The Best Director

Chapter 376: Chapter 376 Fireflies vs. War of the Worlds! (Votes for monthly tickets please)

A sweltering summer a year ago, Steven Spielberg’s 11th summer blockbuster “The Terminal” was released, only to receive the massive criticism “this is the disgrace of Spielberg’s directing history” (Rotten Tomatoes score 55%/51%/72%), and for the second time in his career, he didn’t snag the opening weekend box office crown for a new release in the summer—and it was the second consecutive time, shattering the dreams of those who hoped “Spielberg would teach Wang Yang how to shoot light comedies.”

“Has Spielberg grown old?” Despite being the director with the highest total box office in film history, a barrage of doubts and sarcasms still hit him in the face.

It was said that at the time, Spielberg was very angry yet filled with a fighting spirit, vowing to silence the skeptics with “War of the Worlds” and to prove himself once again! A year had passed, and Tom Hanks had become Tom Cruise, with Dakota Fanning, Tim Robbins, and Morgan Freeman joining as co-stars. Amid intense scrutiny and doubt, this $132 million sci-fi epic was released globally just a few days ago on June 29.

June 29 was a Wednesday, and since the film’s debut, Spielberg, as usual, spent two days in seclusion, cut off from the world. Today is the new weekend, Friday, July 1, and last week’s box office and film feedback were already in.

Early in the morning, Spielberg took a walk around the DreamWorks headquarters, but he frequently frowned as he looked at the familiar scenes—the company’s finances had run into problems. With rising debts over the years, it was time to discuss a sale or merger with major film companies like Paramount and NBC Universal. Regardless of how “War of the Worlds” performed, DreamWorks might soon lose its status as an independent film company, or even disappear from the annals of film history.

However, his current biggest concern and source of anxiety was “War of the Worlds.” All his old and young friends had made their debuts early, and now the whole world was “Firefly”—a very lively and exciting summer indeed. If the film flopped… how could it possibly? Spielberg thought to himself and smiled faintly, “Heh!”

Various pre-summer blockbuster TOP 10 anticipation lists had since been reshuffled, as evidenced by the Yahoo Entertainment chart:

First place, “Firefly,” with booming box office and high acclaim, five stars ★★★★★ (previously No. 2); second place, “Star Wars: Episode III” with good sales but mixed reviews, three and a half stars ★★★☆ (previously No. 1); third place, “Batman,” well-received but not box office-friendly, two stars ★★ (previously No. 6); fourth place, “Iron Man,” also well-received but not box office-friendly, two and a half stars ★★☆ (previously No. 5); fifth place, “Mr. & Mrs. Smith,” box office-friendly but not well-received, two stars ★★ (previously No. 8); sixth place, “Kingdom of Heaven” botched in every aspect, half a star ☆ (previously No. 3); now, previously No. 4 “War of the Worlds” enters the fray.

“Good morning, good morning.” It was time for work, and Spielberg walked into the distribution office. “War of the Worlds” was mainly financed by Paramount, with DreamWorks as a stakeholder, and Paramount handled the North American distribution, while Paramount and Universal Studios jointly handled international distribution. However, DreamWorks, of course, still paid close attention to the latest developments. At that moment, the employees looked neither overly worried nor particularly joyful—could it be because of “Firefly”?… After exchanging a few greetings, Spielberg nonchalantly asked, “How’s our film doing?”

The employees glanced at each other, unsure of what to say. Jim Tharp, the distribution manager, took some documents and data and walked with Spielberg to his office, discussing the situation: “The critics’ reviews are pretty good, but a lot of regular viewers don’t seem to like it very much; also, in terms of box office, we were a bit late to release…”

“Is that so?” Spielberg took the documents and started looking through them, his heart sinking instantly. The box office was mediocre, and the audience response was even worse! IMDb only gave it a 7.5 rating, and Rotten Tomatoes audience score was a meager 45%… He knew what such poor word of mouth meant—audiences were scoffing at this classic story of an alien invasion of Earth, at this film. If it weren’t for “Firefly,” “War of the Worlds” could have claimed much more of the box office, but there was such a behemoth in the market…

The overall assessment from the critics was just passable, with a Rotten Tomatoes freshness score of 74%/67%. Fortunately, several mainstream newspapers gave quite favorable reviews. After all, people still mostly chose what movies to watch based on newspapers and magazines; online research wasn’t the mainstream, at least not for middle-aged people. The box office for “War of the Worlds” shouldn’t be too ugly, but the previous hype about breaking $1 billion looked like a joke now. Moreover, it seemed he was losing his status among the youth and teenagers—it seemed it was no longer his era.

