Six Hundred and Seventy-Four - The First-Day Box Office Exceeded Expectations, Negative Reviews? !

"Let's see how big of a surprise "The Flash" brings to us. Come on, come on, come on"

A fax document was handed to Bruce Rosenblum by his secretary. Before the secretary could leave the office, he shrugged at several people. While muttering in a low voice, he lowered his head and opened the fax document.

The face of the Warner Bros. distribution executive burst into a bright smile the moment he saw a certain number. The weathered fat face of a middle-aged man with a child-like smile would definitely be the scene of a horror movie in the eyes of an uninformed person.

But this smile, which was not even warm at all, made everyone in the office breathe a sigh of relief. Everyone waited from night to early morning, and at least the result was definitely not bad.

At this time, Jeff Robinov's elegance disappeared, and he asked with a hint of urgency: "How many? Bruce."

"What a great number!" Bruce Rosenblum's voice was slightly hoarse, but the volume was very loud. "According to detailed statistics sent by Nielsen Entertainment, the first-day box office of "The Flash" was approximately US$31.23 million."

Hearing the number he said, Jeff Robinov's hand that just picked up the coffee cup trembled violently. Fortunately, the coffee had gone cold due to time.

"M***er f**ker!?" However, the Warner Bros. CEO obviously ignored the dripping coffee on his hand and looked at Bruce Rosenblum in surprise and surprise. Then he threw the coffee cup on the coffee table with a "bang" sound, relaxed into the sofa, turned to look at Wayne, and said:

"The box office on the first day was about 31.23 million U.S. dollars. If you add in the 7.25 million U.S. dollars from advance screenings, the premiere box office of "The Flash" is"

"About 38.48 million US dollars!" Wayne said immediately.

The three men almost laughed together. This number far exceeded the predictions made by Warner Bros.'s marketing department on the eve of the release of "The Flash."

Of course, even Nielsen Entertainment, the most authoritative box office statistics company, has deviations in emergency statistics due to time constraints. But the reason why Warner Bros. asked Nielsen Entertainment to take action is because the company's statistics, even if there are some minor errors, have never exceeded $100,000.

“USD 7.25 million in advance, US$31.23 million on the first day on Friday, wow!”

The serious atmosphere that had been maintained in the office all night was instantly broken by the laughter of three men. Bruce Rosenblum was full of passion. He stretched out his hand and patted Wayne's shoulder hard twice, then turned towards his office. Go to the table. "We have to have a drink, absolutely!"

Everyone knows that with a first-day box office of close to 40 million US dollars, the remaining fan survey reports, box office analysis, etc. have become less important.

You know, Wayne made it clear from the very beginning that the bottom line of the market goal of "The Flash" is not to lose money. If the investment can be recovered from the theater market, it will be considered a success. This shows that as long as Warner Bros. If the brothers operate properly offline, the film will definitely make a lot of money.

Almost all the senior executives of Warner Bros.'s film and television production department, distribution department, and marketing department knew why he set such a conservative goal. The reason is simple. The most important reason for the existence of "The Flash" is to introduce the next two heavyweights.

There is no need to worry about making money now. As soon as Superman Clark Kent and Wonder Woman Diana Prince are listed on the market, a large amount of benefits will be delivered to your door.

This also explains why even though it was known from the beginning that Wayne was changing his inherent style on "The Flash", there was no major opposition within Warner Bros. Because everyone is looking forward to it, but what they are looking forward to is not "The Flash", but the Big Three of Justice that will definitely cause a sensation later on.

"Ding."

Four champagne glasses filled with golden champagne touched together. Everyone, including Nina, smiled and drank the champagne in one gulp.

"Let's see what happens next"

Bruce Rosenblum sat on the sofa, crossed his legs and picked up the fax paper again. Then he raised his head and glanced at the other people, cleared his throat specifically, and read: "According to detailed statistics from Nielsen Entertainment, "The Flash" On Sunday morning, the movie opened in 3,400 mainstream commercial theaters across North America. The average attendance rate on the first day of the movie was more than 70%, and the box office of a single theater on the first day was about 11,317 US dollars!

Hey, hey, hey, Wayne, God! There were 3,400 mainstream commercial theaters in North America that opened on a very large scale, and the box office of a single theater was more than 11,000 US dollars! F**k, is this an industry myth? Wayne, you are creating new market rules again! "

The box office of a single theater exceeds 10,000 US dollars. This kind of data is always mentioned in the news, as if it seems ordinary, but the fact is far more than that. Ninety-nine percent of what ordinary people think of as box office sales exceeding RMB 10,000 in a single theater occurs with art films and on-demand films.

