Chapter 96

Beimei, Pacific Rim's release has been almost a month, its box office performance can only be described as topping the charts.

The three-day opening weekend gross of $81.27 million is shocking; based on past data, as long as Pacific Rim's word-of-mouth doesn't collapse, Beimei's total box office will surely exceed $300 million.

The problem is that the vast majority of American audiences after watching the film gave reviews that the visual effects are cool, the plot smooth, and the American-made 'Wanderer' is super cool!

The film once again proves that only the United States can drive away aliens, monsters, and all kinds of threats to humanity.

The only puzzling thing is, why is the pilot of the American-made mecha a Chinese?

Oh, Wu is an American-born and raised college graduate, so there's no problem!

Thanks to the hype of being the world's first mecha blockbuster and its super-high-quality special effects, Pacific Rim's Beimei box office rose steadily, easily surpassing the $200 million and $300 million marks.

While countless American audiences exclaimed in delight, it also drew concern from Haolaiwu filmmakers.

Because a $300 million box office performance is enough to contend for the yearly box office champion.

Whereas last year, the annual champion 'Christmas Monster' had a box office of only $267 million, just $7 million more than the runner-up 'Lion Camel Ridge' at $260 million.

This caused many Beimei netizens to speculate online who the 2000 Beimei box office champion really was, wouldn't it be China's 'Lion Camel Ridge'? Could it be that some people bought box office numbers for Haolaiwu's face?

Conspiracy theories of this sort have a market everywhere.

Because 'Christmas Monster' was released in summer, its victory was too hard-won, making many doubt the authenticity of its box office.

But this time, Jiang Heng's new film Pacific Rim directly broke the $300 million mark, further crushing the psychological defenses of some Haolaiwu filmmakers.

Beimei's yearly box office ranking wouldn't so easily be taken by a Chinese director's work, would it? If it really happened, it would be too embarrassing.

Just look at Pacific Rim's current box office performance; the market estimates its total around $330 million to $360 million.

Who else could stop it from reaching the top!

At this moment, Huana, who has a grudge against Jiang Heng, stepped forward and loudly told the media, 'I'm here!'

Warner Bros. and British Prosperous Sun Pictures jointly produced Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, which will be released globally during the Christmas season; relying on the original novel's huge influence and excellent production quality, it will surely defeat this odd Sino-American co-produced mecha monster film.

New Line Cinema then told the media that the 2001 Beimei annual champion would naturally be none other than 'The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring', adapted from Tolkien's worldwide bestselling classic novel The Lord of the Rings trilogy, filmed as a trilogy, with the screenplay alone taking three years to write.

The film will use various traditional methods and computer effects to present the fantastical world full of mysterious colors from the original book before the audience's eyes, creating a real 'Middle-earth'.

These two films can be called the most anticipated movies of 2001 in Beimei.

Audiences also anticipate their box office performance, but the problem is that Christmas is still three or four months away, so let's first take a look at Pacific Rim!

By the time the film left theaters, Pacific Rim had garnered a Beimei box office of $349 million, temporarily ranking first for the year and fifth in Beimei cinema history.

Ranking after Titanic (1997, 6.58 billion), Star Wars Episode I (1999, 4.74 billion), E. T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982, $3.59 billion), and Jurassic Park (1993, $3.57 billion).

Such an achievement is unprecedented and has left many people feeling defeated.

Some Haolaiwu companies jumped out to criticize Columbia Pictures, believing that its collaboration with Jiang Heng was harming the interests of the entire Haolaiwu industry.

Many films that should have made money suffered a disastrous box office performance in the summer season due to the wide release of Pacific Rim, losing considerable sums.

Columbia Pictures couldn't be bothered with such remarks, focusing solely on tallying the film's global box office, its profit sharing and copyright revenue, calculating exactly how much it could earn.

At the same time, they secretly regretted not securing North America's profit share, which would have been $349 million, at least netting them $160 million.

They had invested only $30 million and made a huge profit in one go.

The downside is that profits are split according to investment ratio, and they also have to pay Jiang Heng director's fees and box office dividends according to Haolaiwu top-director standards.

By the end of September, Pacific Rim had finished its global theatrical run, with a cumulative box office of $939 million.

After Titanic ($1.8 billion, first release), Jurassic Park ($1.029 billion), and Star Wars Episode I ($1.027 billion), it temporarily ranked fourth in all-time global box office.

The news shocked the world upon release.

Major media worldwide reported on it, and CCTV's News Broadcast even broke precedent with an unusually long segment covering Pacific Rim's production details and its outstanding performance in the global film market.

Within the domestic entertainment circle, it became the talk of the town.

Many even claimed to have found the code for reviving Chinese-language cinema: China‑US co‑produced effects blockbusters, with both sides blossoming.

Renowned performing artist Liu Laoshi promoted to the media that next year, the China‑US co‑produced Journey to the West will start filming, and he will continue to play Sun Wukong.

The news genuinely excited many fans.

After all, Liu Laoshi's portrayal of Sun Wukong is still excellent, and audiences also look forward to a high‑quality film version of Journey to the West.

Although Jiang Heng's Lion's Ridge is impressive, its main storyline and tone are somewhat gloomy and dark, not quite suiting some viewers' tastes.

Subsequently, Thus output: Chen Kaige announced plans to shoot an Eastern fantasy epic, a China‑US co‑production featuring stars from China, Japan, and Korea.

The news instantly caused a sensation.

After all, Liu Laoshi is merely a renowned veteran artist with no real clout in film production.

Thus output: Chen Kaige, however, is different; as a renowned international director, he said he would co‑produce with the US, inviting actors from China, Japan, and Korea to jointly create it, which is truly feasible.

But which Haolaiwu company will invest and what film will be made remain unannounced.

He wants to make a film about fate!

In China Film's senior executive office, Han Sanping slowly sipped a cup of tea, set it down, and said.

Although they made a tidy sum from Pacific Rim, China Film, being such a large conglomerate, couldn't possibly collaborate only with Jiang Heng; suitable projects still need continued investment.

Originally, in history, The Warlords was invested by China Film and released in 2005.

In this timeline, seeing Jiang Heng, a greenhorn, repeatedly hit box‑office jackpots, his old rival Zhang Yimou also produced Hero, while the little‑known Li An became a Haolaiwu big director thanks to Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.

And yet he is still being questioned by fans, who truly can't wait any longer!

(End of chapter)