The year 2002 finally came to an end, and with the transition to a new year, "People" magazine did something unprecedented in the second issue of 2003: they featured Anson on the cover, with sharp and concise keywords pointing to the main focus:
"The Next Superstar."
Since Leonardo DiCaprio emerged as the last great star at the turn of the century, Hollywood had been waiting for the birth of the next one.
From the trio of young actors in the "Harry Potter" franchise, to Orlando Bloom's brief appearance in "The Lord of the Rings," and Hayden Christensen in "Star Wars: Episode II," the media repeatedly tried to unearth the star potential of these young actors.
Now, a new actor with superstar qualities has emerged, and in 2002, he completely dominated the movie market with an unstoppable force.
And so, without hesitation, the rallying cry went up.
Everything was simple and straightforward, much like Wall Street—numbers don't lie.
The year-end box office rankings for 2002 were released:
First in North America: "Spider-Man," $606 million.
Second place: "Catch Me If You Can," $377 million.
Third place: "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers," $339 million.
The results speak for themselves—no further explanation is needed.
In a year full of fierce competition, where every major studio put their best foot forward, and sequels dominated the market with strong box office performances, these results were completely unexpected.
No one could have predicted that "Spider-Man" would climb to the top of the year-end box office, rewriting history and almost single-handedly revolutionizing the summer movie season.
And no one expected "Catch Me If You Can" to come out of nowhere and deliver another surprise, shaking up Hollywood from the inside out.
As a side note, Sony-Columbia made a huge profit with "Spider-Man," but DreamWorks earned more than twice as much with "Catch Me If You Can."
Thus, history was made.
In 1982, Steven Spielberg's "E.T." and "Indiana Jones" took the top two spots at the North American box office, making Spielberg the first artist to achieve such a feat as a director.
In 2002, exactly 20 years later, someone else replicated this achievement, something that many believed to be an unbreakable record. But it happened again—this time, by an actor: Anson Wood.
Words are inadequate to describe this moment.
At its core, Hollywood is a game of money and profits. Studios don't care about experience, talent, or personal character. Despite countless distractions, the only thing that truly matters is profit.
Anyone who can generate buzz, attention, and money is the next superstar that Hollywood desperately seeks.
If—hypothetically—this isn't enough to prove the point, just look at the competitors on the list. Those who say "it's all thanks to Steven and Tom," or "Spider-Man just has a big fan base," or "it was all just luck" can stay silent. It's not that simple.
Fourth place: "Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones," $302 million.
Fifth place: "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets," $267 million.
Sixth place: "Signs," $227 million.
Seventh place: "My Big Fat Greek Wedding," $223 million.
Eighth place: "Austin Powers in Goldmember," $210 million.
Ninth place: "Men in Black II," $190 million.
Tenth place: "Ice Age," $176 million.
Only three non-sequels made it into the top ten, and they all faced fierce competition from major sequels with strong performances.
Of course, there were surprises hidden in these results.
The relatively unknown Blue Sky Studios made their debut with "Ice Age," which stunned audiences and earned both critical and financial success, making it a standout film this year.
However, the true dark horse of the year was the romantic comedy "My Big Fat Greek Wedding," made with a mere $5 million budget. Through word-of-mouth marketing, it astonishingly grossed over $200 million, becoming the biggest surprise of the year.
This was the highest-grossing film ever to not take the top spot at the weekend box office.
If it weren't for "Catch Me If You Can" making its own Christmas miracle, all the end-of-year glory would have gone to "My Big Fat Greek Wedding."
Looking at it another way, "Catch Me If You Can" managed to beat out the year's box office dark horse, "My Big Fat Greek Wedding," the highly anticipated "Star Wars: Episode II," and the most buzzed-about film of the year, "Harry Potter," securing its place as the second-highest grossing film of the year.
Anson played a crucial role in this success.
In fact, this wasn't the first time...
People still remember last year, when Anson made his big-screen debut in "The Princess Diaries," a fairy tale film that became a box office hit and made Anson the prince charming in the hearts of countless young girls.
In other words, Anson has maintained a perfect box office record so far—not just undefeated, but a complete victory, sweeping away the competition. It's a performance that would make anyone envious.
No wonder "People" magazine rushed to feature Anson on their cover, and no wonder the entire Hollywood crowd has their eyes on him.
Without a doubt, Anson has secured a place at the top of the pyramid, like a comet streaking across the sky, drawing all attention.
At this point, even Leonardo DiCaprio's momentum seems weaker in comparison to Anson's.
And there's still more.
Next is the global market.
In North America, Anson steadily rose through the ranks with each step. But internationally, his progress was slightly slower, not achieving the overnight stardom that Leonardo did.
However, relatively speaking, Anson's rapid rise on the global stage is still astonishing, and no one can ask for more.
In just his second film, and his first as the lead, he topped the year-end box office in North America and globally. The only comparison might be… the Harry Potter trio.
Last year, "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" topped the global box office.
This year, "Spider-Man" claimed the global box office crown.
This result isn't surprising, as "Spider-Man" became only the fifth film in history to gross over $1 billion worldwide, securing the year-end champion title early on.
With $1.27 billion, it's temporarily the second-highest grossing film of all time, so claiming the year-end box office crown was a foregone conclusion.
Thus, Anson dominated both the North American and global year-end box office, without a doubt. His face became the most recognizable on the big screen this year—not just in North America, but globally as well. His role in "Catch Me If You Can" became the reason audiences flocked to theaters, helping the film break into the global top ten at the year-end box office.