The Best Director

Chapter 370: Chapter 370: The Funeral of ‘Firefly’! (Vote for Monthly Tickets)

“Welcome back to ‘Storm of Entertainment,’ I’m Shen Xing! Yesterday, the magical Best Director Wang Yang, Young Master Yang’s new work ‘Firefly’ premiered globally, immediately causing a huge sensation.”

Entertainment news programs and some news programs around the world are focusing on this major film industry event, reporting the latest dynamics of ‘Firefly’! In the Greater China region, Phoenix Satellite Television Chinese Channel is broadcasting ‘Storm of Entertainment.’ On the TV screen, watched by viewers, the host Shen Xing looks very excited; behind her, the screen displays scenes from ‘Firefly,’ scenes of tornadoes and marauder swarms in a great battle, and Shen Xing laughs joyfully: “Both critics and audiences have given it very high praise. Yes, that magical Yang has done it again!”

The TV screen switches from the studio to scenes from ‘Firefly,’ a female voiceover speaks: “Director Wang Yang’s latest work ‘Firefly’ tells a science fiction story that occurs on the edge of a new star system after humanity’s migration to the future, with a film investment of 200 million US Dollars. It is the first live-action movie to adopt IMAX filming technology, and it features a large number of Chinese elements, including kung fu, landscapes, Chinese characters, Mandarin, and so on. Yesterday, the movie was released simultaneously worldwide, and people flocked to theaters to watch…”

TVB’s ‘Entertainment Grand Search’ also reports: “‘Firefly’ fever sweeps across Hong Kong, fans scramble to see Young Master Yang!” Beijing Satellite TV, Hunan Satellite TV, Oriental Satellite TV, Southern Satellite TV… Taiwan’s Eastern Comprehensive Channel: “Under the immense pressure of ‘Firefly,’ how Master Zhou’s starring ‘Initial D’ will perform becomes questionable, as reported by Eastern News Comprehensive.”

“Didn’t Wang Yang’s new movie just get released? Let’s go check it out,” said a young man in a couple, laughing happily. “Let’s go see that, that what… ‘Firefly,’ right! The one made by the ‘Kung Fu Panda’ director,” said a round-faced father holding his young daughter, laughing. “Young Master Yang!!! Grandpa!!! Young Master Yang!!! Young Master Yang!!!” a few young Hong Kong girls screamed wildly. “It’s really good!” exclaimed several Korean viewers as they left the theater after watching ‘Firefly.’

Not just in Asia, media such as television, newspapers, and the internet in Europe and other places are also reporting; on NBC in North America, ‘Evening News’ arrived at the relaxed and fun tail end of the broadcast: “Wang Yang is back with magic! Perhaps you all know, ‘Firefly’ is creating a new filmic miracle!”

It sounds like an advertisement, but who’s to say this isn’t an emerging social phenomenon? The screen shows a cinema’s spacious and tidy ticket hall with a long line of young faces in the queue, and then cuts to people being interviewed by a reporter: “Which movie are you here to see?” A parade of young faces from different ethnic backgrounds flashes past, each with a smile or excited: “Of course, ‘Firefly.'”, “Do you even need to ask? I’ve been waiting for two years for ‘Firefly.'”, “I was actually going to see ‘Batman,’ but after coming here, I found myself more interested in ‘Firefly,’ but I can’t get a ticket, so now I’m waiting for the next show.”, “Wang Yang’s ‘Firefly.'”, “YOUNG!! ‘Firefly’!!”…

IMDB-TOP250 ranks it at 9.8 (91,634 rating users), Number 1! BFCA official website gives it 97 out of 100! Rotten Tomatoes gives it 98%/100% freshness from critics (163 out of 167), 98% audience approval (156,913 rating users)! This is the near-perfect praise and high ratings for ‘Firefly!’

