Rebirth In Hollywood

2004, an ordinary year, but something special for Hollywood.

The difference is that there are a lot of commercial blockbusters released this year, which can be called the highest average investment in history and the craziest one.

Maybe in a few years, when looking back, people in the Hollywood industry will find it incredible.

"Star Wars Episode 3: Revenge of the Sith" has been released. The production cost is 120 million US dollars. If you include the publicity expenses, the total cost must reach 200 million US dollars, and this film was refreshed in its first week. North American weekly box office record, the North American box office exceeded 200 million US dollars in ten days, which seems to be a good start for the next blockbuster.

But will that really be the case?

Even if professional organizations predict that the total North American box office will exceed 10 billion US dollars this year, the market cannot accommodate so many big productions, and some of them will inevitably become cannon fodder.

This is Ryan's thoughts after sitting on the plane and seeing the list of movies that will be released this year.

Not to mention those literary films and pornographic films that do not account for much market share, just those commercial films that cost hundreds of millions of dollars to make, even he was a little bit tongue-tied.

Let's take a look at the movies released by Disney this year.

"Superman Family," which cost $100 million to make, hit theaters in early June.

"Spider-Man 2," which cost $150 million to make, has a July release date.

"X-Men 3: The Last Stand" cost $200 million to make, and Surprise delayed the release of the film in order to avoid the fierce competition for the summer slot.

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, which cost $100 million to make, will be released on Thanksgiving.

"The Day After Tomorrow" cost $125 million to make and was released after "Spider-Man 2."

"National Treasure," which cost $100 million to make, was released in early November.

It does not include a series of movies with investment of less than 100 million such as "The Bourne Bourne 2", "Escape from Tehran" and "Princess Diaries 2".

This is just the Disney family, and the list that follows is even scarier.

Warner Bros.' "Troy" cost $175 million to make. Coming soon; Alexander the Great cost $155 million to make,

Released in October; "The Polar Express" cost $180 million to make; "Catwoman" $100 million, "Wonder Woman" $115 million...

There are other companies, King Arthur, Van Helsing, Public Enemy, Garfield, Happy Terminal, and more.

The production cost of these films is more than 100 million US dollars, if you include the publicity expenses, the average investment must exceed 200 million US dollars.

in. How many can be successful at the box office? How many of them need late-stage peripherals to achieve profitability? How many will take years or even decades to recover the cost? There are still some who still have huge losses after 30 years...

The most typical is "Catwoman", which has already been released in North America. This big production by Harry Berry has only recovered the box office of 40 million US dollars. A comic book hero that has to be revisited.

At the same time, it also makes Hollywood soberly realize that it is a very unwise choice to find a black actress as the only protagonist in a commercial production.

certainly. All studios believe that their big productions will be successful, and the box office performance of "Star Wars Episode 3: Revenge of the Sith" shows that audiences are still very much into the account of super big productions.

Back in North America, Natalie joined Katherine Kennedy and Sofia Coppola. Started preparations for "The Hunger Games", and Ryan accepted the invitation of Time Warner President Don Rogan to attend the premiere of "Troy".

In terms of investment, this film is the peak of Hollywood commercial production. In addition to the production cost, Warner Bros. also billed a massive $125 million promotional bill, pushing the total cost to a horrific $300 million.

Warner Bros.' goal is simple. Create the Titanic of an epic war movie!

"According to our estimates..."

In the lobby of the Chinese Theater in Hollywood, Brad Pitt said to Ryan, "The box office will reach at least $100 million in the first week!"

He almost single-handedly contributed to the project, and also served as production manager.

With a nod, Ryan turned to him, "Hello, Jane, it seems like the first time we've met."

"Hello, Ryan." Jennifer Aniston took the initiative to stretch out her hand, Ryan shook it lightly, suddenly remembered something, and said seriously, "Jane, and Pete, are interested in acting together. A movie?"

"Us?" Brad Pitt was stunned.

"Yes! You..." Ryan pointed at him and Jennifer Aniston with his index finger, "The hero and heroine!"

"certainly!"

Who does not know what his invitation represents in Hollywood, Jennifer Aniston, who is eager to transform, said quickly, "I have no problem."

After she finished speaking, she looked at Brad Pitt.

