In 1997, before the rise of internet promotion, moviegoers relied more on film reviews and word-of-mouth to choose which movies to watch. "Titanic" held an absolute advantage in both aspects.
Especially after the advance screening box office of $6.15 million was released, many market analysts foresaw the potential for "Titanic" to be a box office hit.
On May 7th, Columbia Pictures heavily promoted "The Fifth Element." Unfortunately, Sony Entertainment, lacking television promotion, was no match for 20th Century Fox.
"The Fifth Element" made $1.07 million in advance screenings, while "Titanic" raked in $18.96 million on the same day!
With the weekend approaching, the box office was bound to rise. Some people were already clamoring that the first-week box office of "Titanic" was likely to break the $85 million record set by "Jurassic Park"!
On Saturday, "The Fifth Element" made $13.9 million in North America, while "Titanic" topped the charts with $27.6 million.
On Sunday, "The Fifth Element" made $8.4 million in North America, while "Titanic," with its excellent word-of-mouth promotion, directly broke the $30 million single-day box office record, reaching $31.5 million!
Thus, the first-week box office was officially released, with "Titanic" leading the pack with $81 million!
Although it didn't break the first-week box office record set by "Jurassic Park," such figures were enough for Fox to hold a celebration in advance!
In fact, Bill Mechanic, who had been suppressed for most of the year, couldn't hold back any longer and desperately needed a big win to solidify his position.
"Titanic" lived up to expectations and brought him glory!
However, to be safe, Fox's official celebration wasn't suitable yet. Bill Mechanic held a private celebration party at his Beverly Hills mansion.
It was a star-studded event!
Basically, as soon as this big shot made an appearance, as long as they were in Los Angeles and had some fame in Hollywood, no star, director, or producer would refuse to show face.
Especially with the promising prospects of "Titanic."
And the young director, Dunn Walker, was naturally one of the main characters of the celebration.
"Hey, little Dunn !"
There weren't many people in Hollywood who dared to call Dunn that. Dunn withdrew his thoughts of hitting on Jennifer Aniston and turned around in surprise, only to see a bearded old man holding a glass of champagne, smiling and walking towards him.
Dunn 's eyes instantly lit up. It was him - George Lucas!
This was George Lucas, who held a supreme position in Hollywood. He was actually taking the initiative to approach him?
Such an honor made Dunn feel somewhat proud.
At the premiere of "Titanic," he had met another big shot, Steven Spielberg. However, that Jewish guy clearly had a higher posture than Lucas, only smiling and saying a few words to Cameron, and didn't pay any attention to Dunn at all.
In comparison, George Lucas was much more approachable.
Of course, this was also because Lucas had a close relationship with Cameron, and he could truly understand Dunn 's abilities.
"Hello, Mr. Lucas." Dunn quickly walked over. He had sincere respect for this great figure who created the Star Wars legend.
"No need to be so formal, call me George." Lucas had a bit of a Southern accent, and the casually unbuttoned collar also showed his transcendence of status. "I haven't congratulated you yet. You made a great movie."
"Thank you!" Dunn raised his glass with him, not showing any of the nervousness or shyness that a young man should have, just like an old friend of many years. "George, I'm your loyal fan. 'Star Wars' is my favorite movie!"
At the mention of "Star Wars," Lucas's eyes lit up, and his chubby face couldn't hide his pride. "Your age... seems to be one year younger than 'Star Wars.'"
Dunn waved his hand and laughed, "Stop mentioning my age. It's almost become a joke in Hollywood."
Lucas said seriously, "Dunn , you don't need to prove anything to them. When I invested all my wealth into making 'Star Wars,' wasn't I also ridiculed? Genius is equivalent to the future!"
"Genius is equivalent to the future?" Dunn 's eyes lit up, and he said playfully, "George, your words are truly philosophical. But I heard there's another genius who bought your animation department?"
Lucas was taken aback, not expecting a young man under twenty to tease him to his face. He laughed, "Haha, young people are quick-witted! Indeed, Jobs is a genius. I admit I misjudged him back then."
Jobs had once bought the animation department of Industrial Light & Magic for $10 million, which turned into the famous Pixar Animation Studios.
Dunn lowered his voice and whispered, "Don't worry, George. Maybe in the future... I'll help you get revenge?"
"Oh? How so?"
Dunn said meaningfully, "For example... buying Pixar back?"
Lucas frowned and said with a hint of warning, "Little Dunn , I know you're very capable. To make a movie like 'Titanic,' your special effects technology must be excellent. But animation movies and live-action movies are fundamentally different. It's not just about having high-level special effects, otherwise, I wouldn't have sold the animation department back then."
Dunn smiled and pointed to his head, "George, genius is equivalent to the future. You said that."
Lucas's expression froze for a moment, then he burst into laughter. "Good lad, no wonder Jamie praises you so much! Quick-witted, humorous, and most importantly, neither servile nor overbearing in front of seniors..."
"I think it's more like being disrespectful to elders, right?" Dunn joked.
Lucas shook his head, "I don't have that many rules! If you don't believe me, go visit Lucasfilm sometime. Does anyone there treat me like the boss?"
