The box office situation was not finished yet. Outside of the major markets of the U.K., France, Germany, and Italy, The False grossed 22.946 million U.S. dollars in the rest of the European markets.
Van Helsing did much worse, only taking in 12.698 million U.S. dollars, failing to meet expectations.
Moving on to Australia and New Zealand, The False continued to hold a solid advantage, grossing a combined 13.326 million U.S. dollars in the two regions.
In several Southeast Asian markets, The False grossed a total of 10.64 million U.S. dollars.
Van Helsing performed poorly in these markets, earning only 10.398 million U.S. dollars in total from Australia, New Zealand, and Southeast Asia combined.
Southeast Asia was originally a traditional market for Hong Kong films, which usually achieved considerable success there.
But ever since Jurassic Park conquered the Hong Kong market, Hong Kong films could no longer hold their own territory, let alone Southeast Asia.
Individually, Southeast Asian countries did not have large markets, but combined they formed a sizable market, providing a considerable box office.
Similarly, Hong Kong films used to be very popular in the Japanese and Korean markets. Jackie Chan, for instance, was highly popular in Japan and even had scandals with several Japanese actresses.
But with the decline of Hong Kong films, this market was gradually carved up by Japanese, Korean, and Hollywood productions.
When The False was released in Japan, it was fortunate not to encounter any blockbuster animated films, so it had a good start.
With enthusiastic promotion by high-profile Japanese actresses like Shizuka Kudo, Kyoko Fukada, and Satomi Ishihara, The False grossed 19.818 million U.S. dollars in its opening weekend in Japan.
This result was quite impressive, making it the highest-grossing single overseas market.
The Japanese market had always been valued by Hollywood, because Japanese audiences indeed had high consumption power.
Because of this market, Japanese actors or actresses usually got to participate in Hollywood productions.
Of course, since Japanese culture was considered a relatively popular subculture in North America, these Japanese actors often received important roles.
This was far stronger than Chinese-speaking actors who could only appear for a few seconds and then re-market the film back home.
But the Chinese film industry had no need to be discouraged. With the massive success of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, the success of Jackie Chan and Jet Li in Hollywood, and the successful development of the Jackie Chan Adventures series—
The status of Chinese-speaking actors internationally had never been higher. Jackie Chan even became a first-line Hollywood superstar, commanding a salary of 20 plus 10.
All of this owed much to Gilbert.
Without his strong support, Jackie Chan would have accepted roles indiscriminately, and after failures at the box office, he would have slunk back to Hong Kong long ago.
Neither Shuchang nor Li Bingbing would have had the chance to take part in Hollywood blockbusters, nor the status they enjoyed today.
Today, Li Bingbing was the leader of the Four Dan Actresses, stunningly beautiful, overshadowing all others, and had received many Hollywood invitations.
And Shuchang became famous young, being called an international star while still a teenager.
Compared with Liu Yifei, who was about the same age, Shuchang was soaring in the sky.
As for the "Fairy Sister," while she was indeed beautiful, her popularity was far lower than Shuchang's.
The blame lay in Liu's mother not securing the opportunity back then. Otherwise, it would not have been Shuchang being so arrogant today.
It was said that Liu's mother regretted it deeply now, but fortunately the "Fairy Sister" did not lack roles. With The Story of a Noble Family and Chinese Paladin one after another, she was beginning to build popularity as well.
So it could be said that opportunity was truly important, even more important than personal effort.
However, without the ability and effort to bear the weight of opportunity, no matter how great the chance, it could not be seized.
In the Korean market, The False also performed well. Together with markets in Mexico, Brazil, and other parts of Latin America, The False took the overseas box office crown in its first week with 139.857 million U.S. dollars.
Adding the North American box office, The False seized the global box office crown in its opening summer week with 221.382 million U.S. dollars.
For a crime film, this was a remarkable achievement.
Such a result came from Gilbert's years of accumulation, combined with the box office appeal of the two Toms and Charlize Theron.
Gilbert felt it was normal, but others did not think so.
At the moment when the global box office was freshly announced, the front page of The Los Angeles Times came out almost simultaneously with the scoop from The Hollywood Reporter.
The Los Angeles Times reported: "In the summer of 2004, Gilbert once again gave us a tremendous shock. With a subject matter that was not even particularly popular, he assembled three major stars and told us a brilliant story.
More importantly, this film burst out with incredible energy, slashing 221 million U.S. dollars globally in its first week.
Looking back on Gilbert's directing career, we always felt he had reached his limit. But Gilbert vividly demonstrated what it means that his best film is always the next one.
Gilbert Landrini is without doubt the number one mid-generation director in Hollywood, the true king of the summer season."
As for Van Helsing, The Los Angeles Times did not even want to mention it. Although it grossed 110.773 million U.S. dollars worldwide in its first week, The Los Angeles Times did not care at all.
Other media that followed the matter, however, did not spare Van Helsing, nor did they spare David Ellison.
Soon overwhelming reports flooded in like a tide, drowning David Ellison. In his rage, he tore to shreds the English version of Dream of the Red Chamber he had bought.
