The success of The False was no accident. First of all, the film had a very powerful cast.
Tell me, which film could bring together Tom Hanks and Tom Cruise? And then add Charlize Theron on top of that.
What's more, the film was directed by Gilbert, the most bankable filmmaker in history. That name alone carried immense weight.
Secondly, the film's discussion heat was also quite high. In order to verify their own viewpoints, not a few viewers repeatedly walked into theaters.
The outstanding North American box office performance in its opening weekend brought smiles to Disney and Warner. They knew Gilbert never missed. More importantly, the film's overseas performance was equally impressive.
Tom Hanks, Tom Cruise, and Charlize Theron already had massive fan bases worldwide.
Gilbert's personal appeal was also on a level of its own—he was said to have six billion fans globally.
Although Hugh Jackman also had popularity worldwide, and Kate Beckinsale was beautiful, no matter what, Van Helsing simply couldn't compete with The False in the overseas market.
How do audiences decide to walk into a theater for a film? After all, beforehand they don't know if the movie will be good or suited to their taste.
Although there are trailers and reviews from media critics to learn about a film, in the end those are limited.
Thus, the name itself became the biggest selling point.
Just imagine if the two switched places. If it had been Gilbert directing Van Helsing, with Tom Cruise and Charlize Theron starring, wouldn't the attraction have been much greater?
Of course, such a switch could only exist in imagination, but it illustrates the power of big-name directors combined with superstars.
Placed on a global scale, the appeal of The False far outstripped Van Helsing, even though Van Helsing featured many well-known characters.
After easily taking the summer box office crown in its first weekend in North America, The False also swept the markets of Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Mexico, Brazil, Japan, and South Korea during the same opening weekend.
The U.K. had always been a traditional stronghold for Gilbert's films. Though Gilbert wasn't British, his films were always well-received there.
What's more, Gilbert had been knighted by the British royal family—he was one of their own.
Adding in the star power of the big names, the film achieved $14.623 million in its first weekend in the U.K. It looked smaller compared to a single day's box office in North America, but that was normal.
If one wanted an even higher box office, perhaps the Lord of the Rings series would need to be reborn.
Van Helsing fared quite miserably, earning only $4.27 million, far less than The False.
The French film industry had long called on the French to resist Hollywood films, but they had never succeeded, and this time was no exception. The False slashed $18.45 million in its first weekend in France, ruthlessly battering French domestic films.
French cinema quickly announced its surrender—The False's surge was slower than the French capitulation.
In the French market, Van Helsing actually achieved decent results. Its $12.538 million opening was enough to satisfy Sky Studios.
It could be seen that the French market was still big enough to accommodate two Hollywood films releasing in the same slot.
And while the two Hollywood films fought in the French film market, the ones who died were actually the outsider French films. Truly unlucky.
With consecutive defeats in two markets, it seemed Van Helsing's overseas performance was already essentially decided—it could not defeat The False.
But the situation changed a little in Germany. Van Helsing's $16.623 million box office was very close to The False's $16.738 million.
This rekindled Sky Studios' hope. Perhaps in other markets, Van Helsing had a chance to surpass The False?
Unfortunately, the next few markets' performances would tell Sky Studios: you were overthinking it.
In Italy, The False took in $10.23 million, while Van Helsing had a pitiful $2.35 million.
Italy's La Repubblica compared the two films, saying that in front of The False, Van Helsing looked childish, like a kindergarten toddler.
Director Stephen Sommers was simply no match for Gilbert. Their summer showdown was completely one-sided.
Apparently Italians also knew that Gilbert was not to be trifled with in the summer box office, and believed that choosing Van Helsing was quite unwise.
It was said that Stephen Sommers was very angry after hearing these reports. The thought that he had to take over the Pirates of the Caribbean series and work under Gilbert only made him angrier.
It was as if he couldn't beat Gilbert, and then defected to him—almost like recognizing a thief as his father.
After the first weekend's North American box office results came out, The Hollywood Reporter was the first to reveal this insider news.
According to a well-known Warner insider, Stephen Sommers had been chosen by Gilbert as the person to take over Pirates of the Caribbean.
The report also said that Gilbert had remarked in a certain setting that Van Helsing's failure had little to do with director Stephen Sommers, and that he still trusted Sommers' ability.
The report stated Gilbert believed that on the Van Helsing project, the producer bore much greater responsibility than director Stephen Sommers.
Once that report came out, Stephen Sommers felt a little better, but David Ellison was extremely furious.
David Ellison had been studying Gilbert, trying to probe the root of his success. But over the years, so many had studied Gilbert and never figured it out.
In the end, they all had to conclude their research by saying Gilbert simply had unparalleled filmmaking talent, and reaching the conclusion that Gilbert was a genius.
