Chapter 323: Explosive Reputation (2)

"Smooth storytelling, perfect action choreography, imaginative hero props, and extensive use of pioneering technology—'Batman: The Moment of Battle' creates an unprecedented cinematic visual feast." — Variety

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"Simon Westeros once again proves his genius film-making talent." — San Francisco Chronicle

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"A must-see superhero movie that you won't regret seeing in theaters." — Los Angeles Times

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"Or, I can only think of words like 'great' to describe Simon Westeros's new film." — Washington Post

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"Simon Westeros perfectly projected the superhero in my heart onto the big screen, and surpassed expectations." — The Hollywood Reporter

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"For comic fans, this Christmas will be a 'Batman: The Moment of Battle' extravaganza; for non-comic fans, it is still a must-see movie." — Chicago Tribune

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"After watching 'Batman: The Moment of Battle,' I am eagerly anticipating the sequel and... well, no spoilers." — New York Post

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The next day, North America's mainstream print media platforms were overwhelmingly in praise of 'Batman: The Moment of Battle,' with the few dissenting opinions failing to make any significant impact. Based on feedback from various media sources, this superhero film scored an astonishing 9.6 out of 10.

Television and radio channels also featured extensive discussions about 'Batman: The Moment of Battle.'

Due to the film's strong critical reception, massive numbers of comic book fans across North America organized various celebratory events for the release of 'Batman: The Moment of Battle,' as if Christmas had come early.

On December 22, a Friday, 'Batman: The Moment of Battle' opened on 2613 screens in a massive release.

Meanwhile, the box office figures for North America for the week of December 15 to December 21 were released.

The week before 'Batman: The Moment of Battle's release saw six new films hitting theaters, three of which opened on over 1000 screens: Sylvester Stallone's action epic 'Fury of the Tiger,' Sean Connery's crime comedy 'Family Business,' and Universal's family comedy 'Little Sorcerer.'

Stallone's 'Fury of the Tiger,' with a budget of $55 million—which was higher than that of 'Batman: The Moment of Battle'—was initially touted as a selling point of the film.

However, this major December 15 release collapsed critically upon opening, with an aggregate media score of just 3.3. The Los Angeles Times brutally described the film as 'a complete waste of actors, time, and money.'

'Fury of the Tiger,' originally incubated by Warner Brothers under the Guber-Peters production company, was dropped to clear the release slate for 'Batman: The Moment of Battle' and ultimately picked up by Columbia's subsidiary, TriStar Pictures.

Due to the overwhelmingly negative reviews, 'Fury of the Tiger' garnered only $12.2 million in its opening week across 1409 screens, far below expectations given its massive budget and prime release slot.

With a week-one box office of $12.2 million and the impending competition from 'Batman: The Moment of Battle,' expectations for 'Fury of the Tiger's' total North American gross were around $50 million, marking a disappointing start for Sony's foray into Hollywood.

Although 'Fury of the Tiger' fared poorly, it was not the worst performer of the week.

Among the other films that opened on more than 1000 screens, Sean Connery's 'Family Business,' which opened on 1201 screens, brought in just $3.19 million in its first week. Universal's 'Little Sorcerer,' on 1155 screens, did even worse, earning only $2.97 million.

Due to the lackluster performance of all new releases, the box office chart for the week of December 15 to December 21 was still dominated by older films.

Daenerys Entertainment and Warner Brothers' joint venture 'Flight of Innocence' topped the box office for the fifth week in a row with $13.96 million, bringing its total North American gross to $115.21 million.

'Gucci Mark,' a fashion documentary aimed at promoting the brand, brought in $4.93 million this week, a 23% drop, ranking fifth in the box office. After four weeks, it had grossed a total of $28.79 million, a profitable return on its budget.

Daenerys Entertainment's solo production 'Scream 2,' in its eighth week, earned $3.98 million, ranking eighth for the week. The film's total gross reached $102.15 million, successfully crossing the $100 million mark.

As with the previous Thanksgiving period when many new films avoided clashing with 'Back to the Future Part II,' 'Batman: The Moment of Battle' dominated its opening week, with the other two new releases opening on fewer than ten screens—hardly competition.

Additionally, Daenerys Entertainment and Warner Brothers arranged midnight screenings across North America on the Thursday before the widespread Friday release, further boosting 'Batman: The Moment of Battle's' media buzz.

Inside a mansion in the Bel Air community.

It's now December 23, a Saturday. Despite being exhausted from consecutive days of work, Warner Brothers CEO Terry Semel couldn't stay awake until the early morning box office numbers were released. However, due to excitement, he awoke at 4 a.m. after less than five hours of sleep.

Trying not to wake his wife, Semel tiptoed out of bed and went to his study still in his pajamas.

Turning on the light, he found a faxed report already waiting.

Pulling out the report, Terry Semel skipped the detailed data from various theaters and scanned directly to the bottom.

$15.37 million?!

For a moment, Terry Semel thought he had read it wrong.

'Fury of the Tiger' had only made $12.2 million in its first full week; Terry Semel had been glad not to have taken on that project. How could 'Batman: The Moment of Battle' possibly make more than that in just its opening day?

That number, it seems, also included the midnight showings.

But that didn't make sense either.

The midnight show revenues had come out the previous day; because they were only for media promotion in key cities and involved a limited number of screenings, they totaled just $1.2 million.

Now, the first-day total was $15.37 million.

What was going on?

It was unheard of for Hollywood films to gross over $15.37 million in their first week, let alone on their first day.

Or, $1.537 million...

That was even less likely.

Suppressing a rising excitement, Terry Semel picked up the phone and directly called Daenerys Entertainment CEO Amy Pascal, although it was early, she picked up quickly, without any sign of just waking up.