The two have one thing in common, that is, the screening scale is very small. Needless to say, it is basically impossible for art films to get the opportunity to be screened on a large scale. It is easier to understand for films that are screened, because the films that can be published in newspapers are all in a very small range of screenings, and they have gained a lot of money. A work with good box office results.

In fact, among the commercial films that have been released on a large scale, there are indeed many masterpieces that have a box office of more than 10,000 US dollars per theater, or even 15,000 or 20,000 US dollars. However, it should be noted that that statistical method calculates the entire weekend, while "The Flash"'s single theater gross of US$11,000 is the first day's box office.

"Far beyond our expectations!"

After sighing, Wayne held the cigar between his fingers and tapped it on the coffee table. His face was very calm at this time. The surprise when he just learned the first day's box office numbers slowly returned to his usual calm expression.

"That's a good thing, Wayne."

Jeff Robinov looked at him and laughed dumbly. He stretched out his hand and patted his arm. His eyes showed deep admiration and he sighed:

"Our initial prediction for "The Flash" was to take in about US$65 million in the first weekend. As long as it can reach this figure, it will basically guarantee that this film can recoup its investment and even make a profit in the theater market through box office. , but looking at the current momentum, we are still too conservative and underestimate your influence among movie fans!"

Shaking his head slightly, Wayne looked at Bruce Rosenblum and said calmly: "What about the fan reputation? How is the performance?"

"Well"

The Warner Bros. distribution executive shrugged, put down the box office data analysis in his hand, and picked up another document sent by his secretary to open it. “We dispatched some of our own senior investigators, together with investigators dispatched by a third-party investigation company, and issued 7,047 questionnaires in a single day, and all questionnaires were recovered.

Among them, as many as 5,689 viewers gave the film an A or above rating, and only less than 30 gave it a C or C rating! The overall score of the film is A. The audience's reputation on the first day of "The Flash" can be described as explosive. "

After briefly reading the important data, Bruce Rosenblum raised his head. In fact, other detailed analysis was insignificant in front of this score.

He looked at Wayne and Jeff Robinoff and said: "Putting this score together with the first-day box office, it can be clearly seen that the reputation of fans has been perfectly transformed into box office figures. "The Flash" is an A-level commercial film "

"That's right."

Jeff Robinoff leaned on the sofa and said with a smile: "An A-level commercial film with a huge reputation among movie fans. If the fan rating can be maintained and the word-of-mouth effect spreads, the box office of "The Flash" will be as high as Far more than we expected!”

"But, everything depends on the subsequent box office trend!"

No one expected that Wayne would be the one to throw cold water, especially at this moment when he was enjoying his initial victory. I saw him blowing out a large cloud of smoke, looking at the two executives of Warner Bros., and reminding me pointedly: "Do you think "others" will quietly watch "The Flash" rise all the way?"

He has never been afraid of competition on the surface. If he is afraid of fierce competition, then simply don't come to the summer season. But the calmer the situation becomes, the less sure he is of where the knife will come from, and he believes that there are never good people in Hollywood. If he makes a lot of money, it means that others will lose money at the same time.

When faced with hundreds of millions of dollars, it is normal to stab each other with a knife when meeting, but the main competitor Sony Columbia is silent, and Paramount, which was directly blocked from the box office of "Collision", also remains silent, as if Is it possible that both sides have completely given up on the powerful "The Flash"?

"After I officially go to work on Monday, I will put forward a proposal to increase the promotion funds of "The Flash" at the regular high-level meeting."

Compared to Wayne, who is always worried about his hidden enemy, Jeff Robinov is much more straightforward. "No matter what Sony, Columbia and Paramount want to do, we will continue according to our own promotion rhythm. Wayne, the company has already contacted Dongfang. Once the screenings in North America begin next week, you can fly there with confidence."

"That's it for now."

Nodding, Wayne raised his wrist and glanced at the time. Seeing that it was close to two o'clock in the morning, he simply stood up and signaled to the two brothers and executives, preparing to go back to rest first.

The first-day box office and word-of-mouth reviews of "The Flash" have already been seen. At least half of his heart is relieved. The other half of his heart is undoubtedly that they are abnormal competitors, but it would be a good thing if those two companies stay still. This aspect is completely beyond his control.

