The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring had been in theaters across North America for four weekdays, grossing $17.442 million on Monday.
Over the next three weekdays, it earned $19.236 million, $14.394 million, and $11.948 million, bringing its four-day weekday total to $63.02 million.
With this, in its first seven days in North America, the film had accumulated a staggering $153 million, breaking the record for the fastest movie to surpass $150 million at the box office.
Since there were no strong competitors in its second weekend, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring continued to dominate the North American box office.
Over the second weekend, the film pulled in another $59.933 million, pushing its total past $200 million, reaching $213 million, and securing the number-one spot at the box office for two consecutive weeks.
This meant that in just ten days, the film had crossed the $200 million mark, setting yet another record for the fastest to achieve this milestone.
The entire industry was in awe, watching The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring repeatedly shatter records and make cinematic history.
Some media outlets predicted that the film could eventually surpass Titanic's North American box office record.
However, Gilbert himself did not share this view.
He believed that The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring's explosive box office success was the result of nearly a decade of reputation-building, combined with a highly effective marketing campaign and various other factors.
As the new century arrived, a clear trend had emerged: the first two weeks of a blockbuster's release now accounted for an increasingly large portion of its total box office earnings—sometimes even over two-thirds.
For some films, the first week alone could generate more than two-thirds of their total revenue, with box office numbers dropping rapidly afterward.
The era of long theatrical runs accumulating box office revenue was fading. In today's fast-paced world, that model was no longer the norm.
So, once The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring exhausted its initial momentum and word-of-mouth boost, surpassing Titanic became highly unlikely.
Sure enough, Gilbert's analysis was spot on.
After surpassing $200 million in its first two weeks, the film's box office growth slowed down in the third week, with Monday bringing in only $7.875 million.
For most movies, this would be an excellent number, but for The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, it seemed low.
The main reason was that, in the first ten days, the film had never had a single-day gross below $10 million.
But this was simply market dynamics at play. Gilbert wasn't disappointed; in fact, he was quite satisfied with the performance.
One of the biggest challenges affecting the box office was the film's lengthy runtime of over three hours, limiting the number of daily screenings and slowing its revenue accumulation.
However, that wasn't a major concern. Entering its third week in North America, the film was also launching its international release across 25 countries and regions worldwide.
As The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring made history at the North American box office, overseas media had already been extensively covering its success.
Now that the film was hitting international markets, it immediately ignited a frenzy wherever it opened.
As a British literary masterpiece, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring grossed $26.956 million in its opening weekend in the United Kingdom.
In the UK, book fans were even more passionate in their protests than their North American counterparts. However, when the leaders of the British Lord of the Rings fan association went to see the film in theaters, they immediately disbanded their protest efforts.
Sky TV interviewed one of the fans, who was moved to tears:
"From today onward, I'm not just a Lord of the Rings book fan—I'm also a film fan."
Another fan said, *"I'm beyond thrilled and excited. I've seen the world that Tolkien envisioned, perfectly brought to life by Director Gilbert.
From this moment on, we are all Middle-earth fans…"*
The Times even featured a front-page photo of members of the British royal family attending a screening of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring.
The article included an interview with Prince Charles, who said:
"I'm delighted to see this classic literary masterpiece adapted into a film and brought to the big screen.
This plays an invaluable role in promoting British literary culture."
Prince Charles also stated that he would persuade the Queen to grant Gilbert a knighthood in recognition of his contributions to British culture.
Before Harry Potter, the most culturally significant British literary series was undoubtedly The Lord of the Rings.
And it wasn't just the UK—The Lord of the Rings had a profound impact on the entire Western world.
In France, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring grossed $15.236 million.
In Germany, it took in $22.3 million, while in Italy—Gilbert's ancestral homeland—it earned $10.236 million.
Australia added another $9.656 million, and New Zealand contributed $5.495 million.