David Ellison was no different. He knew Gilbert was obsessed with Chinese culture. His favorite book was Dream of the Red Chamber among China's Four Great Classical Novels, and he also liked reading The Art of War.
So David Ellison copied him, buying an English edition of Dream of the Red Chamber, since he couldn't read Chinese. He also bought The Art of War, drank Chinese tea, and used Chinese teaware.
For Gilbert, drinking tea was just an everyday activity, but for David Ellison it became a kind of ritual. He even specially invited a tea master from Japan.
It was through such imitation of Gilbert's every move that David Ellison tried to figure out what Gilbert was thinking, so as to look for chances to defeat him.
As an outsider, David Ellison had to take down a representative figure of Hollywood's traditional forces in order to survive in Hollywood, and Gilbert was the target he had chosen.
These actions couldn't be hidden from others, and in Hollywood, they were something everyone knew.
So when The Hollywood Reporter ran a story saying Gilbert had called him incompetent, David Ellison angrily smashed an expensive tea set.
He knew for sure the words weren't said by Gilbert, but he was furious anyway.
When Gilbert heard about this, he was in the middle of a film promotion roadshow with the main creators.
At Pioneer Square in Seattle, the creators had just finished interacting with fans and were riding back to the hotel to rest. Tomorrow they would leave Seattle and head east for promotion.
Gilbert and Charlize Theron were in the same car, and of course Ivanka was there too.
Ivanka had gotten the news from others and reported the situation to Gilbert.
After listening, Gilbert nodded: "It seems Solomon's strategy is working well. I'd guess David Ellison is already in turmoil by now."
Charlize Theron didn't know yet, and asked with concern: "This was arranged by Disney Vice President Solomon?"
"Yes," Gilbert explained. "Solomon told me he would leak information through The Hollywood Reporter. He was certain David Ellison wouldn't be able to keep his cool, and when that happened, there would be a good show to watch."
"That's right," Ivanka said, looking at Gilbert with a bit of admiration.
This lecherous, annoying boss was always staring at her long legs, but he really was capable.
Ivanka continued: "David Ellison is very arrogant, but he's also very smart. He knows the way to gain fame in Hollywood is to find a rival, defeat him, and make his name that way."
"So David Ellison picked Gilbert? He wants to beat Gilbert in the summer season and use that to make his name in Hollywood?"
Charlize Theron thought David Ellison was crazy—who would dare to challenge Gilbert in the summer season?
"Not necessarily to actually defeat me," Gilbert saw it clearly. "As long as there's a close situation, it will send out a very positive signal.
You know, in all the years I've been successful, I've accumulated quite a few opponents.
As long as David Ellison shows he has the potential to beat me, these people will immediately rally around him and help him establish himself in Hollywood."
Charlize Theron admitted she wasn't well educated and her brain was slow: "My God, you people mixing in Hollywood have really dirty hearts."
"???" Gilbert was baffled. "Darling, you're mixing in Hollywood too."
Charlize Theron didn't care. She hugged Gilbert's arm and pouted: "I have you. I don't need to use my brain, I can just focus on acting."
Gilbert chuckled, stroking Charlize Theron's short golden hair.
Charlize Theron felt she looked prettier with short hair, so she kept it. And truth be told, Gilbert really liked it—it gave her the aura of a queen.
"Ahem," Ivanka rolled her eyes, cutting off the public display of affection between the boss and the third mistress, and put forward her suggestion.
"Boss, I suggest you send Stephen Sommers a set of porcelain and some tea."
Gilbert's eyes lit up. "Good idea. You take care of it.
Remember, send Stephen Sommers that set of Jingdezhen porcelain, and the tea should be West Lake Longjing, the very same given to me by my Chinese friends."
Ivanka nodded, saying she would arrange it immediately when they got back.
Gilbert thought for a moment and added: "Oh, and send David Ellison a book too!"
"What book?"
"The Tao Te Ching. Remember, it must be in Chinese."
Ivanka silently thought to herself that her boss was wicked, but still made a call to have someone find a Chinese edition of Tao Te Ching.
Charlize Theron was curious: "Why give him the Tao Te Ching? Is it so David Ellison can study morality?"
"Not at all," Gilbert laughed. "It's just my mischief. I want to see what David Ellison's reaction will be when he receives it."
"Oh!" Charlize Theron nodded, then asked again: "So what does the book talk about?"
"Sorry, darling," Gilbert spread his hands. "Even though I know Chinese, I don't know what the book is about either."
Charlize Theron was instantly speechless. She exchanged a look with Ivanka, and both women agreed that Gilbert was really bad.
....
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