Or perhaps no longer? Spielberg silently took a long breath. Was he going to miss out on the opening weekend’s top spot for a third time in a row? Would he lose next year’s Saturn Award to old and young friends alike?

“Spielberg’s ‘War of the Worlds’ beats movie critics from all major media outlets.”

Yahoo Entertainment reported with this headline, despite Paramount demanding a gag order from all critics who attended the preview screenings in order to maintain the mystery of ‘War of the Worlds’, which led to discontent among critics including those from The New York Times, and even talk of a boycott. Nevertheless, the film still attracted widespread attention and praise from mainstream media after its release.

Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times seemed bewitched as he lavished full marks upon it: “Nothing more to say, this is the best science fiction movie ever made.” A.O. Scott of The New York Times gave it 3/5 stars: “‘Is this the work of terrorists?’ When Dakota Fanning screams and throws herself at Cruise, perhaps every American feels something stir. There are of course many other resonant moments, such as Morgan Freeman’s narration, which shocks with its simplicity.” Roger Ebert gave a rotten 2/4 stars, and he naturally had nothing nice to say in the Chicago Sun-Times: “‘War of the Worlds’ is a big, clunky movie with some decent visual effects that are pitiful compared to IMAX, and what’s more pitiful is the lack of passionate energy; we can completely see through Spielberg’s tricks.”

The Hollywood Reporter rated it: A-, USA Today rated it: B, San Francisco Chronicle rated it: A… Those who hoped Spielberg would take a complete nosedive were disappointed, but not entirely. Underneath the decent critical acclaim was rotten word of mouth from audiences.

Rotten Tomatoes’ fan critic Drake T gave it three stars: “Audiences must admit right away, this isn’t a movie about alien invasions; it’s a drama about a dysfunctional family. Even so, it’s difficult to find any likable elements or any chemistry between the actors, which I find extremely off-putting.” Aidan H, who gave it half a star, said: “It’s basically just Tom Cruise running away in CGI, boring.”…

Regarding the showdown between ‘Firefly’ and ‘War of the Worlds’, fans and viewers have been more explicit in their comments on news and blogs. If they hadn’t recently enjoyed a feast like ‘Firefly’, maybe this meal would be more palatable. As for now… They find it hard to stomach this somewhat overcooked banquet, and Dakota Fanning constantly screaming for her daddy isn’t nearly as adorable as little Dakota asking questions like a spinning top.

In the past week (June 24-30), ‘Firefly’ easily held onto the North American weekly box office crown. With a -36.1% trend in box office, it grossed an impressive $151.1 million over seven days, averaging $37,170 per theater across 4065 theaters; overseas it narrowed the drop to 7.9%, raking in $245.1 million and countless weekly titles in seven days. After two weeks, 14 days of release, ‘Firefly’s’ North American total box office hit $387.6 million, overseas total $514.2 million, the global total reached an astonishing $901.8 million, just one weekend away from the $1 billion club.

It continued on its journey of breaking records: fastest to $350 million (10 days), beating ‘Shrek 2,’ which took 26 days, and ‘Spider-Man,’ which took 31 days…

‘War of the Worlds,’ which opened for two days this week, ranked second with a box office of $30.16 million, averaging $7717 per theater across 3908 theaters, not exactly stunning but not a complete disaster either. It was certainly better than weak contenders like ‘Batman,’ ‘Mr. & Mrs. Smith,’ ‘Bewitched,’ and others.

What changes will happen on the North American battlefield next? July 1-3 is the weekend, and July 4 is the national holiday of Independence Day. These four days mark the start of ‘Firefly’s’ third week and also ‘War of the Worlds” first weekend. One is already proven to be a wildly successful savior of the box office, while the other was previously deemed a hopeful savior. Who will win and who will lose? Could ‘Firefly’ maintain its third-weekend box office crown? Will Spielberg miss out on the summer weekend crown for a third time in a row?