Over in New Zealand, there was significant regret. The New Zealand National Post openly criticized the government:
"This was a massive missed opportunity. A production of this scale could have been brought to New Zealand.
However, due to shortsighted decision-making by certain officials, The Lord of the Rings franchise was rejected over trivial concerns.
This was an enormous mistake—one that cannot be forgiven."
The opposition party seized on the controversy to attack the ruling government, gaining significant public support and even triggering a push for a cabinet reshuffle.
A single film influencing a country's political landscape—this demonstrated just how powerful The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring had become.
Turning to Asia, the film landed in Hong Kong, where local productions stood no chance. In its opening weekend, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring earned $1.51 million.
In Japan, the film grossed an impressive $20.635 million in its first weekend. The Japanese audience seemed particularly enamored with the movie.
One particularly interesting phenomenon was that Japanese celebrities like Noriko Sakai and Norika Fujiwara actively promoted the film, doing so with remarkable enthusiasm.
Japanese tabloid media had long reported that these three Japanese actresses took annual vacations to North America.
As for what they were doing there—well, everyone could guess.
Last year, when Gilbert was filming in China, these three actresses took part in several commercial projects and collaborations in the country. Taking advantage of the opportunity, they stayed in China for over a month.
Since Gilbert was a strong and dominant Western figure, embodying the image of a powerful man, their fans seemed to accept it.
And while many men in Japan's entertainment industry admired these beautiful actresses, none dared to make a move—at least two who had entertained such thoughts had mysteriously disappeared.
Now, Noriko Sakai, Norika Fujiwara, and Shizuka Kudo were eagerly awaiting Gilbert's arrival in Tokyo for the film's promotional tour.
After all, they had done so much to support him—shouldn't the master reward them in return?
The most surprising outcome, however, was in the Chinese mainland market.
Perhaps because the film had been shot there, local audiences displayed an unprecedented enthusiasm for watching it. In its first week, the movie grossed $4.25 million.
This may not seem like much, but when converted to RMB, it amounted to at least 35 million yuan.
This box office figure left Chinese filmmakers utterly shocked. Many domestic films at the time couldn't even reach 35 million yuan in total revenue—but for Hollywood, this was merely a first-week performance.
After acknowledging the sheer dominance of Hollywood blockbusters, the more astute Chinese filmmakers realized something crucial: the box office potential of the domestic market was enormous.
If things continued at this pace, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring could very well surpass 200 million yuan in the Chinese mainland, setting a new record.
If domestic films could be made well, they didn't necessarily have to aim for 200 million yuan—but even breaking 100 million would mean huge profits.
Feng, who considered himself the leading figure in commercial Chinese cinema, continued focusing on his signature comedy style. Meanwhile, the "national master" still had an idea for a historical epic but had yet to make a final decision.
As for Ning Hao, who had trained in Gilbert's production team, he had now secured his first opportunity to direct an independent film.
Though he had worked on the massive production of The Lord of the Rings, he quickly sobered up after leaving that dreamlike Hollywood-style working environment.
He realized that a project like The Lord of the Rings was completely beyond the capability of Chinese filmmakers—there was simply no way to make something like it.
There was no way around it. They lacked personnel, technology, and funding, and their rigid mindsets further limited them.
Of course, it wasn't that Chinese filmmakers learned nothing from The Lord of the Rings.
At the very least, the equipment left behind by the production could help drive a technological upgrade in the industry.
Moreover, those who had worked in Gilbert's team for over a year—some even two years—had become valuable assets, sought after by major studios.
These industry professionals would, in turn, pass on what they had learned, contributing to the advancement of Chinese cinema.
But the impact of The Lord of the Rings on China didn't stop there.
According to reports from North America, applications for U.S. tourists traveling to China had noticeably increased.
The Lord of the Rings had sparked interest in China's tourism industry, bringing a long-lasting influx of foreign visitors and revenue.
Back when the Lord of the Rings crew was filming in China, people had witnessed firsthand the production team's incredible spending power.