Former ardent Wang Yang fan, former critic who spoke unfavorably of ‘The Devil Wears Prada,’ Roger Ebert has quietly returned. Although he awarded the highest rating of a perfect score, he has not yet raved madly, nor is there any trace of controversy. In his one-sentence review, ‘Firefly’ is: “Wang Yang’s real blockbuster.” With top-word-of-mouth, rave reviews, and audiences lining up… To call it a blockbuster seems quite appropriate, for when the North America box office numbers were released for the opening day, June 17, the world was shocked again! It’s truly insane!!

$60.35 million US Dollars! An average of $15,695 per theater in 3,845 cinemas! These are the astonishing opening day box office figures for ‘Firefly,’ which toppled the recently set record of ‘Star Wars: Episode III’ with a brutal beating!

“Madman Yang has done it…” While media and movie fans marveled in astonishment, “Firefly” had already forcefully refreshed multiple North American box office records!

There was no doubt it became the new champion of historical opening day, facing off against “Star Wars: Episode III,” which held a large Star Wars fan base, topped various summer movie anticipation lists, and was the final installment of the series, with $50.1 million and an average of $13,661 per location (on a Thursday, across 3,661 theaters). “Firefly” unbelievably won by $10.34 million, earning $2,034 per location—it won by too much! It even surpassed “Spider-Man 2,” now slipped to the third place, which had $19.91 million (on a Wednesday, across 4,152 theaters), earning $5,954 per location! If one says that “Firefly” had the advantage of opening on a Friday, then…

The new champion of historical Friday box office! In second place was “Spider-Man” from May 2002 with $39.4 million, and in third place was “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban” from June 2004 with $38.26 million. “Firefly,” which won by $20.95 million and $22.09 million, respectively, still won by too much!

It was only one day, but the weekend had three days! The fastest to reach $100 million? The fastest to reach $150 million? $200 million!? The new champion of weekend box office history?…

Seeing such a universally praised interstellar science fiction film by media critics, being elevated to a divine pedestal, many older folks felt as if they were back in the summer of 1977, witnessing once again the immense shock and storm brought by “Star Wars” at that time. Meanwhile, numerous geeks and young people were boiling with excitement; they really didn’t mind the birth of a new interstellar culture—it belonged to their new era! How should “Firefly”‘s box office be predicted? Analysts were starting to get headaches.

“‘Firefly’ is that very, very special kind of movie. It’s certain its box office will be explosive, but it’s still too early to say if it can break through the global $1 billion in revenue, you know. Although its reviews and opening day box office have far exceeded everyone’s expectations, there are still many negative factors, particularly the overall sluggish movie theater market at present; if it had no achievements, obviously it would be even less possible. ‘Firefly’ has all the makings of a bestseller and indeed has had a good start, as to how far it can go in the end, we’ll see,” said analysts.

While they said this, BOM analyst James Moore still made an assessment and forecast, hoping that North American box office could soar to $400 million, becoming the eighth film in history to do so, and Wang Yang’s first entry into the $400 million club; global box office could hope to surge to $900 million, which would also be eighth in history and a first for Wang Yang.

Now, whether it’s Yahoo Entertainment, The-Numbers website, or Boxofficemojo website, all box office tracking institutions were very optimistic about “Firefly,” yet maintained a cautious attitude. Analysts were conservative about whether it could become the third film in history to exceed $1 billion in global box office after “Titanic” in ’97 with $1.843 billion and “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King” in ’03 with $1.167 billion, of course not taking into account currency inflation adjustments.

While “Firefly” was raking in $60.35 million on its opening day, there was such caution likely due to myriad concerns. This midsummer boasted a plethora of big-name directors and dazzling productions, which were originally super anticipated, but things didn’t develop as expected. “Kingdom of Heaven” flopped miserably, “Iron Man” was well-received but didn’t sell well, and almost all the commercial films that should have been second or third place fumbled, with no standout independent films. Only “Star Wars: Episode III” and “Kung Fu Panda” did not disappoint, leading to a fierce competition on the box office charts, but a generally lackluster overall market compared to last year.

Successive big film failures had already hit the North American box office market. Coupled with the increasingly fierce competition from viewing channels like DVDs and the need to win back the hearts of the audience, the American Cinema Owners Association even began to blame disrupting cellphone ringtones.

