first two weekends were over, and with its theater count holding steady at 2,812, a box office decline was inevitable. Intervening against Chicago now would be too late and not worth the effort.
Picking up another newspaper, Sherry Lansing glanced at it and couldn't help but smile bitterly. When Duke Rosenberg announced his intention to direct a musical, many media outlets joked that the world was ending. Now that he had succeeded, they were practically falling over themselves to praise him.
This was a report from The New York Times.
"Chicago's massive success proves that musicals are not outdated. Duke Rosenberg has ushered in a new era of musicals in Hollywood…"
Whether this film would indeed launch a new era of musicals was anyone's guess. But its status as the hottest movie in North America was undeniable. On Monday, the film's theater count expanded again to 2,015 locations. The increase not only tapped into its market potential but also severely limited the expansion of The English Patient.
While the latter's theater count did grow, it only went from 593 to 617. In the box office market, Chicago and The English Patient weren't even in the same league.
On Monday, Chicago earned $4.59 million, while The English Patient only managed $770,000. Star Trek experienced a steep decline, grossing just $2.76 million across 2,812 theaters.
By Tuesday, the numbers were $4.46 million, $680,000, and $2.47 million, respectively.
For a brief period, Chicago led North America's box office trends. On Wednesday and Thursday, it earned $4.27 million and $4.38 million, bringing its cumulative domestic box office to $55.02 million.
Meanwhile, Star Trek, with four weekends in theaters, totaled $64.53 million, while The English Patient had only reached $13.23 million.
With Star Trek experiencing a severe decline and The English Patient remaining lackluster, theater owners had little incentive to allocate significant resources to either film. Chicago's theater count increased once again, reaching 2,500 locations—a level usually reserved for purely commercial films.
In essence, Chicago was a commercial film wrapped in the guise of a musical.
The other two films could no longer compete with Chicago. However, a new challenger emerged: Disney's 101 Dalmatians live-action adaptation, released under Buena Vista Pictures.
Based on the classic animated film, this family-friendly movie, full of nostalgia, opened in 2,841 theaters with strong momentum.
No one expected Chicago, in its third weekend, to compete against 101 Dalmatians. Neither Duke nor Warner Bros. harbored such expectations. This was Disney's specialty, and the likelihood of them faltering was slim.
Indeed, 101 Dalmatians performed well, grossing $33.5 million in its opening weekend, enough to dethrone Chicago as the weekend box office champion.
However, 101 Dalmatians' performance didn't overshadow Chicago, which maintained strong momentum. In its third weekend, Chicago grossed $20.58 million from 2,500 theaters, ranking second on the weekend box office chart.
Over the following week, Chicago continued to follow closely behind 101 Dalmatians, earning $2.56 million, $2.34 million, $2.21 million, and $2.27 million over four weekdays, breaking the $80 million mark in domestic earnings and reaching $84.98 million.
With Christmas approaching, North America entered the second most important movie season of the year. As more films joined the fray, the competition grew increasingly fierce. While on the surface the battle seemed confined to marketing, behind the scenes, scandals, theater count disputes, and various promotional efforts were all in play.
Chicago's theater count inevitably dropped before the new weekend, shrinking from 2,500 to 1,986. Meanwhile, 101 Dalmatians expanded to 2,901 theaters due to its steady performance.
Additionally, Chicago faced competition from another Miramax release: Scream, co-produced by Harvey Weinstein and renowned horror director Wes Craven, which opened in 1,413 theaters.
Although Scream was a horror film unsuited for the Christmas season, with a modest budget of $15 million and low industry expectations, Duke knew it would mark the start of a successful franchise. Moreover, the film featured a rebranded Drew Barrymore and even attracted Steven Spielberg to its premiere, ensuring ample buzz.
Despite the hype, Scream failed to make a significant splash due to its limited theater count, earning $6.35 million in its opening weekend with an underwhelming per-theater average of less than $10,000.
Meanwhile, 101 Dalmatians demonstrated the perils of a steep drop-off. Despite an increased theater count, its second weekend box office plummeted nearly 60% to $13.19 million.
Star Trek, now in its fourth weekend, earned just $3.43 million, bringing its cumulative domestic box office to $76.72 million.
The English Patient continued its sluggish pace, grossing $2.12 million over the weekend, pushing its domestic total to $17.76 million.
"Harvey, Chicago has impacted and overshadowed two of our films in a row!"
In a luxury car headed toward Hollywood, Bob Weinstein examined the report in his hands, his face filled with disbelief. "Who could have imagined Chicago would achieve a second weekend box office crown amidst such intense competition right before Christmas?"
"Daring to make a musical so commercial," Harvey Weinstein sighed, "only a director like Duke Rosenberg could pull it off in all of Hollywood."
Without glancing at the report Bob held, Harvey continued, "I've seen it enough times. As of this morning, the freshly updated North American weekend box office chart places Chicago at the top with $14.78 million from 1,986 theaters, easily outpacing all its competitors."
"If I'm not mistaken, Chicago's cumulative domestic box office is now $99.76 million," Bob said, still in disbelief. "A musical is about to hit $100 million! And Star Trek, a major commercial blockbuster, was completely outdone at the box office!"
"Well, that's what happens when the director is Duke Rosenberg," Harvey remarked, eyeing the party venue ahead, before adding, "The king of summer blockbusters has proven his power in the Thanksgiving and Christmas seasons. No one can afford to underestimate him!"
The car came to a stop. As Harvey stepped out, he said, "We've lost on the box office front, but we absolutely cannot lose on the other battlefield!"