At this moment, something even more infuriating arrived.
Gilbert had someone send David Ellison a book, but it was in Chinese, which David Ellison could not read.
Later, after asking around, he found out that the book Gilbert sent was called Tao Te Ching. David Ellison was dumbfounded, not knowing what Gilbert meant by it.
Unable to figure it out, David Ellison had no choice but to call in Michael Ovitz and Martin Bob to ask them.
The three sat on two sofas, with the Tao Te Ching placed on the coffee table.
The teacups had long been replaced by coffee. David Ellison swore he would never drink tea again.
After a long while, Martin Bob finally spoke: "I heard Gilbert gave Stephen a tea set and some tea, and encouraged him to work hard."
"I heard about that too. Stephen is about to take over the Pirates of the Caribbean series. That makes perfect sense," Michael Ovitz said.
But David Ellison clearly didn't think so: "This is an insult to me. He's mocking me for not understanding film and telling me to cultivate my morals."
And truth be told, David Ellison's interpretation did have a certain logic to it, but in reality this was just Gilbert's random whim when he was bored.
He was like a fisherman, casting out a hook when he had nothing else to do, just to see how David Ellison would react.
But Michael Ovitz was an insightful man. He knew that at a time like this, one couldn't react too strongly, or else others would just laugh at you.
He advised, "David, the Chinese always say to stay calm when doing things. Impulse is the devil. Gilbert calculated your temperament precisely. He knew you wouldn't be able to hold back.
I think you still need to calm down. It would be best if you put on an air of indifference, as though nothing happened."
Some say North America is a place that loves chasing geniuses, and also loves madmen—but it depends on where that madness is displayed.
If David Ellison acted crazy in front of Gilbert, most people would just think he was sick. If he got flustered and humiliated after receiving Gilbert's book, people would conclude that David Ellison lacked the most basic manners.
David Ellison was a smart man, and he quickly grasped the crux of the matter.
He then asked, "So what should we do?"
Martin Bob suggested, "Why don't we arrange for an exclusive interview? In that interview, you can specifically thank Gilbert for giving you the book.
Once Gilbert hears your interview, he'll be embarrassed to keep messing with you."
David Ellison nodded in agreement: "Alright, Martin, you go make the arrangements."
Martin Bob soon arranged for Century Times to conduct an exclusive interview with David Ellison. In the interview, David Ellison shared his love for film and his ambition to make a name for himself in Hollywood.
This was David Ellison's first public interview. He hoped people's impression of him would not remain stuck on being Larry Ellison's son.
He hoped that in the future, when people talked about him, it would be as a famous Hollywood producer and about the films he had produced.
"After the experience of Van Helsing, I feel more confident about the future," David Ellison said.
The reporter raised a doubt: "But judging from the opening week box office, Van Helsing can't really be considered a success, can it?"
"Indeed," David Ellison did not deny it: "If you compare it to Gilbert's films, of course it can't be considered a success.
But you have to understand, not everyone is Gilbert.
At the very least, I'm satisfied with this result. As long as it achieves profitability in the long run, it can't be considered a failure."
In his previous statements, David Ellison had positioned himself as a challenger, someone aiming to defeat Gilbert.
But in this interview, David Ellison declared that he only wanted to accumulate experience and had no intention of competing with Gilbert.
It had to be said that the realities of the situation had at least outwardly changed David Ellison's mindset.
Afterwards, David Ellison took out that copy of the Tao Te Ching and specifically expressed his gratitude to Gilbert, saying he would work hard and not let down the book Gilbert had given him.
When Gilbert saw this news, he happened to be in New York having dinner with Donald.
"Looks like your toy doesn't want you to play with it anymore, Gilbert," Donald said with a laugh after reading the article.
Gilbert shrugged indifferently and said, "If the fish doesn't bite, it's no fun…"
The two didn't take the matter seriously. After chatting a little, they set it aside.
Donald was more concerned about his daughter's work under Gilbert: "How is Ivanka doing while working with you?"
"Not bad. Very capable. She manages her work very well," Gilbert said.
Donald felt more reassured: "Originally, I wanted her to serve as a vice president in the family company, but she insisted on working with you, so I couldn't stop her.
Now that I see she's happy with her work, as her father, I feel relieved."
Donald was extremely talkative. When he spoke, he swayed from side to side, almost like he had ADHD—he had a very distinctive personal style.
Gilbert found conversations with Donald quite enjoyable. This New York real estate tycoon was one of the few people in New York's upper-class society with whom Gilbert could have real conversations.
Before going to Donald's house for dinner, Gilbert had already received invitations from several Wall Street funds.
He turned them all down, of course. There was no doubt those funds were eyeing the shares he held in Silicon Valley companies, hoping to shave some off of him.
But how could Gilbert give them any? Shares weren't something blown in by the wind.
In high society, people abided by unspoken rules and maintained tacit understandings. With so much power in his hands, Gilbert wasn't afraid of the Wall Street magnates at all.
Besides, if the 2008 subprime mortgage crisis were to break out, who could say how many of those magnates would even survive?
....
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