No wonder the remade sci-fi blockbuster “War of the Worlds” by Stephen Spielberg, who was doubted like Wang Yang to have “lost his spiritual energy, gotten old, and left only with unintelligent commercial films,” was further questioned for being “clumsy story, rushed production” on one hand, and on the other hand, held the thick hope of being “a savior to the market,” with Paramount boasting that it would create a box office miracle. But now, with Yang sweeping away all doubts ahead of the curve, “Firefly” rose powerfully! For a moment, it got the audience boiling, and the sluggish cinema market boiling too!

“`

Right now, the ones who are happiest about “Firefly” might not be Flame Movies, but the cinema owners; those who didn’t sign a screening contract with Flame are beating their chests and stomping their feet, knowing that even if they rush to Flame Movies headquarters now to fight for film reels, they would still miss the first week! Damn it! But the theater companies still have to pick up the phone.

This is a huge gold mine! For the cinema chains and the movie theaters, and even more so for Flame Movies. Flame has had success with various types of products related to their animated films in the later stages, but they fell short when it came to live-action movies, not even taking projects like bringing “High School Musical” to the Broadway stage or organizing touring concerts, and there hasn’t been much to dig into with other films they own, of course, excluding products like DVDs and original soundtrack CDs.

However, “Firefly” is now a real treasure and if it wants to create a new cultural phenomenon, it definitely shouldn’t be limited to the movies. Comics, books, TV series, games, and so on all have room to grow; not to mention Sheldon’s collection of toys, like the character models, the blue gloves, Captain Mal’s pistol…

After all, the greater the success during the screening phase, the more power it provides for the later stages. The turnout on the opening day of “Firefly” was satisfying and left the Wang Yang haters frustrated and agitated.

“FUCK!! Go to hell!! Ahhh—” On this particular day, Paris Hilton was so angry that she spent the whole day with a black expression, occasionally screaming and shouting, smashing some stuff in the presidential suite of the hotel. After venting her frustrations, she was ready to head to a nightclub with friends to relieve her annoyance. “What’s wrong with these people! They’re all a bunch of idiots, totally mad!” Her curses were ineffective, and today the Olsen sisters also felt chest tightness and frustration. Is “Firefly” really that good?!

“Damn it!” Brad Pitt was also in a very bad mood. The outside world had already begun discussing how incredibly stupid his decision was! Plus, damn the marriage gossip! “Mr. & Mrs. Smith” was only in its second week, and the box office was definitely going to be affected now!

“The hell with it!!” The critics who had trashed “The Devil Wears Prada” and lambasted Wang Yang, such as Jeffrey Westhoff from “The Northwest Herald”, were now caught in an embarrassing dilemma. They couldn’t ignore a cinematic phenomenon in terms of their job responsibilities and the newspaper’s demands, or they would be ridiculed even more; by this weekend at the latest, they had to publish related reviews, yet they had no idea how to start writing.

“Wang Yang knows, he’s opened up a whole new world of science fiction, cleverly incorporating humor, action, romance, terror, and every element the audience could expect, perfectly blending them into ‘Firefly’.” — A+, Kevin Thomas, “Los Angeles Times”; “This film has an almost arrogant courage, for a long time ‘Star Wars’ has dominated our vision, and I must say from now on, ‘Star Wars’ is past, ‘Firefly’ is here.” — 4/4, Joe Stewart, “Newsday”; “Not only is this film one of the best of the year, it may well end up being the best of 2005. At the very least, it should consider the Oscars for Best Picture and Best Director, which are honors it deserves.” — 4/4, Peter Howell, “Toronto Star”; “Epic, it will amaze you in the theaters because of its universe and complexity.” — A+, Christy Lemire, Associated Press…

Praise echoes throughout North America and the world, it seems the Wang Yang haters will remain bitter for a long, long time. $60.35 million, that box office number naturally crowns it as the champion of this Friday, a super champion that leaves no chance for its rivals!