Paul Dergarabedian, senior box office analyst at Exhibitor Relations, expressed his expectations: “This is going to be a box office battle. ‘Firefly’ has plenty of momentum behind it, more explosive than people think, and the promotion from Flaming Company continues; ‘War of the Worlds’ is not to be underestimated, clearly, Tom Cruise has done plenty, even bringing out his fiancée.”

Last month, Tom Cruise suddenly proclaimed his love on “The Oprah Winfrey Show” by “jumping on the couch”, which wasn’t as cool as Wang Yang hitting the streets. More importantly, being a “divorced 42-year-old man” doesn’t carry the youthful frivolity and fairy tale charm, so he was relentlessly mocked by the media and public. His antics were uploaded to YouTube and went viral. Just the other day at the premiere, he kissed everyone he caught, sparing neither his fiancée Katie Holmes nor Steven Spielberg—Tom Cruise sure did a lot.

Roger Moore from the “Orlando Sentinel” threw a rotten tomato, saying, “Tom Cruise’s series of antics during the promotion of ‘War of the Worlds’ was quite frightening, but obviously, ‘War of the Worlds’ is even more so.”

It wasn’t just that, Cruise also talked extensively about his belief in the Church of Scientology during talk shows, which was sarcastically blasted by mainstream media, as if afraid of turning into a salted fish. One moment he said he would get married on Independence Day, July 4th, and the next, he said it was postponed, leading the public to believe that the guy was using his personal life to hype up his new movie. However, Paul Dergarabedian believed it was a successful tactic. The decisive factors for a movie’s box office success lie in the strength of early promotion and the impact of subsequent advertising. In his view, ‘War of the Worlds’ excelled in this aspect, and there was also a critical point, which was Spielberg’s own weight.

“Almost everyone is interested in stepping into the cinema to watch Wang Yang’s new movie, and they have the same interest in Spielberg, especially after his previous work ‘The Terminal’ didn’t perform well. Everyone tends to believe he will bring a surprise, which is also one of the reasons why Wang Yang’s ‘Firefly’ was such a hit,” said Paul.

So no matter what the word of mouth for “War of the Worlds” is like, with Spielberg and Tom Cruise involved, and the praise from mainstream media, especially the three major newspapers—the “Washington Post”, “The New York Times”, and the “Los Angeles Times”—audiences can find a reason to watch. “Maybe this is the kind of movie I like?” And with the box office already boosted by “Firefly”, the public’s enthusiasm for movie-going can be said to be at its peak.

“Firefly” faced a different rival this time—it was a blockbuster with good reviews, a strong cast, and marketing!

The media and fans were all boiling with excitement—Magical Yang VS Spielberg! Clash of the legendary directors, old and new! North America’s second-highest grossing filmmaker VS the top one! After “Paranormal Activity” VS “Saving Private Ryan”, “The Hangover” VS “Catch Me If You Can”, “MIT-21-TEAM” VS “Catch Me If You Can” (Genre), “The Devil Wears Prada” VS “The Terminal” (Genre), here comes a direct face-off of the same genre! The real box office battle of the summer has arrived!

Although it was the third week VS the first week, as the fan Kiusi said, “Young people should let the elderly go first!”

When the fresh Friday box office on July 1st was revealed, fans shouted nervously. “Firefly” took in $23.07 million from 4,075 cinemas, averaging $5,661 per theater; “War of the Worlds” captured $21.92 million in 3,908 cinemas, averaging $5,609 per theater. In the first round, “Firefly” narrowly won!

After spending two days at his old San Francisco home doing a few shows and interviews, Wang Yang flew back to his cozy home in Los Angeles. He had been so happy in the past ten days as if he had fallen into a honey pot, but along with it came some sweet troubles, such as gradually feeling mentally fatigued. Every day there was a deluge of information about “Firefly” bearing down on him. Unless he explicitly told people “don’t tell me,” it would come at him—a mass of media, a mass of paparazzi… Every new movie release was like this, but this time it was particularly serious.

To relax, Wang Yang and Jessica went out on a “date”. After a candlelit dinner, they went to a movie theater. Speaking of which, he found it quite amusing. On one hand, he wanted to get away from anything to do with movies for a while, but on the other hand, he went to watch a movie. What could he do, since he wasn’t interested in clubbing?

