Chapter 47

The downside is that it demands a lot from management—if management isn't reliable, the entire DC universe will rot in Warner's hands.

Relying on the live-action Superman and Batman films, Warner did indeed kick off the live-action comic-adapted craze before the 90s.

Michael Keaton's Batman became the final swan song of the superhero film era.

The three-strike combo of stinkers Batman Forever, Batman & Robin, and Catwoman devastated DC's vitality and utterly destroyed the live-action comic-adapted film market.

This DC IP is pretty much wrecked by now.

While Sony was preparing Spider-Man, Warner wasn't idle either.

They kicked off investment in filming Superman Returns, hoping to reignite the live-action comic-adapted market.

It's just that the "Asian actor playing Spider-Man" news was more explosive, so Superman Returns didn't have much news for the time being.

The film has already wrapped shooting, and the quality is middling—nothing special.

If Spider-Man hadn't come along to mess things up, Superman Returns might have made it onto the annual top-10 box office list.

However, just as they locked in a Christmas release, Spider-Man launched a sudden attack that caught Warner completely off guard!

CEO Dick Parsons could only pin his hopes on Spider-Man's word of mouth—if the reviews were bad, Superman still had a chance to turn things around.

"Don't worry. According to our theater intelligence, Spider-Man's presale box office isn't high—probably won't even crack the North American top 5. Our Superman has a fighting chance."

"Go run the numbers again—check how attendance looks on opening night!"

Dick Parsons had an ominous premonition: this Superman vs. Spider-Man showdown probably wasn't going to look pretty.

……

Meanwhile, at Sony headquarters.

Sony North America chairman Howard Stringer was equally anxious.

"What's going on? Weren't the reviews pretty good? Why is opening-day attendance still low?"

"Can't be helped. Mainly we were at too much of a disadvantage going in—an Asian Spider-Man, plus fatigue with live-action films. People need some time."

"Fine, let's not count on opening-weekend box office. Let's aim for growth in the weeks after."

Howard Stringer gave decisive, swift orders:

"Step it up, push out more exposure. Mall ads, TV ads—blanket everything! Gather the media reviews and roll out another wave of promotion!"

Just as Sony executives were on edge, worrying about Spider-Man's box office performance.

Many of the first batch of audience members from the film's premiere had already gone home.

The first thing they did upon getting home was empty their bladders—the film really had no bathroom-break moments, and the theater restrooms were packed.

The second thing!

Open social media, open Face, open blogs, open online chat rooms, open comic fan forums, open movie forums!

In short, the first batch of Spider-Man viewers had a bellyful of words they just had to get out!

That feeling of having watched a super, super good movie and just having to vent!

Before Spider-Man's midnight premiere screening, the film's word of mouth was about to brew into a massive explosion!