A_nobody
patreon
Chapter 132: Head-on Collision
🕑 Added 2024-10-20 20:21:10 +0000 UTCAs the sun rose on Friday, another intense weekend kicked off. Just like last weekend's collective bashing of *Independence Day*, professional film critics once again collectively voiced their praise, this time showering *The Shawshank Redemption* with accolades, almost declaring it one of the greatest films of all time.
However, much like the previous weekend's criticism, the rave reviews from the critics failed to ignite a chain reaction in the box office.
Maybe it was due to the lack of star power in the cast, or perhaps the somewhat religious-sounding title wasn't appealing. It could also be that the film's subject matter wasn't what the audience was looking for, or perhaps it was the aftermath of last weekend's backlash against *Independence Day*, which the audience still loved. Either way, the market response to *The Shawshank Redemption* could only be described as unusually tepid.
Friday night, often the first peak of weekend moviegoing, saw Parker, a market researcher from MXEB, arriving early at a downtown theater to observe the frontline market response to *The Shawshank Redemption*.
After 7:30, the number of people entering the theater noticeably increased. Based on a long period of sampling interviews and data obtained from the theater, Parker began to form a preliminary impression of the film's reception—it wasn't looking good.
It was obvious that *Independence Day*, despite being in its second weekend, was still going strong, accounting for nearly half of all viewings.
This was expected by the film's distributor and Parker's company, given the data feedback from *Independence Day*. No one expected *The Shawshank Redemption* to compete with it at the box office.
It was normal for the film to be outperformed by *Independence Day*, but why were its viewership numbers only on par with *The Lion King* and *Forrest Gump*, which had already been in theaters for weeks, while *The Shawshank Redemption* was in its first weekend?
As Parker pondered this, a screening of *The Shawshank Redemption* ended, and a sparse crowd of viewers trickled out of the auditorium. Parker quickly approached them to conduct his routine interviews.
"The film was fantastic, very powerful and moving, with a brilliant plot..."
Like some of the viewers he had interviewed earlier in the day, the young man he stopped couldn't stop praising the film. Parker then asked, "Would you recommend it to others or come back to watch it again with family or friends?"
"No!" The young man answered without hesitation. "Definitely not!"
"Why not?" Parker quickly asked.
"The film is too heavy; it's emotionally draining. Even tragedies often have some moments of joy," the young man said, frowning. "But *The Shawshank Redemption* is just depressing. The people I know go to the movies to be entertained; they definitely wouldn't want to experience this kind of atmosphere."
Parker continued to interview a few more viewers, and some shared similar opinions. They found the film excellent but wouldn't recommend it to others.
On Friday, *Independence Day* led in terms of box office, audience numbers, and occupancy rates. By Saturday morning, Duke had received detailed data from the studio. The weekend box office was expected to rebound, though not significantly. *Independence Day* grossed $15.57 million that day, maintaining its lead.
In second place was the newly released *The Shawshank Redemption*, grossing $5.12 million, ahead of *The Lion King's* $4.78 million and *Forrest Gump's* $4.27 million.
In Duke's view, as long as *The Shawshank Redemption* could maintain its daily earnings, it was possible for its opening weekend to break $15 million or even $20 million, which could avert a major flop.
However, this film, often hailed as one of the best and most peculiar films in history, defied conventional box office trends. Even the boldest forecasting agencies couldn't predict its irregular performance.
Typically, strong critical acclaim should boost a film's promotional impact. Coupled with decent word of mouth and the normal weekend release pattern, *The Shawshank Redemption* should have seen a minor surge on Saturday, or at least surpassed Friday's earnings. But to everyone's surprise, despite rising audience and critical scores, the film's box office plummeted.
On Saturday, *The Shawshank Redemption* dropped by over 50%, with daily earnings falling to $2.24 million. Meanwhile, *Independence Day*, *The Lion King*, and *Forrest Gump* benefited from this, raking in $16.34 million, $8.22 million, and $7.43 million, respectively, crushing all other new releases that week.
This weekend was nothing short of a shocker. *Independence Day*, scorned by critics, continued to sell like hotcakes, while *The Shawshank Redemption*, lauded as one of the greatest films, struggled to find an audience.
