Chapter 140

In America, watching movies is a very daily leisure activity, and many people have developed the habit of walking into a cinema on weekends to watch a movie.

"Hey, Tang Mu, how about we go watch *The Jackal*? Bruce Willis and Richard Gere!" After class, Jerry hugged his good brother and asked.

*The Jackal* is a movie released last Friday, and the two big stars, Bruce Willis and Richard Gere, are still very attractive to the audience.

Tang Mu shook his head: "But I heard from Tech that this movie is very mediocre. The plot setting completely copies *Heat*, the imitation is not in place, and the fighting is not intense."

"But this is the only movie worth watching recently. With two big stars, it shouldn't be too bad. Do you want to go watch *Anastasia*?" Jerry shrugged and said.

*Anastasia* is a Disney animated film just released, obviously for children to watch.

"Of course not! Don't you know Shi Tailong's new movie is released?" Tang Mu asked back.

"Uh, I know, but Shi Tailong is already old. Isn't he unable to fight now? And I saw the promotion saying it's a sci-fi movie. That sci-fi movie *Judge Dredd* he had the year before last was really bad enough. I don't want to watch his sci-fi movies..." Jerry curled his lips and said.

"It's not as bad as you say. I watched the trailer, and there are a few special effects shots that look cool. And I see the media all saying it's Shi Tailong's transition work. I'm quite curious how Shi Tailong transitions?"

Jerry saw that his good friend Tang Mu was obviously very interested in Shi Tailong's new movie, so he also said: "Alright, after all, I grew up watching the old guy's movies, and I'm also very curious how he transitions."

The two walked into the cinema while talking and laughing.

Similarly, a family of three walked into the cinema. George is not a father who is good at words. As his son is about to enter puberty, it is more difficult for both sides to communicate, but watching a movie together every month is a habit the family developed very early.

"Hey, two gentlemen, what do you want to watch?" The wife asked her husband and son.

"Whatever."

Seeing that neither her husband nor her son could squeeze out a fart or had any opinion, the wife went directly to buy tickets: "Three tickets for *Frequency*."

George looked at the poster for *Frequency* upon hearing this:

"Shi Tailong's affectionate interpretation of father-son bonds, communication between a tough-guy father and son!"

Communication between a tough-guy father and son? George thought it was not bad; he also wanted to see how Shi Tailong communicates with his son.

Although Shi Tailong's previous two movies performed poorly, he is still a household name in America, and his reputation hasn't exactly stunk. This time his new movie was released, naturally attracting the attention of many people, whether they were his old fans, attracted by the trailer, or just passersby who felt that a movie with big stars would be more reliable.

Shi Tailong's name plus the promotion invested by Sony Columbia made *Frequency* the most watched movie on the day of release, and many viewers walked into the cinema one after another.

After the cinema lights went out, George chewed popcorn and watched the movie. At the beginning, it showed that Shi Tailong was a firefighter, and like him, he had a happy family of three.

But just a few minutes later, the film jumped directly to 25 years later, and the 6-year-old son suddenly became Hugh Jackman, who was about 30 years old. This scene couldn't help but make the audience, including George, a little stunned.

Hugh Jackman became a policeman, investigating a serial murder case, and through his perspective, the audience learned that Shi Tailong had already died in a fire rescue 25 years ago!

This immediately aroused the audience's curiosity. Shi Tailong, the protagonist, died at the beginning and had been dead for so many years, so how would it develop later?

Soon, on a sad night, when Hugh Jackman took out his father's old radio to reminisce, he accidentally connected to a man, and the audience could clearly see that the person on the other side was the young Shi Tailong from 25 years ago!

George suddenly realized that this was the so-called communication between tough guys, but where did he get a radio that crossed time and space!

However, the thought just flashed by, and he soon fell into the plot.

Hugh Jackman and Shi Tailong communicated through the radio, from strangers to friends and then to discovering the truth and becoming father and son. A series of changes were both relaxed and funny, and then became warm. And Hugh Jackman began to change things that happened in the past through the radio.

The scene where Shi Tailong rescued the girl in the fire was also thrilling for the audience to watch. After finally escaping, they couldn't help but feel joy and excitement. This proved that history and fate could be changed!

