One up

The Los Angeles Times' Nicholas, in his report, had a reason for selecting Hugo and Brad as rivals. It was not without reason that they both had involvement with Tracey, and they both participated in auditions for "A River Runs Through It" and "A Few Good Men". These reasons could be considered subjective, but more importantly, both Hugo and Brad were tall and handsome, and they possessed a sunny and just temperament. Brad was more free-spirited, while Hugo was warmer. In the competitive industry of acting, competition between actors of similar types is fierce, and usually only one can come out on top. The fact that Hugo and Brad encountered each other in the auditions for two different projects within a short period of time served as solid evidence.

So, when Nicholas listed these two individuals as rivals, many people expressed surprise since they didn't have any previous direct confrontations. However, after the surprise, they had to agree. Therefore, when "A River Runs Through It" and "Scent of a Woman" were released one after the other, people couldn't help but get excited.

The recently released "A River Runs Through It" received favorable reviews, with a media score of 68 and a CinemaScore of "B". The critical reception was also quite good. Regarding Brad, the focus was on his innocent smile, with many believing that he exuded the same charm as a young Robert Redford, leading to the nickname "Redford's successor". This further boosted Brad's popularity and continued the positive impact brought by "Thelma & Louise".

At that time, Brad was still a completely new actor. Whether in "Thelma & Louise" or "A River Runs Through It", he played supporting roles with limited screen time. However, his performances in these two projects received much acclaim, reminiscent of Hugo's early days in the industry.

As for the newly released "Scent of a Woman", it received a media score of 72 and a CinemaScore of "B+", slightly outperforming "A River Runs Through It". In terms of Hugo's performance, the majority of the praise focused on his ability to hold his own against Al in their scenes together, his rejuvenated acting talent, and his fantastic performance. The negative impact from "Hudson Hawk" was diminished by his remarkable performance this time, bringing back memories of Hugo's glorious moments in "Dead Poets Society" in 1989.

In the positive confrontation between Brad and Hugo, it was apparent that Hugo received more attention. After all, his scene partner was Al, who delivered a stellar performance that set the bar high. Despite the pressure, Hugo held his own, showcasing his excellence.

Us Weekly, in its review, playfully teased, "Although Hugo lost in the auditions for "A River Runs Through It", he struck back with a fantastic performance in "Scent of a Woman". It's worth pondering if Brad regrets not getting the audition for "Scent of a Woman"?"

Upon reading this comment from Us Weekly, Brad became irritated. Just last week, he was basking in the positive reviews for "A River Runs Through It", but now Hugo had given him a reality check with his exceptional performance. Brad couldn't help but feel a burning sensation on his cheeks, recalling his previous pride after the auditions for "A River Runs Through It".

"Brad, you shouldn't..." Brad's agent, Martin Baum, had been through many ups and downs and appeared quite composed. However, his internal thoughts were also in turmoil, but he didn't want to show it. In Martin's view, although "Scent of a Woman" had an excellent performance, Brad's performance in "A River Runs Through It" was also commendable. He didn't consider it a failure.

But Brad, full of youthful pride, couldn't accept these words of advice. He interrupted Martin, "What shouldn't I do? Shouldn't I be angry? How is that possible? Haven't you seen those media comments? They always compare me to Hugo, almost saying that I've suffered a crushing defeat. It's disgraceful! Shameful!"

Martin opened his mouth, but he swallowed the words "Didn't you actively want to compete with Hugo?" He knew it wouldn't be wise to provoke Brad further. As far as Martin knew, there seemed to be some issues between Brad and Tracey Jacobs recently. If he added fuel to the fire now, things might become uncontrollable.

So Martin modified his words, "Think about the media's comments about you. They were full of praise, no one said your performance was bad, no one! Have you forgotten the media's praises? Now, it's just that Hugo's performance has gained attention again, and you've become restless, anxious, and worried. Can't your mind calm down?"

Martin's series of words made Brad dizzy. In reality, he didn't really hear the content clearly. He only knew that Martin kept emphasizing the media's previous praise for him, which calmed Brad down slightly.