Had this been a temporary phenomenon, audiences might not have paid much attention. But with the media outlets under Time Warner and News Corporation constantly hyping the situation, it became impossible to ignore. The past ten days of chaos had been enough to show even the slowest moviegoers the reality—critically acclaimed films weren't always made for them, and the movies they loved wouldn't necessarily be appreciated by critics.
Hollywood studios learned another lesson—that critics and the market were, at best, loosely connected.
During this weekend, *Clear and Present Danger*, co-produced by Paramount and Universal, and *The Mask*, produced by New Line Cinema, both held test screenings without inviting any critics. Clearly, the interests of this parasitic industry were being affected.
Also, this weekend, *Independence Day* began its international journey, premiering in the UK, France, New Zealand, Spain, and Australia. Just like in North America, the film sparked a frenzy of ticket sales, while also being slammed by critics overseas.
"*Independence Day* is a mishmash of alien invasion movies, reflecting American imperialism!" —*Le Figaro* (France)
"*Independence Day* reflects Duke Rosenberg's delusional and ambitious American nationalism!" —*Marca* (Spain)
"The speech made by the American president before the war is the most shamelessly pandering dialogue in Hollywood history!" —BBC
"Duke Rosenberg has gone mad, thinking he can use a sci-fi blockbuster to impose American holidays on the world. He even wants all national holidays to be changed to July 4th!" —*The Times* (UK)
In just one weekend, Duke had stirred more controversy than in all the previous years combined. Critics from around the world were united in their outrage against him, while *Independence Day Studios*, with the help of News Corporation's extensive media network, spread Duke's rebuttal to the critics. This incited even greater anger among critics, who were eager to see him publicly shamed.
Criticizing Duke became politically correct within the film community, and even those who wanted to defend him had to tread cautiously.
Duke, however, did not remain silent. Instead, he continued to fan the flames for promotional purposes. In an interview with the famous *World News Weekly*, he said:
"I won't be upset by the slings and arrows thrown by critics. Everyone must accept the concept of a free market. If people don't want to buy my product, I won't make it anymore. But audiences have shown time and again that they love my work, and even if critics don't, I will always prioritize what the audience wants."
Not one to back down, Duke added, "I do my best, and I'm happy that aside from the critics, audiences enjoy the film. Let's ignore the critics; I make films for the audience to enjoy."
Critics seethed with rage at *Independence Day's* continued success, launching their most vicious attacks yet, but they could do nothing to stop the movie from creating a *Jurassic Park*-style box office sensation.
Especially in North America, the louder the critics' objections, the higher *Independence Day's* box office numbers climbed. Conversely, the more they praised *The Shawshank Redemption*, the less interest it generated.
When the weekend box office numbers were released, the North American film critics fell into a brief silence, only to erupt in even fiercer criticism afterward. Yet all of this seemed pale and futile in the face of *Independence Day's* box office figures.
*Independence Day's* second weekend grossed an astonishing $42.96 million in North America, not only crushing all other releases but also surpassing the opening weekend earnings of most films. Its cumulative North American box office reached $159.89 million, earning Duke another North American box office record—the fastest film to surpass $150 million!
Naturally, this achievement secured its spot at the top of the North American box office chart for another week.
From this vantage point, the second and third place films were barely in sight. *The Lion King*, in its fourth week, grossed $16.88 million, securing second place. *Forrest Gump*, in its fifth week, grossed $14.18 million, landing in third place. Fourth place went to a film called *Weekend Holiday*, which grossed $9.87 million, a film Duke had no memory of.
As for *The Shawshank Redemption*, which had been lauded by critics far and wide, it saw its box office drop further over the weekend, finishing in fifth place with a mere $8.57 million.
Just as Duke had thought, the explosive success of "Independence Day" overwhelmed the self-proclaimed glamorous faces of film critics, and completely exposed their increasingly weak influence on the market to Hollywood and moviegoers.
"Independence Day" also performed very well in its first weekend overseas. Although it only appeared in the overseas markets of Western Europe and English-speaking areas, it closed with a total performance of US$75.28 million in the three days of the weekend, which was enough to make all investors smile from ear to ear.
At the beginning of a new week, all released films inevitably began to decline, and at the weekend they will face a strong competitor, James Cameron's $150 million blockbuster "True Lies".