The reason why Wayne did not follow the crew to participate in the North American promotional roadshow was because he had arranged a trip to the East early in the morning. As long as the situation here stabilized, he would fly there for the premiere of "The Flash".

The three people in Burbank received an unexpected and surprising result. They each got into the car and went home to rest. Some people, faced with the same situation, obviously couldn't sleep.

"Close to $40 million, close to $40 million"

David Denbigh, who had just returned to New York, was sitting in his study, putting down the phone in his hand, frowning and muttering. Obviously, someone had just delivered the first-day box office data of "The Flash" to him.

In fact, after watching the premiere of "The Flash", he was already mentally prepared. This film with a simple story but full of special effects is destined to be recognized by a large number of ordinary movie fans, but when the figure approaching 40 million US dollars appeared in his ears, it still made him feel incredible.

David Denbigh leaned back on his chair and looked out the window at the bright night view of the Big Apple. For a while, the entire study fell into silence again.

"Dingle bell~Dingle bell!"

A rapid ringing of the phone suddenly broke the silence in the study.

Shaking his head vigorously, David Denbigh looked at the phone bouncing on the desk. He hesitated for a moment, then thought of the box office results of "The Flash" on the first day, so he reached out and picked it up.

"Hello, this is David Denbigh."

"David, this is Frank."

The owner of the voice on the phone was Frank Round, David Denbigh’s agent. After confirming that it was David Denbigh himself who answered the phone, he said directly without any hesitation: “I received a message here. Zhang’s “directing capital” of US$400,000.”

After saying this, the phone became quiet. Neither party continued to speak, and only each other's breathing could be heard.

"Reply to the other person, I know what to do."

It took nearly two minutes before David Denbigh spoke into the microphone.

"OK."

Some things obviously don't need to be said too much. Both parties understand what the other party means. After hanging up the phone, the famous film critic of "The New Yorker" took out his movie viewing record book and began to write the film review.

Not only New York, but almost all well-known film critics in major cities in North America have received more or less "directing funds" and also learned about the first-day box office performance of "The Flash" through their personal relationships.

In a villa far away in the suburbs of Chicago, Roger Ebert, the Pulitzer Prize winner who was already suffering from cancer and the "so-called" leader of film critics in North America, was also listening to the agent's report.

"Roger, the money has arrived."

"I see."

Regular chemotherapy treatments made the Pulitzer Prize winner extremely thin. Her face, which was not plump to begin with, is now even more sunken. Especially a pair of small round glasses, which changed the elegant image of the past into the funny and pitiful one now.

"It's getting late, I'll go back and rest first." Seeing that his client's energy seemed to suddenly become excited, the agent secretly curled his lips, stood up and said, "Call me at any time, Roger."

He was the one who contacted almost the whole thing. Whether it was the tacit understanding with other film critics or the contact with certain company leaders, basically everything had to go through his hands. From the whole thing, his clients can say that Greed is on full display.

You know, at the beginning, my Pulitzer Prize-winning client was the most active one, but when things came to a head, it suddenly stopped. Before I saw the number growing on my account, I seemed to have completely forgotten everything I promised.

Roger Ebert was in a very good mood at this time. He didn't care about his agent's opinion of him at all, he just wanted to watch the excitement tomorrow. You know, the agent didn't leave empty-handed. He also took away a long film review that he will write in a special column in the "Chicago Sun-Times" tomorrow.

"The Flash, Wayne Greenberg's biggest failure since his debut!"

Early the next morning, this appalling headline appeared in the Chicago Sun-Times. Although the influence of film critics becomes dispensable during the commercial-rich summer season, as a veteran film critic People will still have a large number of followers, and they regularly buy newspapers to read the reviews of Pulitzer Prize winners before watching the movie.

"From a fair point of view, every film Wayne Greenberg made after leaving campus was full of thought-provoking and warning art. Just when I thought this master of film art would continue to While exploring higher mountains, he ushered in Waterloo on his directorial path with the extremely disappointing "The Flash"!

I sat in the cinema for a full hundred minutes, and by the end of it I was pretty sure that I had no idea what the movie was about. A story as simple as white water, like a lullaby, I'm so sorry, I couldn't help but fall asleep in the middle.

In my opinion, Wayne Greenberg himself doesn’t know what he is talking about. There is nothing new and attractive in the whole film. Obviously, his talent has been used up in the past few years, so he can make such a film. A work like a lullaby.