Dunn looked at him meaningfully, "I will."
Lucas noticed his complex expression and laughed, "You wouldn't be thinking about Lucasfilm, would you?"
Dunn didn't deny it, "Wouldn't it be great to bring Pixar back to Lucasfilm?"
Lucas shook his head, his face solemn. "Kid, ambition is good, but you need to be discreet. Don't go around talking about things you're not sure about. Even a genius can't achieve anything if they make enemies everywhere."
Dunn 's smile faded. "Thank you, George. I understand."
At that moment, Bill Mechanic walked over, his face glowing. Compared to his coldness a while ago, Bill Mechanic was clearly much friendlier now. "Hey, Dunn , what are you talking about with George?"
"Movies, of course." Dunn didn't pick up on the topic and instead asked, "Are the overseas box office numbers out?"
"Not much, around thirty million."
Speaking of this, Bill Mechanic's expression wasn't very natural.
Ultimately, it was because he didn't trust Dunn enough. The distribution and promotion were delayed, resulting in very few regions where the film was currently released overseas, and the promotion efforts were also lacking.
Dunn didn't mind. No matter how bad it was, it was still better than the situation in his previous life, right?
"It's okay, take it slow. Word-of-mouth is our greatest weapon!" Dunn expressed confidence.
Bill Mechanic nodded happily. "That's right. The movie's word-of-mouth is excellent. Although the first-week box office didn't break the record of 'Jurassic Park,' with such strong word-of-mouth, I believe the second-week box office won't decrease too much."
With the first weekend box office released, Fox's market analysis department had already given future box office predictions: the North American box office would be between $350 million and $400 million, and the global total box office would be between $600 million and $700 million.
However, in Dunn 's view, such figures were simply a joke.
The box office curve of "Titanic" was legendary in his previous life. Other movies' box office numbers would decline steadily, but "Titanic" was different. Due to insufficient promotion and strong word-of-mouth, it went against the trend and saw continuous box office increases for several weeks, surprising market analysts throughout Hollywood.
"Bill, trust me, the second-week box office won't be too bad!" Dunn 's eyes shone with confidence.
Bill Mechanic smiled and didn't say much. He was already used to Dunn Walker's "bold claims."
However, George Lucas, standing beside them, had a playful look on his face. Having been teased by this young man continuously, he wanted to teach him a lesson. "Oh? Dunn , then tell us, how much do you think the second-week box office can reach?"
"The first three days' box office already exceeded $80 million. The second week is a full seven days, so it must increase, right?"
Bill Mechanic thought Dunn was young and didn't understand the market, so he quickly tried to smooth things over. After all, Dunn had also done him a favor. "Dunn , there are some things you might not understand. Although the second week has seven full days, the box office heat will definitely decline."
Dunn shook his head firmly. "No! Bill, I have confidence in my movie! Remember what I said?"
Lucas laughed, "$1.8 billion guaranteed, $2 billion target?"
"Exactly!"
Dunn patted his chest and looked deeply at Lucas. "Trust me, because... genius is equivalent to the future!"
...
"Beautiful lady, may I have the pleasure of getting to know you?" Dunn , holding a wine glass, approached a young woman in a blue dress with a gentle smile and gentlemanly demeanor.
Of course, he recognized her. She was the famous Hollywood beauty, Liv Tyler.
However, at this point, Liv Tyler was still a minor figure. Last year, she starred in the independent film "Stealing Beauty" directed by Bernardo Bertolucci. Because the US distribution rights for this film were held by Fox Searchlight Pictures, she managed to get on board the 20th Century Fox ship.
For tonight's party, she had also pulled several strings through her parents to finally get an admission ticket, all for the sake of meeting some big shots and smoothly entering Hollywood.
She didn't want to hang around in the dirty modeling circles anymore, nor did she want to continue struggling in the chaotic independent film scene. She was eager to enter the mainstream film industry.
And Dunn 's appearance made her heart race, realizing that her opportunity had come.
"Hello, Mr. Walker, I... I'm Liv Tyler. My father is Steven Tyler, the lead singer of Aerosmith. My mother is Liv Ullmann, she's also a star in Sweden. I..."
Dunn was amused by her nervous and incoherent manner. "Okay, Liv, relax. Do I look that scary?"
Liv Tyler said flusteredly, "No, no, Mr. Walker, you... you're very kind and handsome."
Dunn waved his hand, "Just call me Dunn ."
Liv Tyler smiled like a flower and sweetly called out, "Dunn !"
Dunn blinked and, without further ado, got straight to the point. "Liv, it's all old folks here. It's really not suitable for us young people. How about... we go to my place for a drink?"
Inviting a girl to his house for a drink so late at night, even though Liv Tyler was young, she understood the implications behind those words.
She had been in the modeling world and then the independent film scene, so she had more experience and knowledge than Dunn . She playfully pursed her lips and smiled charmingly, "Okay, I don't like the atmosphere here either. It's too restrictive."
"Let's go."
Dunn smiled at her, and Liv returned the smile, naturally taking his arm and leaving contentedly.