Chapter 74: North American Box Office Breaks 100 Million

In the new week, "Speed" continued its fierce competition with "Cliffhanger."

Despite a series of public opinion influences, "Speed" managed to beat "Cliffhanger" thanks to its rating advantage and slightly better quality.

In four weekdays, "Speed" earned $22.694 million at the box office, while "Cliffhanger" earned $15.243 million.

It's worth mentioning that "Cliffhanger" being an R-rated movie had a significant impact on its box office.

In the North American film market, PG-13 films always have an advantage over R-rated films.

So, with the two films being of comparable quality, it's no surprise that "Speed" outperformed "Cliffhanger."

In the highly competitive summer season, new films are released every weekend.

In its second weekend, Warner Bros.' comedy "Dave" was released, but it didn't affect "Speed's" second weekend box office.

In three days over the second weekend, "Speed" added another $24.558 million, bringing its total to $84.066 million in ten days, once again topping the weekend box office.

Due to the double pressure of "Speed" and "Dave" "Cliffhanger" saw a sharp drop in its second weekend, earning only $14.506 million, with a total box office of $65.384 million.

Honestly, this box office performance actually met CAA's expectations.

After all, it's rare for an R-rated movie to reach this level, and no one was expecting it to break 100 million, except for "Basic Instinct."

Although Sharon Stone has a sharp tongue and later offended Chinese audiences, in the early 1990s, she was a rival to big-name Hollywood actresses like Julia Roberts and Jodie Foster.

The female lead of "Cliffhanger," Janine Turner, didn't have Sharon Stone's daringness, so it's natural that its box office wouldn't compare to "Basic Instinct."

However, without "Speed," CAA would have been quite satisfied with "Cliffhanger's" box office.

But with "Speed" out there, its over $80 million box office performance was just too dazzling.

And this was only after ten days of release. If nothing unexpected happens, "Speed" will break 100 million in North America.

Although Hollywood has been impressed by Gilbert's previous successes, this time it was even more shocking.

Not even 23 years old, and his third film has already broken 100 million at the North American box office? What kind of concept is this?

It means that Gilbert has already entered the ranks of top directors, becoming a favorite among major film companies.

No one would pass up a money-making machine, and Gilbert would become the object of Hollywood's pursuit, with stars going crazy to be part of his projects.

This is no exaggeration. In fact, after the second weekend box office was released, Gilbert received many calls from people he didn't know before.

There were CEOs of film companies, producers, and top Hollywood stars.

The most memorable was Julia Roberts. When Gilbert worked as an executive director on "Hook," she didn't even give him a second glance.

But this time, when Gilbert received her call, her attitude had clearly improved a lot, and she even reminisced with him about the "good times" on "Hook."

In reality, the two had no real relationship. She was simply reaching out because Gilbert was now someone worth her time.

However, this wasn't what angered CAA the most.

What truly enraged them was that "Cliffhanger" had a production cost of $65 million.

And "Speed" Its production cost was only $20 million.

Why was "Speed" so cheap? Mainly because Keanu Reeves' salary was low, just $400,000.

Stallone's salary was dozens of times higher than Keanu Reeves'. The combined salaries of the male and female leads of "Cliffhanger" could fund 1.5 "Speed" films.

But there's no helping it. Not everyone is like Gilbert, able to create a box office miracle with unknown actors.

This is one reason why film companies like Gilbert—low cost, high box office, meaning high returns.

Just from its North American box office, "Speed" had already recouped its costs and was making a profit.

In contrast to CAA's Michael Ovitz, as Gilbert's agent, Sheena Boone was currently riding high.

No matter which film company she went to, those previously aloof executives would politely greet her and say, "Ms. Boone."

It had also become much easier for Sheena Boone to secure projects and roles for her artists, as film companies were now more inclined to consider her clients.

Sheena Boone knew exactly who was responsible for all of this, so on the first page of her work log, she had written: "Gilbert's matters are always the top priority."

She couldn't afford to lose this client, so maintaining a good relationship was essential.

While promoting in New York, Sheena Boone made a special trip to discuss the next steps with Gilbert.

"Gilbert, Touchstone Pictures is talking to me about the sequel to 'Final Destination.' They want to buy the rights."

Gilbert asked, "How much is Robert Iger willing to offer?"

"A million dollars."

"A million dollars?" Gilbert shook his head and said, "That's impossible. If they don't offer $20 million, they can forget about getting the sequel rights from me."

He owned 10% of the rights, so he had to make a hefty demand.

And with "Final Destination" having grossed over 100 million globally, asking Disney for $20 million for the rights buyout was reasonable.

Mainly, he didn't want to invest in it further. Rather than letting it collect dust, it was better to take this opportunity to make Disney pay a hefty sum.

Sheena Boone understood and then asked, "What do you plan to do after the film's promotion ends?"

"I'm thinking about it. Maybe I'll take a vacation. Ellie has been bugging me to go to China, so I'll take her there for a holiday," Gilbert said.

Sheena Boone understood that Gilbert had always been interested in Chinese culture, so it wasn't surprising that he wanted to vacation there.

"What about the new project?"

"We'll talk about that after I get back from China. We can't always be thinking about new projects."

"I understand..."

While Gilbert was discussing work, Naomi Watts stayed quiet, not interfering.

In fact, Gilbert had already mentioned his new project idea to her—a sci-fi action movie, a story about martial arts.

And he promised that there would be a role perfect for her, which she would get to play.

This promise made Naomi Watts very happy, and she rewarded Gilbert with several "sports activities."

But the new project was still far off. After all, "Speed" was still in theaters, and that was the most important thing at the moment.

As the third week of the summer season approached, the "Speed" crew wrapped up their national tour in Philadelphia.

"Speed" couldn't beat the new releases this week and didn't take the top spot, but it still earned $20.577 million, bringing its North American box office to $104 million.

Even though it was expected that the film would break 100 million, when the news came out, Hollywood was still shocked.

It wasn't just Hollywood—even political circles and Wall Street took notice.

The *Wall Street Journal* ran a front-page article on "Speed" breaking 100 million, mentioning director Gilbert by name and emphasizing his age.

Gilbert's box office success had even reached someone living in Washington.

At a dinner, that person in Washington introduced Gilbert as a young Hollywood genius to a friendly associate.

A genius combined with the Hollywood brand—it's a topic that will always generate buzz.

As the fourth week of the summer season arrived, "Speed" hit $119 million in North America, and the film began its international release.

.....

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