Speaking of movies, the protagonist Barry Allen is too thin. A new actor playing this thin character simply brings an even greater disaster to the already simple story! This is especially true for the villains, not to mention the supporting characters who look like facial makeup.

I have to say, I haven't seen such a great "animated fairy tale" in years since I was in first grade, and "The Flash" helped me relive the feeling of my childhood. From this point of view, Wayne Green Berg was indeed successful.

Not only is the film juvenile and mindless, the overall editing rhythm is also very problematic, with more than a dozen loopholes in the front and back. The most important point is the abuse of special effects scenes. It seems that the 200 million US dollars given to him by Warner Bros. were spent on special effects, but these abused special effects did not play any role in making the film better-looking!

The choice of characters in the movie is inappropriate, the editing rhythm is confusing, the story is as simple as white water, and the special effects scenes are abused. This "The Flash" is completely worthless! Wayne Greenberg spent $200 million to create the worst film of his career."

The entire film review is vitriolic and harsh, criticizing "The Flash" from all aspects. Although it seems to be a review of the movie, in some places, it is not an exaggeration to say it is a personal attack.

However, the Chicago Sun-Times and Roger Ebert were not the most special on Saturday morning. Looking at the newspapers published by major North American media in the morning, it can only be said that their language was sharper.

On Saturday morning, the media's comments on "The Flash" were completely different from the calm situation on Friday. Almost every well-known film critic's column had an evaluation of "The Flash". The content of the film reviews are almost all negative reviews, and there are even some explicit film critics directly behind their columns calling on their supporters not to waste money and go to the theater to be tortured.

"I'm afraid Wayne Greenberg doesn't even understand what "The Flash" is about to film, let alone the audience sitting in the screening room! This film has been overhyped before, and in my opinion It doesn't live up to its name at all. Even the only impressive special effects are completely inferior to "Godzilla" that was released at the same time.

Among the films currently being released on a large scale in theaters, "The Flash" is undoubtedly the one that is most anticipated by audiences, the most expensive to produce, and also the worst. The story is not as good as the humanistic feelings of "Collision", and the visual enjoyment is not as good as "Godzilla". It is completely a bad movie made by the director himself! "

——

Scott, The New York Times.

"Maybe after winning the Oscar, Wayne Greenberg left all his talents to "The Dark Knight." I was lucky enough to go to Los Angeles to attend the premiere of "The Flash," but it can be a movie From the moment it started, I already began to regret my decision to make this trip.

Not to mention compared to films like "The Dark Knight" and "Joker", even Wayne Greenberg's graduation film "Happy Death Day" is far better than this "The Flash". It can be seen that he wanted to pursue a purely commercial perspective that he had never tried before. Unfortunately, not only did he lose his strong personal style, but he also failed to achieve the results he wanted.

If I had to give this "The Flash" an adjective, I would use "advertising film" to describe it. The whole movie is full of special effects, just like a perfume advertising film. But Wayne Greenberg should understand that making commercials and making movies are completely different things. Maybe he taught Zack Snyder all his talents, but learned how to make commercials from him? "

——

David Denbigh, The New Yorker.

"A commercial movie that is like shit. Please forgive me for describing it this way, but there is really no other adjective that is more suitable for "The Flash" than shit." - Austin Collins, "Los Angeles Daily News".

"A work that is destined to disappoint everyone. It seems that Warner Bros. chose not to hold a preview screening before the release of "The Flash" for a reason. They should be afraid that movie fans will discover that this is a bad movie prematurely." - - "Film Review" Pete Terrence.

Overnight, it seemed that all the media related to the movie were expressing accusations and ridicules against "The Flash". Well-known film critics and film critics were also surprisingly consistent in their tone, wishing to criticize "The Flash" harshly. Step hard into the soil.

When these things appear together on the breakfast table of ordinary people, it is difficult to say how many people's entertainment choices this weekend are affected. There is a truth that has always been applicable in the East and the West. If one person says it is bad, it may be due to a different perspective. When everyone else says it is bad, most people who do not know the truth would rather believe that it is really bad.

However, the negative reviews of "The Flash" by various media are just the beginning. This Saturday is destined to not be so dull. The broadcast of ABC's top ratings program "Good Morning America" ​​instantly ignited public opinion across North America and successfully pushed Wayne to the forefront in just ten minutes!