But after saving his father, his mother was gone in the future, because this butterfly effect led to the serial killer not dying, and his mother became the killer's target!

Therefore, the father and son connected through time and space again, joining forces to deal with the killer of this serial murder case, and the audience's hearts were also lifted.

The killer was very cunning and wanted to kill the father and son in both time and space. Until the end, Shi Tailong from 25 years ago shot and shattered the killer's arm, and then the scene changed. 25 years later, the killer's arm that was originally pinching Hugh Jackman suddenly began to wither and then gradually turned into dust.

The special effects of this scene were done very well, bringing no small visual impact to the audience, naturally making the audience extremely excited. It was obvious that Shi Tailong saved his son across time and space!

But the killer had a gun in his other hand. He was terrified that his arm had disappeared and hurriedly used his other hand to pull the trigger to kill Hugh Jackman.

"Bang!" A gunshot!

The audience was extremely nervous, fearing that Hugh Jackman would be killed. But what was seen in the picture was the killer's body flying up, and then looking along the long shotgun barrel, the person holding the gun was none other than the white-haired Shi Tailong!

At this time, Shi Tailong was holding a gun and looking at the fallen killer with a fierce face. Although he was white-haired and wrinkled, he was mighty and domineering!

Yes, Shi Tailong from 25 years ago saved his son once, and then a moment later, the elderly Shi Tailong 25 years later saved his son again!

"Wow! Too handsome!"

"Cool!"

Although Shi Tailong didn't have a lot of hand-to-hand combat with the killer like in usual movies, this scene just now undoubtedly made people feel that his father image was tall, great, and extremely powerful!

The audience's hanging hearts were all let go, and at the same time, their emotions were finally vented, and they cheered and applauded for the father played by Shi Tailong.

Finally, it was naturally a happy and perfect ending, and the protagonist's family also became rich, because Hugh Jackman let his young self buy Microsoft stocks in the future through the radio, which couldn't help but make all the audience smile knowingly, and the whole venue fell into a warm and relaxed atmosphere.

"The last scene of Shi Tailong was extremely handsome. Although he is old, he is still so powerful!"

"I didn't expect Shi Tailong's acting skills to be so good. I hadn't noticed it before. It was really warm when they communicated through the radio~"

"Yes, there are really few action scenes of him in this movie. The transition is very successful!"

"Not only Shi Tailong, I think the son also acted very well. The feelings between them are really great!"

"This movie is really good! If only I could have this radio too."

After the movie ended, the audience chatted one after another. After walking out of the cinema, they met the investigators and gave the movie an A or A+ rating one after another.

The audience was in a relaxed and happy mood after watching the movie, but at this time, the creators of *Frequency*, including Wu Yuchen, Shi Tailong, Jeff, Hugh Jackman, Gretchen, and others, were anxiously waiting. It was already past midnight, and they were waiting for the box office results of the first day of release.

Wu Yuchen, Shi Tailong, and Jeff were still quite calm, but Gretchen, who was the female lead for the first time, couldn't do it, constantly talking and chatting with Wu Yuchen, asking all kinds of questions.

"Wu, what was the opening weekend box office of *The Jackal* released last week?"

"More than 15 million. Don't worry, this movie has already flopped, and it won't have much impact on us."

"Then how much does our box office need to reach to be considered a pass?"

"Our total production cost is only 30 million, and including promotion costs, it's 50 million. If the opening weekend box office can reach 15 million, we can recover the cost."

If *Frequency* has 15 million on the opening weekend, the North American box office should be able to reach more than 40 million, plus the global box office, it will definitely be able to recover the cost. However, if it only achieves this result, not only is he dissatisfied, but Shi Tailong probably won't be satisfied either.

Just then, the promotion person in charge walked over with the freshly baked data file in his hand. Jeff immediately greeted him and asked: "What is the first-day box office?"

The promotion staff smiled: "8.6 million, not bad!"

Everyone couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief upon hearing this, only Shi Tailong complained slightly: "It didn't even reach 10 million!"

Jeff took the file and looked at it, then smiled and said to Shi Tailong:

"Sylvester, our opening is only 2,200 theaters, and it's not the peak season now, so this result is okay. It's yesterday's daily champion, and the movie's word-of-mouth is 80% A and A+. Our screen count should increase tomorrow."

