Chapter 84: A Blessing in Disguise

Many turning points in the world often originate from seemingly insignificant events.

After a week of exhausting responses and successfully muddling the public discourse, Simon understood that the clarification he was about to make on NBC's "Tonight Show" could not possibly clear him of all doubts. The situation would still require time to subside.

However, the video that unexpectedly appeared on ABC thoroughly reversed the entire situation.

Prior suspicions were mostly centered on whether Simon possessed the professional capabilities in photography, editing, and music composition. However, after watching that video, anyone with a bit of independent thinking no longer doubted Simon's personal skills in music.

It was clear that Simon, an almost masterful guitarist, could undoubtedly complete a mere movie score.

If Simon could handle the music, then naturally, he could also take on seemingly simpler tasks like filming and editing. So, what was there left to doubt about the production of "Run Lola Run"?

Of course, the skepticism wouldn't subside so easily.

Media quickly pointed out that in the video aired by ABC, Janet Johnston and Katherine Bigelow were clearly present, and Simon Westeros was using a collectible Gibson guitar valued at around $1,000.

These details suggested that the video might have been staged recently, rather than being footage of Simon busking on Venice Beach before his fame.

An obvious conclusion.

Where would a penniless young man get such an expensive brand-name guitar for street performances?

From this, it could be inferred that Simon's performance of "Flight of the Bumblebee" was likely hastily learned recently, just to address the current situation. Of course, the boy might have some talent with the guitar, but it still proved nothing.

However, this line of questioning was quickly refuted.

Local media in Los Angeles conducted investigations at Venice Beach. While the tourists from that time were long gone, many local vendors vividly remembered the small miracle Simon created last year.

Subsequently, a Spanish innkeeper appeared on a local Los Angeles TV interview show, holding his own wooden guitar and detailed the entire incident from before, emphatically vouching for Simon.

The following Monday, amid much anticipation, Simon was officially a guest on the "Tonight Show."

Due to the shift in media sentiment, and with Simon presenting a slew of evidence on NBC's hit talk show, including handwritten scripts, storyboard sketches, and his personal work notes from the production process of "Run Lola Run," the week-long tumult also came to an essential close.

Originally, Simon thought it would be good enough just to escape the whirlwind of public opinion.

However, what nobody anticipated—perhaps due to the ABC video reigniting a surge of popularity—was that besides the reported increase in guitar sales across North America, "Run Lola Run's" box office for the following week also saw an unexpected turnaround.

Given that "Run Lola Run" had been widely released the previous week, the usual box office trajectory for most films indicated a drop in the fifth week. Affected by the controversy, Orion even predicted that the movie's box office might decline by more than 30%.

However, the reality was that from March 13 to March 15, over the weekend, rather than declining, "Run Lola Run's" box office saw a rebound of about 6%, earning another $19.65 million.

But that was not all.

For the entire week of March 13 to March 19, the overall box office defied the trend even further, achieving around a 10% increase, with a weekly total of $28.16 million.

Thus, after five weeks, "Run Lola Run" had amassed a total of $85.87 million.

Then, as everyone expected yet still found surprising.

Entering its sixth week, "Run Lola Run," with another weekend total of $16.35 million, officially crossed the $100 million mark, reaching $102.22 million.

Due to market scale and distribution model limitations, throughout the 1980s, at least until 1987, movies that broke $100 million in box office within six weeks were extremely rare.

According to Orion's original estimates, even in the best scenario, "Run Lola Run" was expected to break $100 million after a full week of its sixth week, with the seventh week being the most likely time to enter the $100 million club.

But in reality, "Run Lola Run" achieved this milestone in just five and a half weeks.

Moreover, reaching $100 million early wasn't the most crucial aspect. Since its release, it had been clear that achieving this box office milestone would be easy for this film.

Initially, Hollywood's expectations for "Run Lola Run's" total North American gross were between $150 million and $200 million.

However, after the controversy, as "Run Lola Run's" waning popularity was reignited, the box office downturn significantly slowed.

The box office curve that was supposed to decline in the fifth week unexpectedly shifted, causing an overall upward adjustment in the subsequent box office trajectory.

After

 reassessing, many were surprised to find that after achieving $100 million in five and a half weeks, "Run Lola Run's" ultimate box office potential was now clearly exceeding the $200 million mark.

As for the final total, too many were hesitant to predict.

However, while some tried to avoid this reality, many enthusiastic media outlets began comparing "Run Lola Run" to past movies with similar box office trajectories, notably the 1985 North American box office champion, "Back to the Future."

Directed by Robert Zemeckis, this popular sci-fi film also reached $100 million in its sixth week. However, "Back to the Future" only barely crossed the $100 million threshold after a full week, earning $100.92 million.

Yet, "Back to the Future" ultimately reached a North American gross of $210 million.

So, just how much could "Run Lola Run" achieve?!

Reflecting on the film's upcoming box office potential, some in the depths of Hollywood who had initially tried to curb its revenue now felt a strong sense of regret.

Originally intending to suppress "Run Lola Run's" box office, they instead helped the film cross an even more miraculous threshold.