Looking at it now, releasing films during the same period as “Firefly” is truly an unprecedentedly unlucky event, a battlefield so brutal that one can only despair!

Clearly, it wasn’t just “Initial D”, which premiered in mainland China on June 23, that became cannon fodder; in North America, it wasn’t just “Mr. & Mrs. Smith” (June 10-16, $70.66 million, Rotten Tomatoes 58%/46%/63%), the box office champion of last week that reaped profits but wasn’t well-received. The new comedy “The Perfect Man,” which was released on the 17th, was absolutely doomed, opening with a mere $1.05 million and ranking sixth. If not for Hilary Duff’s popularity, it probably wouldn’t have even touched a million.

“`

Nowadays, a gross of 1.05 million could get the sixth place. Just imagine how pitiful the films below it must be. However, the ones above it weren’t doing any better, with the long night bringing several changes of the fly swatters.

Previously, on June 15, the $150 million blockbuster “Batman: The Moment of Warfare” debuted with an opening day box office of $15.06 million, snatching a total of $24.15 million in two days, ready for an intense brawl with “Firefly.” In fact, this new “Batman” definitely received critical acclaim at the beginning, currently scoring an IMDB-8.4, and an even more impressive freshness rating of 85%/82% on Rotten Tomatoes, yet it only had a 75% audience approval rate.

Director Darren Aronofsky was a double-edged sword. He brought a dark and profound exploration to “Batman,” earning high praise from film critics, but this “darkest Batman in history” failed to win the hearts of the majority of viewers; it was too much! The film’s tone was too dark and oppressive, the overall rhythm and atmosphere tended to the dull and artistic. Even with Warner Brothers and Batman fans carefully selecting new leads like Christian Bale and Katie Holmes, many moviegoers and fans cried out in horror.

And so, on this new weekend, having waited for a long time to don the handsome bat suit, “Firefly” finally arrived. To everyone’s surprise, the Joker, Catwoman, Two-Face, the Riddler, Poison Ivy, and others all launched an assault, leaving “Batman” battered and bruised without the slightest ability to defend itself, much less fight back.

“What’s the most painful thing in life? You want to watch ‘Firefly’, but can only get tickets for ‘Batman.'” A movie fan said this on a blog, immediately gaining agreements from many others. On the official first weekend day, “Batman” only received a chilly $9.53 million for Warner Brothers, with an average of $2,470 per theater across 3,858 theaters, losing by much more than just nine blocks to “Firefly”! It seems their clever move to open two days early backfired, as the word of mouth was not positive, causing many fans originally planning to watch “Batman” to turn around and enter another theater, or line up waiting…

Warner Brothers was very frustrated; 20th Century Fox breathed a sigh of relief, yet couldn’t shake off their worry, as the third-placed “Mr. & Mrs. Smith” only made $5.23 million on Friday! Even Brad Pitt & Angelina Jolie were of no use…

But what could they do? The theater owners were overjoyed on the other hand, they didn’t care which theaters were bustling and which were quiet. As long as the cinema itself was bustling, that was all that mattered! The film companies knew that whoever jumped into the fray would be blown to pieces by “Firefly,” and the increasingly passionate fans were all excitedly shouting: “It’s ‘Firefly’ time now! It’s the time for Marvelous Yang! It’s our time!” “We are the undertakers!” “We want to be opposed to all your films!!” “I like them big!!”…

Not enough to be number one on IMDB-TOP250, not enough with an opening day gross of $60.35 million US dollars, the bigger this game, the better! Everyone was waiting for the first weekend North American and global box office revenue of “Firefly”, which was raking in ticket sales around the globe, while on IMDB, a great battle among fans was fiercely underway, “The Godfather” at 9.0, 8.9, 9.1, “Firefly” at 9.6, 9.8, 9.7… Time flies, and when June 17-19 became a thing of the past, it turned out that there really was a kind of movie that could make people lose their minds!

“I don’t want to hear it from you anymore. I want to hear others talk about you.”

This summer had just begun. (To be continued. If you like this work, please come to Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendation tickets and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation.)