"But his movie's box office is better than mine!" Brad still wasn't completely clear-headed. Suddenly, he remembered something, "A River Runs Through It" had a box office of $25,000 last week, which was lower than "Scent of a Woman". And this week, "A River Runs Through It" only earned $19,000, losing in the direct confrontation. Both are arthouse films, and it's already disheartening to lag behind in word-of-mouth. But to also be defeated in the box office, that really bothered Brad.

"So what? It's just the first week, and getting angry won't change anything." Martin looked at the shattered coffee cup on his carpet and couldn't help but sigh. If it weren't for Brad's promising future, he would have probably gotten angry when Brad heard the box office results for "Scent of a Woman" and got too excited, shattering the coffee cup. But Martin had managed to keep his composure.

Martin shifted his gaze back to Brad, who was still frustrated, and said, "Forget about the future box office trends for now. Even if "Scent of a Woman" is performing better this time, you still have countless opportunities in the future, don't you? You're still on the rise, while Hugo has only had a resurgence once. The future is uncertain, and you will have opportunities to compete with each other. You can win next time."

This time, Brad finally calmed down and listened quietly to Martin's words. Seizing the opportunity, Martin asked, "Do you lack confidence in yourself?"

"Who said that!" Brad immediately got agitated, his face turning red. He exclaimed, "Next time, I will definitely win!"

Thinking about Tracey's playful comment after the first batch of reviews for "Scent of a Woman", jokingly asking what the effect would be if Hugo had played the role, and the director, Robert, responding with a smile, "More handsome than me?" It was just a joke, not to be taken seriously, but Brad still kept it in mind.

With that in mind, Brad clenched his teeth and fists tightly. "Definitely!"

However, Brad's wish was destined to be unfulfilled this time because in the direct confrontation between "A River Runs Through It" and "Scent of a Woman", the latter took a commanding lead.

In the fourth week of October, "A River Runs Through It" expanded its release, with 130 theaters earning $1.58 million in weekend box office, ranking ninth in the weekend box office top ten. Meanwhile, "Scent of a Woman," which continued limited screenings in 20 theaters, saw an increase in single-theater box office to $30,000. With a weekend box office of $600,000, it ranked 14th among the 17 films on the chart.

Even so, "Scent of a Woman" single-theater box office astonished everyone.

In the fifth week of October, riding on the momentum of excellent word-of-mouth, "Scent of a Woman" expanded nationwide, releasing in 1,100 theaters. The scale of this expansion alone demonstrated Universal Pictures' high confidence in the film. And "Scent of a Woman" lived up to Universal Pictures' trust, grossing $7 million over the weekend. Surprisingly, it claimed the top spot in the North American weekend box office rankings, stunning everyone. Even the boldest box office prediction experts couldn't have foreseen the current situation!

This created a strange situation on this week's North American box office chart. The three-week reigning champion, "Under Siege", was knocked down to a second place with $6.1 million. "A River Runs Through It", which continued to expand in 800 theaters, earned $4.2 million and rose to the third position.

This unexpected ranking was truly beyond anyone's expectations. Not to mention an arthouse film like "A River Runs Through It" ascending to third place, surpassing films with solid box office potential like "Candyman" and "The Last of the Mohicans". Just the fact that "Scent of a Woman", a film without any box office competitiveness, achieved unexpectedly good results, surpassing the weekly box office of "Under Siege", which had secured three consecutive victories prior, and claiming the top spot in the weekend box office, was an absolute surprise.

At this point, "Scent of a Woman" had accumulated $9 million at the box office after three weeks, recovering its production costs and proving profitability. Coupled with its excellent word-of-mouth, the film had positioned itself well for upcoming major awards ceremonies. It could be said that Universal Pictures' investment this time was truly wise.

Not to mention the media's mourning before the film's release, even Universal Pictures had reservations about director Martin Brest's choice of Hugo, a Razzie Award winner. They couldn't fully trust him. But now? It seemed like an excellent choice.

Amidst the astonished exclamations of the media, the magical journey of "Scent of a Woman" was far from over.