Chapter 26

More people even went to sleep early, not knowing that the internet public opinion had already exploded!

The next morning, a brand new round of word-of-mouth bombing awaited them!

"*Spider-Man* opening is explosive! First-day box office of 57.25 million USD sets a new record!"

"Word-of-mouth comeback! The most handsome Spider-Man in history is born! Expected to compete for the annual box office champion!"

"2-hour shocking thrill ride, live-action comic adaptation movie returns strongly! Haven't you watched *Spider-Man* yet?"

"*Spider-Man* lead actor shows off stunts at the premiere, media word-of-mouth explodes!"

Early the next morning, major newspapers, media, and news reported on this phenomenal comic adaptation movie like snowflakes.

The media went from previously questioning the Chinese Spider-Man and the trap of comic adaptation movies to a complete reversal, using all kinds of rhetoric to brag about this phenomenal, cross-era comic adaptation blockbuster!

Under the circumstances of not being favored, *Spider-Man* created the 2006 opening record through the spontaneous word-of-mouth fission of fans at the premiere!

The first-day box office of 57.25 million USD successfully surpassed *Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest*’s 55.8 million, topping the first-day box office champion!

As for *Pirates of the Caribbean 2*’s two-day 100 million record, it was undoubtedly broken soon too.

Due to the media’s overwhelming promotion and netizens' overwhelming bragging.

This weekend, the entire North America, and even the world, had only one theme!

Spider-Man!

Sure enough, the second-day box office hit a new high! The two-day North American box office exceeded 120 million USD! Breaking the record again!

Only then did Sony Entertainment North America Chairman Howard Stringer breathe a sigh of relief.

He even couldn't believe it.

"We, really succeeded? Marc Webb and that Asian guy, really succeeded?"

"Yes, boss. The Asian kid Xu Can, he is indeed a genius, we found a treasure... the champagne is ready, does the boss want to say a few words to everyone?"

Sony Entertainment executives had already organized a celebration party, popping champagne to celebrate *Spider-Man*’s big box office success.

"What champagne! Find that Chinese person immediately... Xu Can! Yes, find Xu Can’s agent! The sequel must lock him in tightly! Don't let him run away!"

Howard Stringer keenly realized that Xu Can, this previously unknown Asian male actor, might rise rapidly and become a Hollywood A-list male star!

The *Spider-Man* sequel must be put on the agenda, strike while the iron is hot, the faster the better!

How could they not sign Xu Can to shoot a trilogy?

He was Sony Entertainment’s new god of wealth!

To sign a contract and keep Xu Can, even if Stringer had to kowtow to Xu Can twice, it would be worth it!

"Boss, the weekend box office figures are in!"

At Sony Entertainment headquarters, key executives and the film's creators gathered together, waiting for the verdict!

A staff member ran over, panting heavily.

"How much?" Sony Chairman Stringer asked, trembling.

The entire conference hall held its breath, waiting for the final result.

"Hah, hah...

A crushing, landslide victory!

Hearing this news, the Sony Entertainment conference room could no longer contain itself, and bursts of cheers erupted!

The opening weekend box office, including Friday, totaled 3 days.

*Spider-Man* raked in 170 million USD in North America!

It completely shattered the highest record in North American film history!

Before this, the record holder for opening weekend box office was *Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith*.

Second place was *Shrek 2*; both films had opening weekends of 108 million USD.

Even in his past life, the 2002 version of *Spider-Man* only set a record of 114.8 million USD!

The new *Spider-Man* in this parallel world was so explosive that it raised the box office record to a level that could not be surpassed!

*Spider-Man* was even being compared in film history rankings; not a single film from 2006 could compete!

*Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest* was crushed into dust by *Spider-Man* on its first day.

The subsequent *Cars*, *Ice Age: The Meltdown*, and *The Da Vinci Code* didn't have the strength to put up a fight.

Originally, Warner Bros. wanted to rely on *Superman Returns* to have a superhero showdown with *Spider-Man*.

Now it seemed *Superman Returns* wasn't even fit to tie *Spider-Man*'s shoelaces.

It wasn't that the film was terrible; *Superman Returns* also exceeded 30 million USD in its opening weekend, and the reviews were passable.

But unfortunately, in the race for live-action comic adaptations, they met a crushing opponent.

Warner Bros. innocently became cannon fodder for Sony Entertainment.

Even when people talk about the revival of superhero movies in the future, they will only think of *Spider-Man* first!

Explosive!

The whole of America was sensationalized!

Three days after opening, the IMDb rating for *Spider-Man* remained stable at an outrageous 9.8!

And whether from traditional media or internet word-of-mouth, it was all unanimous praise!

The number of viewers surged dozens of times over, and the result was the same!

Those who had planned to wait and see, and the film critics waiting to see a joke, were completely stunned.

A dark horse of the year?

No!

This is a dimensional reduction strike!

Originally opening in over 4,000 theaters, it had now increased to nearly 5,000!

Even small cinemas in remote North American towns were desperate to open and screen *Spider-Man*!

Theater owners almost didn't want to schedule any other films!

Every screening was packed, packed for three consecutive days; tickets were impossible to find!

They had been in the industry for decades and had never seen such a terrifying film!

"I can't get a ticket! I waited in line for 5 hours just to be told there are no tickets for a week?"

"My girlfriend asked me to get tickets during the pre-sale and I didn't. Now it's too late to regret it, we're in a cold war. How do I coax her?"

"I was planning to wait and see, but with this waiting, I won't be able to see it until next week."

"Can someone tell me, is it really that good? Or is it just paid shills?"

Countless replies appeared under this post instantly!

"Go line up for tickets now! If it's not good, you can have my head!"

The film market ignited by *Spider-Man* even drew the attention of television stations.

CNN conducted random street interviews overnight, arriving at the entrance of a cinema where people were still lining up at the ticket window late at night.

"Hello, I'm a CNN reporter. You're lining up so late, which movie are you planning to see?"

"Spider-Man! Ahhh, I want to see it so badly!"

The interviewed crowd was quite excited, shouting continuously.

Because the atmosphere was so heated, the whole line got hyped up.

"Spider-Man! Spider-Man! Spider-Man!"

Many people in the line were wearing Spider-Man masks, which shows how much influence this character had in North America!

It wasn't just ordinary audiences who loved it; film critics were also won over by this movie.

Renowned North American film critic Roger Ebert, known for his sharp tongue, commented in his column:

"Regarding superhero movies, there has been glory before, but due to overly terrible scripts and performances, this genre gradually declined."

"This year, I have seen a different kind of work." **CHAPTER 51**