“No ‘Firefly’, with all its shooting, exploding, and destruction; no ‘War of the Worlds’ either, the poster alone tells you there’s shooting, screaming, and explosions…”

In front of the poster wall in the cinema’s ticket hall, Wang Yang’s eyes scanned like radar, quietly muttering as he chose the target for viewing, with Jessica nodding in agreement beside him. “Firefly” was fiercely battling it out with “War of the Worlds”! This film held no benefits for the baby.

“Don’t want ‘Batman’,” Wang Yang muttered while picking, “Fighting, screaming, explosions, Aronofsky’s style is just soul-crushing, emitting a Harvard nerd vibe; ‘Mr. & Mrs. Smith’ with fighting, out; ‘Land of the Dead’ with fighting, out; ‘Kung Fu Panda’ with fighting, already seen…” Suddenly Jessica said, “Darling, ‘Howl’s Moving Castle’, third from the left.” Wang Yang paused, his gaze fixed on the fresh and clear poster, and he burst into laughter, “Right, ‘Howl’s Moving Castle’!”

One poster alone explained what Hayao Miyazaki is, the clear blue sky, the endless grasslands, the flying castle, a child turned into an old woman, some lost innocence, and beauty.

Wang Yang certainly loved Hayao Miyazaki, adored the realms within this master’s films; Jessica knew his tastes, having lived together for so many years, she had his habits at her fingertips, and now, if to quote ‘The Big Bang Theory’, half of his collection would be animated films.

“Two tickets for ‘Firefly’, please.” “I’d like four tickets for ‘War of the Worlds’.…” “Could I have two tickets for ‘Howl’s Moving Castle’?”

After standing in line for a while, Wang Yang expressed his ticketing needs to the female ticket seller, he had just noticed that the ticket sales for “Firefly” and “War of the Worlds” were almost half and half. However, several young people around also excitedly noticed, that voice, that face, this guy!!! The couple had only taken a few steps after buying their movie tickets when they suddenly found themselves surrounded by a circle of cheerful and laughing movie fan fans: “Wow! Magic Yang! It’s you!!” “Jessica!”

“Oh! Please everyone, be careful of the baby! Careful with the baby!!” Wang Yang swiftly opened his arms to protect Jessica, quicker than the most professional bodyguard! In fact, there wasn’t the slightest pushing or shoving from the crowd to begin with—excited they might be, but they always maintained order, which was one reason the couple dared to be so public. Generally without paparazzi accompanying them, few people would recognize them, and if they did it was no big deal, but now this was enough.

Click, click! Some took out their phones to take photos, and a young girl asked with interest, “What movie are you here to see?”

Jessica smiled without speaking while Wang Yang, holding her hand, laughed and replied as they walked, “We’re just a family here to watch a movie. Please, for the sake of the baby, give us a quiet evening, okay?” Yet the movie fans did not want to disperse; they kept walking alongside, taking photos, asking questions, and seeking autographs. Wang Yang could only inwardly sigh about the ‘troubles of happiness’, when he suddenly heard a guy excitedly asking, “I want to know if Sheldon likes ‘Firefly’ or hates ‘Firefly’?”

“Hm, I’m Dr. Sheldon Cooper’s seventh-ranked eternal enemy, so he should probably hate ‘Firefly’, right?” Wang Yang quipped with raised brows, pondered for a moment, then smiled at them, “Leonard and Howard like it; Sheldon likes it too, but he says he doesn’t.” The male fan, very much in Sheldon style, asked, “But Sheldon wouldn’t lie.” Wang Yang and Jessica chimed in unison, “This is being insincere.” Everyone laughed, “That’s cool.” “Right, Magic Yang, what do you think of ‘War of the Worlds’?” Wang Yang casually said, “Same fighting and killing as ‘Firefly’, with Fanning too.”…

When the box office for Saturday, July 2nd, was tallied, fans who followed the battle cheered with excitement. “Firefly” took in $24.65 million, trending up 6.8%, averaging $6,049 per theater; “War of the Worlds” took in $23.18 million, trending up 5.8%, averaging $5,932 per theater. In the second round, “Firefly” won again!

In two days, it had widened its lead to $2.62 million US dollars, firmly supplanting “War of the Worlds”‘ opening weekend lead! (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to come to Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendation tickets and monthly tickets, your support is my greatest motivation.)