"As long as you need it!" Brad Pitt is no fool.

"This will be a shootout action movie." Ryan held his chin and thought for a while, and it would be more appropriate to negotiate a contract after "Troy" was released for a while. "People from Disney will come to you after a while."

"You are always welcome."

With a wave of his hand, Ryan walked into the main hall of the theater. Movies like "Mr. and Mrs. Smith", from ideas to plots to fights, have almost no new ideas. They show more the commercial appeal of Hollywood superstars and their past lives. The influence of that super gossip.

Well... you can set a heavyweight female role for the villain, just invite Angelina Jolie to play it. If the scene like catching a rape in bed is staged again, the box office of the movie will definitely not be a problem.

That's it.

It wasn't until the beginning of the film that Ryan put those thoughts aside for a while.

This is a fairly good commercial film. Although the scene is not as good as "The Lord of the Rings", the cold weapon combat of tens of thousands of soldiers can still touch people's audio-visual nerves. The yellow city, the blue sea, and the magnificent battlefield , the scene is almost as described in Homer's epic.

But the problem with the movie is equally prominent. The rhythm is too slow, as if it can be explained in one sentence, it has to be said in five sentences.

Secondly, some sensational techniques are too low-level, such as the repeated use of frontal close-ups of the spectators, and the performances of these actors are too straightforward, with wide-eyed frowning and sobbing or something, lacking in Gandalf in "The Lord of the Rings" , Aragorn, Theoden and other characters bring the appeal.

At the same time, the main line of the story is not clear, and each character stops at the end. Even Achilles, the main character, is not deep enough, and his mother seems inexplicable in a flash.

Also, the vases that are essential in commercials are not pretty enough.

Probably due to improper use of makeup, lighting and camera lens, Helen, who can trigger a war, can only be said to be pretty, regardless of her figure or appearance. The girl whom Kleus fell in love with was inconceivably like a sloppy slave girl, which made people doubt the level of beauty appreciation of this epic hero.

Luckily, the producers didn't let the Greek gods mess things up, and it would have turned into a hopeless hodgepodge if it stayed true to Homer's original, as some critics suggested during the pilot.

If the investment in the film can be cut in half, perhaps "Troy" will become a successful commercial film, but then again, if the investment is reduced, it is impossible to make such a grand production.

Perhaps these wars that have nothing to do with Americans are really not popular with North American audiences. When Brad Pitt played Achilles and Eric played Hector in a duel, the audience in the back row actually There was a rare burst of mocking laughter.

You must know that North America is a mature movie market, and these whistling laughter are often the treatment of bad movies.

Ryan's eyes swept past him, and the faces of several Warner executives sitting with him were not very good-looking, and the subsequent North American box office also confirmed this.

For two consecutive days, the single-day performance of more than 17 million US dollars was not bad, but on the third Sunday, when the box office should be the most powerful time, the box office of "Troy" fell to 12.05 million US dollars.

The North American box office grossed $46.86 million in its first week, just a fraction of what "Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith" made in its first week, and a far cry from the $100 million expected by Warner Bros. and Brad Pitt.

Although "Troy" pulled "Star Wars Episode 3: Revenge of the Sith" down as the North American box office champion, its box office performance is really a bit appalling compared to investment.

Of course, this is just the beginning, and there are also movies that have made great efforts at the box office later in history.

For example, "Titanic" in the previous life had a meager $28 million at the box office in its first week, which was unanimously ridiculed by film critics. Later, like the Star Wars series, it crushed the so-called vision and dignity of film critics, making the Oscars even more so. To bow.

But will 'Troy' be the 'Titanic' of an epic war movie?

The film's biggest competitor now is "Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith", "Troy" made $32.61 million in the second week, and "Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith" in the fourth week. 34.45 million US dollars, successfully regained the box office champion.

"Troy" made less than $80 million at the North American box office in two weeks, in stark contrast to "Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith" which grossed $338 million in four weeks.

Just two weeks later, Warner Bros. prepared that Troy would not exceed its production costs in North America, and knew that the film would definitely not pay for itself at the box office.

Because the next two big productions will be released one after another. After entering June, Disney Pictures' "Superman" and "King Arthur", which Sony Columbia spent a lot of money on, will land on North American theaters every other week. (To be continued..) ()