Hearing it was Terry Semel, Amy, from her Palisades home, said directly: "Terry, have you seen the first day box office numbers?"

"$15.37 million," Terry Semel repeated the number from the report, still suppressing his excitement, asking: "Amy, is this for real?"

On the other end of the line, Amy couldn't help but laugh, saying: "Terry, distribution is your department's job, you shouldn't be asking me. But, I've already

 called Jim to ask, and yes, it's $15.37 million."

Confirming the news, Terry Semel's free hand clenched into a fist, saying: "Amy, perhaps we should immediately call a meeting."

As Terry Semel and Amy Pascal spoke, it was already past seven o'clock in the morning on the U.S. East Coast.

Early risers opening their newspapers were greeted by enlarged, bold headlines about 'Batman: The Moment of Battle's' first day box office, with the $15.37 million figure stunning countless readers.

Considering 'Indiana Jones 3' had set a record for the highest grossing first full week of summer with $46.01 million, a figure heavily promoted by the media at the time, 'Batman: The Moment of Battle's' first day earnings of $15.37 million prompted speculation about its potential week-long haul.

As Hollywood was enveloped in excitement and confusion, 'Batman: The Moment of Battle's' fanbase celebrated wildly after the first day's box office numbers were released. Additionally, many viewers who initially had little interest in 'Batman: The Moment of Battle' began flocking to theaters, spurred by the surrounding media buzz, further driving up the film's revenue.

A phenomenal viewing trend quickly took shape.

Following the first day's $15.37 million, 'Batman: The Moment of Battle' took in $18.23 million on Saturday. On December 24, a Sunday and Christmas Eve, a significant drop occurred, but the film still pulled in a robust $11.96 million.

Since Monday, December 25 was Christmas Day, a national holiday, this effectively extended the weekend box office to four days.

Moreover, compared to the previous day's Christmas Eve, 'Batman: The Moment of Battle's' revenue rebounded to $14.53 million.

In just four days, 'Batman: The Moment of Battle's' North American total rocketed to a staggering $60.09 million, far surpassing the highest single-week record set by 'Indiana Jones 3' during the summer.

Over the next three weekdays, 'Batman: The Moment of Battle' continued to pull in between $7 million and $8 million daily.

Ultimately, 'Batman: The Moment of Battle's' first-week earnings hit a groundbreaking $82.39 million.

Looking back, accompanied by a first-week gross of $82.39 million, 'Batman: The Moment of Battle' set a series of box office records.

- Highest first-day opening: $15.37 million

- Highest single-day gross: $18.23 million.

- Highest first three-day weekend: $45.56 million.

- Highest first four-day holiday weekend: $60.09 million.

- Highest first seven-day total: $82.39 million.

Moreover, 'Batman: The Moment of Battle's' average per-theater revenue for the first week reached $31,530. Although this per-theater average didn't set a historical high, considering the film's broad release across 2613 screens, this achievement was unparalleled by any previous film with a similar scope.

Prompted by 'Batman: The Moment of Battle's' box office success, the total North American box office for the week of December 22 to December 28 surpassed the $150 million mark, nearly double the previous week's total of over $80 million.

However, because 'Batman: The Moment of Battle' accounted for more than half of that total, many older films that typically would have seen a holiday rebound experienced significant drops in revenue.

Last week's box office leader 'Flight of Innocence' saw a 22% decrease, slipping to $10.88 million for the week, bringing its cumulative total to $126.09 million. Due to this downturn, some box office tracking agencies revised their projections for 'Flight of Innocence's' total North American earnings from over $170 million down to $160 million.

Sylvester Stallone's 'Fury of the Tiger,' already poorly received, suffered further under the overwhelming impact of 'Batman: The Moment of Battle,' with its audience nearly disappearing, leading to a 36% drop in its second-week earnings to $7.81 million. In just two weeks, it had only accumulated $20.01 million, a dismal result. Its projected total North American gross was also lowered to around $35 million.

Although Stallone's films typically perform well overseas, given 'Fury of the Tiger's' $55 million production budget and not insubstantial $15 million marketing costs, Columbia would struggle to recover the total $70 million spent through all subsequent revenue streams.

With two major releases floundering under the shadow of 'Batman: The Moment of Battle,' the plight of other films on the chart was evident.

Meanwhile, on December 29, as the new week began, Tom Cruise and Meg Ryan's new film 'Rocket Science' and Steven Spielberg's fantasy romance 'Until Forever' faced grim prospects under the continued dominance of 'Batman: The Moment of Battle.'

On another note, as 'Batman: The Moment of Battle' hauled in an astonishing $82.39 million in its first week, its merchandise sales also skyrocketed.

Thanks to meticulous early preparations, 'Batman: The Moment of Battle's' various types of merchandise, including toys and original soundtracks, were fully stocked in stores by its release date, December 22. As the film premiered, corresponding merchandise sales kicked off simultaneously.

Due to the high demand driven by 'Batman: The Moment of Battle's' overwhelming popularity, even though initial preparations were ample, the most popular items such as Batman and Catwoman action figures, and notably eye-catching items like the Batmotorcycle, quickly sold out, leading retailers everywhere to urgently request restocks.

Additionally, although multiple official movie posters were developed for sale, the popularity of the Catwoman character led to thefts of her posters in various locations following the film's release, with some even attempting to steal large promotional posters.

Warner Brothers' marketing department had to allocate staff specifically to replace these stolen posters.

Lastly, even the original score, initially not expected to perform well, surprisingly sold 260,000 copies in its first week.

After initial calculations, 'Batman: The Moment of Battle's' opening week, alongside a record-breaking $82.39 million box office, saw its merchandise sales shine even brighter, reaching an astonishing $130 million.

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