On May 4, 2007, precisely the third weekend after The Incredible Hulk's release, the North American box office had accumulated $62.35 million.
The film had also been released in overseas markets, but its performance was not impressive, bringing in only $45.6 million, barely pushing The Incredible Hulk's total box office past the $100 million mark.
Marvel Studios was making every effort to negotiate with theaters, hoping to extend The Incredible Hulk's screening period and ensure a certain number of showings.
However, theaters make decisions based on results. Despite all the work, on May 4, The Incredible Hulk still had to give way to Spider-Man 3.
Although both films were Marvel superheroes, it seemed that Spider-Man was more popular.
The midnight show of Spider-Man 3 earned $16.27 million, and its first day pulled in $88.39 million, higher than the first-weekend box office of many other films.
It continued to surge, with Saturday alone taking in $60.36 million, setting the record for the highest single-day box office in North American history.
However, by the third day, box office numbers dropped sharply, earning only $33.2 million for the day.
The reasons for this phenomenon were twofold: firstly, the first two days had already drawn in too many series fans and moviegoers. Secondly, the film itself did not fully match the hype, failing to meet expectations.
Nevertheless, the film achieved $151.95 million in its first weekend, successfully breaking the five-year North American first-weekend box office record held by The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.
And it barely surpassed it, only by about $300,000—just slightly higher.
This immediately became explosive news. After all, the first-weekend box office record had stood for a long time, and it had been a bragging point for Gilbert's fans.
Now, finally, a film's first-weekend box office had surpassed The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, and the anti-Gilbert media and haters were ecstatic.
Coupled with The Incredible Hulk's underwhelming box office, these weeks could be considered their moment of celebration.
Gilbert's fans, naturally unwilling to back down, bravely defended him, engaging in fierce online battles with the haters.
And Gilbert's women naturally stepped forward as well, stating that all such claims were baseless.
Anne Hathaway, filming at the time, said, "If I remember correctly, Gilbert is the all-time highest box office earner in film history, far surpassing the second place."
Naomi Watts, spotted shopping with Jennifer Connelly by reporters, also said, "Gilbert has said that records are meant to be broken; there's nothing strange about this."
"Then why hasn't James Cameron's Titanic's box office record been broken?"
"You're new in the industry, right?"
"What do you mean?"
"In case you don't know, Gilbert is also an investor and supervising producer of Titanic. Its record can also be considered Gilbert's record."
Naomi Watts adjusted her perspective, broadening the scope, which indeed could be accounted for that way.
Jennifer Connelly added, "And Gilbert has said that in two years, a film will emerge that breaks Titanic's box office record."
After saying this, the two women ignored the reporters and continued shopping gracefully.
Charlize Theron, with her icy gaze, glanced at the reporters, causing them to retreat automatically; Theron's presence was formidable. As for Ivanka, she generally does not answer such questions, leaving reporters with no chance.
Instead, her father Donald once again used social media and his show The Apprentice to publicly support Gilbert.
"No one understands films better than Gilbert, and no one understands him better than Ivanka and I understand my daughter," Donald said loudly. "In the field of film, Gilbert is the undisputed king. Those media attacking him are essentially showing their jealousy.
Most of the time, Gilbert is successful, and only then do these media find opportunities."
Compared to the older sisters' magnanimous attitudes, the relatively younger Scarlett and Avril Lavigne went all out.
Scarlett lambasted unscrupulous reporters and haters on social media, calling them dogs, barking without any real skills.
Avril Lavigne even recorded a video, strumming a simple melody on her guitar and using song to attack these media and reporters with full aggression.
Then, the media controlled by Gilbert joined the two young stars, charging forward and cheering, creating considerable momentum.
Of course, this was merely an interlude in the film market.
The greatest advantage of the summer box office is that there is always a fresh topic every moment. To generate buzz for their films during the summer season, celebrities employed endless publicity tactics.
The film released the following weekend after Spider-Man 3 was the absurd comedy I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry, distributed by Universal Pictures.
Because its theme did not compete directly with Spider-Man 3, Universal strategically placed the film there.
However, before the film's release, gossip websites leaked that the lead actors, Adam Sandler and Kevin James, were genuinely in love and planning to register for marriage.
Later, an anonymous source claimed that the film's female lead, Jessica Biel, liked Adam Sandler. But one day she saw Adam Sandler and Kevin James kissing passionately and stated that she could not accept it.
Other sources added that the three were involved in a love triangle: Kevin James liked Jessica Biel, Adam Sandler liked Kevin James, and Jessica Biel liked Adam Sandler.
This barrage of gossip created a flurry of attention, drawing the public's curiosity while simultaneously sparking interest in I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry.
Universal's goal had been achieved, and the three leads' intensive publicity delivered the desired effect, giving the public entertainment, each party getting what they wanted.
This was a textbook case of media hype. Before every film release, if there was room for publicity, studios would seize it.
The results of the hype were also significant. Although it could not compete with Spider-Man 3's $36.2 million second-weekend box office,I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry's first-weekend earnings of $32.79 million still allowed the film to enjoy considerable success.
After all, it was a low-budget comedy, a classic case of small investment yielding big returns, with substantial profit potential.
As for Spider-Man 3, in four working days it earned $30.92 million, and for the week totaled $67.12 million, pushing its North American box office past $200 million.
More importantly, starting this week, Spider-Man 3 began large-scale international releases. Its first week overseas swept the foreign market, raking in $167.4 million, pushing the global box office past $300 million.
However, starting next weekend, Spider-Man 3 could no longer dominate. DreamWorks Animation's Shrek 3 and Melon Studios' Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End were slated for release one after another.
Both were sequels to blockbuster films. Pirates of the Caribbean 2: Dead Man's Chest had even won the North American and global yearly box office crowns last year, maintaining the series' strong reputation.
This year's Pirates of the Caribbean 3: At World's End remained one of the most anticipated summer films, with the charismatic Captain Jack continuing to sail the box office seas.
Seeing so many sequel films, audiences were a bit overwhelmed. Where were the original films?
It was then that one realized, while some media constantly criticized Gilbert for making original films and claimed he was bringing himself to Waterloo, in fact, Hollywood really only had him pushing original content.
Of course, Christopher Nolan could be considered as well, though he was still not regarded as a top-tier director at this point.
Fans also noticed that although some media constantly criticized Gilbert's films as flops, in reality, his original films generally made money.
No wonder Hollywood studios liked Gilbert so much—he truly was a rare treasure. Not only could he build IPs, but he also had original creativity.
More importantly, he never suffered losses.
What about The Incredible Hulk? Sorry, that film was not directed by him.
...
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