And that was just with a crew of 3,000.
What if that number increased tenfold?
What if over 300,000 foreign tourists came to China annually because of this movie?
Even if each tourist spent just $100, that would amount to $30 million in revenue.
And considering the spending habits of travelers from developed nations—just $100? Who were they kidding?
Returning to the box office numbers, as the film entered its third week in North America, it also had its first full weekend of international release.
The result? A staggering $157 million overseas in its opening weekend.
Meanwhile, in North America, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring secured its third consecutive weekend as the number-one film, bringing its domestic total to $266 million.
With the overseas earnings, the movie's global box office had now reached $423 million.
At this point, The Los Angeles Times made a bold prediction:
The film's North American box office could ultimately reach around $500 million, while its global box office might hit $1.1 billion.
This meant that, for the first time in his career, Gilbert was on track to direct a film that would surpass $1 billion worldwide.
This news thrilled his fans.
To them, Gilbert had always been the undisputed king of the summer blockbuster.
But despite his dominance, he had never directed a film that crossed the $1 billion mark. This had long been a slight embarrassment—one that prevented him from being compared to James Cameron, George Lucas, or Steven Spielberg.
But now, that concern no longer existed.
Warner Bros. launched an extensive overseas marketing campaign.
Ian McKellen, Orlando Bloom, Elijah Wood, and Nicole Kidman were sent to Europe for promotion.
Meanwhile, Gilbert led a team including Anne Hathaway and Billy Boyd on a tour of Asia and Latin America.
Before splitting up, the cast gathered for a special recording of the talk show Walking with a Millionaire, hosted by a famous New York real estate mogul.
Donald had personally invited Gilbert to appear on the program, and given the show's high ratings, Gilbert agreed.
Outside Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles, Russell was still leading over a hundred people in protest.
Since the release of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, the number of protestors had steadily declined.
Russell was well aware of the situation.
Most of the die-hard Lord of the Rings book fans had already been won over by the film.
The ones still protesting were merely holding out for the sake of pride.
Even Russell himself had secretly watched the movie four times.
He had to admit—Hutchinson and Noel had been right.
By now, moviegoers coming in and out of the theater had grown indifferent to the protestors.
Few even spared them a glance.
And among the protestors, the signs were being held up weakly, their energy clearly drained.
Realizing the time had come, Russell announced the protest's end.
His deputy asked, "Russell, what time do we gather tomorrow?"
But Russell shook his head. "No. We're done."
"Huh?" The deputy was surprised. Was Russell, the most dedicated protestor, really giving up?
Russell explained, "The hype around The Lord of the Rings is fading, and no one cares about our protests anymore. It's over."
The deputy pretended to be disappointed, but deep down, he was relieved.
He had long felt that the protest had lost its purpose.
After all, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring had achieved both box office success and critical acclaim.
Their efforts to stop it had completely failed.
With that, the protest ended.
Before leaving, Russell disguised himself to avoid being recognized—then promptly bought a ticket for the next screening.
"Tonight," he thought, "nothing will stop me from watching this movie again."
Inside the theater, he unexpectedly ran into Hutchinson.
"You?" Hutchinson was surprised. "Weren't you protesting? What are you doing here?"
Caught red-handed, Russell hesitated for a moment but quickly regained his composure.
"Protesting is my duty as a book fan," he declared. "But that doesn't mean I can't appreciate a well-made film."
Hutchinson chuckled. "So you admit it's a great movie?"
"We must be objective," Russell replied stiffly. "Yes, the movie is great. But Gilbert's changes to The Lord of the Rings remain unforgivable."
Hutchinson just laughed. "This is my fourth time watching it. What about you?"
"Uh… my fifth," Russell admitted sheepishly.
Hutchinson was stunned. "Damn, man—you're even more obsessed than I am."
Russell shrugged. He couldn't help it.
After all, no one could resist the magic of The Lord of the Rings.
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