The promotion staff also nodded: "We chose to release this week to build up word-of-mouth first to welcome next week's Thanksgiving. Otherwise, with our production cost, we couldn't fight for so many opening counts on Thanksgiving."

Next week, during the Thanksgiving period, there are two movies that can be considered big productions, one is *Alien: Resurrection* with a cost of 70 million, and one is *Flubber* with 80 million, both much higher than *Frequency*. Therefore, Sony's chosen strategy is to release one week in advance to grab word-of-mouth first.

Wu Yuchen also relaxed slightly upon hearing this. With 8.91 million on the first day, the box office for the first three days of the opening weekend will definitely be more than 15 million. It looks like it can be nearly 10 million more, but how much depends on the situation.

This weekend, Wu Yuchen followed the crew to run promotion for two days. During the day, he went to the cinema to meet the audience. The reaction of the audience on the spot looked very good. Although everyone gave most of the attention to Shi Tailong, there were still viewers who gave applause to him, the director, and asked for group photos.

And the box office results did not live up to their hopes. On Saturday, the opening increased to 2,450 theaters, with a box office of 14.6 million. Sunday's box office is usually much lower than Saturday's, but it also earned 9.68 million.

The total box office for the first three days of the opening weekend was 33.19 million.

"*Frequency* wins the box office champion on the opening weekend, Shi Tailong's deep father-son bond warms people's hearts!" — *Los Angeles Times*

"Shi Tailong's tough guy's tenderness is touching, the paralyzed face surprisingly shows successful acting transition!" — *San Francisco Chronicle*

"A soft sci-fi film with rising climaxes, the story is gripping, the emotions are sincere and touching, recommended for the whole family to watch." — *The Washington Post*

"Shi Tailong's masterpiece *Frequency*, a perfect fusion of sci-fi, sentimentality, action, and heroism." — *Chicago Sun-Times*

"The appearance of a sci-fi movie wraps a deep father-son world, recommended for Thanksgiving!" — *The New York Times*

At this time, Shi Tailong looked at these good reviews in the newspaper and smiled until his mouth was crooked, oh no, his mouth was crooked anyway.

This is not important; what is important is that he is in a very good mood now!

It's not that there are no newspapers with bad reviews, but they were all thrown away by him, and that doesn't affect the overall situation.

Wu Yuchen and Jeff are also very happy. They are more concerned about the box office results. 33.19 million on the opening weekend is very good at present. The movie's word-of-mouth is very good and can continue to ferment. A few days later is Thanksgiving, which might bring them more surprises. This is a very good start!

And Hugh Jackman and Gretchen, the two new actors, are even more excited. 33.19 million on the opening weekend, this box office has already exceeded the production cost. Undoubtedly, the movie is successful, which proves that the two can gain a firm foothold in Hollywood with this *Frequency*. Having this kind of result for a debut work is absolutely very eye-catching!

After Shi Tailong put down the newspaper, he directly picked up two glasses of red wine, handed one to Wu Yuchen, and clinked it with him:

"Wu, when I saw the script, I knew it was a good story. After filming was completed, I knew you were a fantastic guy. Cheers!"

Wu Yuchen also clinked with him and took a sip, joking: "Sylvester, I'll take it that you are speaking from the heart~"

Shi Tailong didn't mind and laughed loudly: "Hahaha! Welcome, you have successfully pushed open the door to Hollywood!"

Shi Tailong got a first-weekend box office result that was much higher than 33 million, but the situation is different now. He has been in a low period for the past two years, and this is just a 30 million production. Based on his experience, this movie might break 100 million in North America, so he can not only prove himself to the outside world, but he can also get more than 10 million just from the box office share. In the situation of gaining both fame and fortune, he naturally looks at Wu Yuchen with new eyes now.

After entering the working day, the box office naturally dropped significantly. Monday was 6.03 million, Tuesday the cinema had discounts, and the box office rebounded to 6.54 million.

On Wednesday night, the day before Thanksgiving, a large number of people who were already on holiday flooded into the cinema.

At the same time, *Alien: Resurrection* and *Flubber* both landed in the cinema. The screen count of *Frequency* dropped by 15%. This was unavoidable, and it was already looking at the face of its good performance. Some movies had their screen counts directly halved or even cleared.

This time, Wu Yuchen, Jeff, Shi Tailong, and others were still waiting for the box office results. The few days of the Thanksgiving holiday are very important and played a vital role in the total box office.

When the promotion staff came over with the data file, the few people saw the smile on his face and knew it shouldn't be bad.

"The first place in the Wednesday box office is *Flubber*, 11.33 million. The second place is *Frequency*, 10.17 million, and the third place is *Alien: Resurrection*, 7.42 million!"

"Yes!" Jeff waved his fist vigorously. The two big productions released, *Alien: Resurrection*, were stepped under the feet of their *Frequency* on the first day!

Wu Yuchen immediately asked: "What about word-of-mouth?"

The promotion person in charge smiled and said:

"Surveys show that half of the audience is disappointed with *Alien: Resurrection*. The evaluation of *Flubber* is not bad. Of course, the best word-of-mouth is still our *Frequency*!"

Wu Yuchen also revealed a smile upon hearing this. Looking at it this way, *Alien: Resurrection* is simply not worth worrying about, and the one that can compete with them is just *Flubber*.

The lead actor of *Flubber* is Robin Williams, whose representative work is *Dead Poets Society*. In 1995, he starred in *Jumanji*, which was very popular with children. This *Flubber* is still a comedy film. He plays a few weird scientist geeks, aiming for family fun.

Shi Tailong also laughed loudly upon hearing this, and then said boldly: "Guys, they are nothing in front of Shi Tailong!"

Shi Tailong said this with full confidence, and the facts proved that he was not talking nonsense, because as soon as the theater chain saw that the performance of *Frequency* was obviously better than *Alien: Resurrection*, they immediately adjusted the screen count of *Frequency* up, which was even higher than before.

On Thursday, Thanksgiving Day, it also ushered in the day with the largest box office traffic. *Frequency* 15.5 million, *Flubber* 12.3 million, *Alien: Resurrection* 5.31 million.

*Frequency*, a movie that had been released for several days, relied on word-of-mouth to counter-attack the two new films with a smaller opening count and topped the daily box office champion!

Thanksgiving is a day for family gatherings and reunions of relatives and friends. Undoubtedly, *Frequency*, which tells the story of father-son bonds, is the most attractive.

Under the situation of word-of-mouth fermentation and snowballing, the winner took all in the next three days. *Frequency* Friday 12.2 million, Saturday 10.05 million, Sunday 8.56 million. It won the box office champion of the Thanksgiving period without controversy!

And now *Frequency* has been released for ten days, and the total box office has reached 102.24 million, successfully breaking 100 million!

The media directly gave the headline:

"Shi Tailong punches the scientist geek, steps on the alien monster, and tops the Thanksgiving champion!"

"*Frequency* wins the weekly champion twice, 30 million production breaks 100 million in 10 days, becoming the biggest dark horse in November!"

"Shi Tailong is old but strong, returning strongly again!"

"Hollywood newcomer director Wu Yuchen creates a dark horse myth!"

Even though Wu Yuchen had some expectations for this good result, he was extremely happy after hearing that it broke 100 million in 10 days. And like the female lead Gretchen, she was so excited that she directly threw herself into Wu Yuchen's arms and gnawed on him. Fortunately, they were all their own people, and in such an exciting situation, no one cared about this.

To be honest, the performance of *Frequency* is much better than the original version in his past life. This is naturally caused by many reasons. On the one hand, the movie was released several years earlier. The earlier it is, the more interested everyone is in this time-travel theme.

Then there is the lineup. I have to admit that with Shi Tailong, the appeal of this movie has risen by at least one or two grades. Coupled with the situation of vigorous promotion, this effect is completely incomparable to the lineup of the original version in his past life.

There is also the scheduling. In his past life, *Frequency* basically had no holiday schedule to speak of, but now it is placed on Thanksgiving, which is most suitable for this theme.

Under these various situations, it directly contributed to the box office explosion of *Frequency*.

Shi Tailong simply opened champagne and started spraying it around and into the air, and while spraying, he patted himself and shouted: "This is Shi Tailong! The invincible Shi Tailong!"

Everyone didn't care even if they were sprayed all over, and they were all immersed in a carnival.