On Saturday, Gilbert went out alone to watch a movie at an IMAX theater in Los Angeles.
Actually, there were IMAX theaters in Tokyo too, but they usually only screened documentaries since no one had ever made a feature film using IMAX technology. Gilbert was the first to do so.
As for the IMAX Gilbert mentioned, it became the best part of the Batman Begins viewing experience.
The premiere had been held in an IMAX theater, and the audience there had already shared their excitement about the incredible experience.
After a full day of online buzz on Friday, IMAX screenings were widely recognized by audiences. Starting Saturday, every IMAX theater across the U.S. was nearly sold out, with tickets becoming impossible to find.
Under these circumstances, IMAX reported stunning box office numbers.
On Friday, all IMAX theaters combined earned $920,000, and on Saturday, that number rose to $1.47 million—a significant increase.
The IMAX company's executives were overjoyed. The success of Batman Begins showed them the enormous potential of expanding IMAX's commercial operations.
"As expected, collaborating with Director Gilbert was an extremely wise decision."
"Absolutely. I went to see Batman Begins myself, and under IMAX projection, the experience was simply unparalleled."
"After this film, IMAX technology will no longer be limited to documentaries—the era of commercial IMAX has arrived."
Gilbert didn't yet know about these comments from the IMAX executives, but he could roughly guess their thoughts. For IMAX, this film represented an unprecedented opportunity for growth.
Meanwhile, online discussions about the IMAX viewing experience spread rapidly.
"I watched it in an IMAX theater in Boston—absolutely perfect. I've never had such an amazing experience!"
"Dude, same here. There are only two IMAX theaters in Philadelphia, and it was so hard to get a ticket!"
"Damn it, I didn't get one. Not a single ticket left."
"Was it really that good? I've already seen the movie once—should I go again?"
"Of course you should, man. Trust me, if you haven't seen it in IMAX, you haven't truly seen this movie."
Thanks to this wave of organic online buzz, IMAX tickets remained in extremely high demand not only on Sunday but also throughout the following weekdays. This was great news for Warner Bros., IMAX, and the film itself.
With weak competition and excellent quality on its side, Batman Begins earned $18.882 million on Sunday, bringing its opening weekend total to $69.764 million.
When this box office data was released, The Los Angeles Times ran its front-page headline: "The Rebirth of Batman."
Indeed, anyone looking at those numbers couldn't possibly call Batman Begins a failure. The film series that had been pronounced dead in 1997 had now been revived by Gilbert's skilled hands.
Kingdom of Heaven fared much worse, earning only $15.258 million in its opening weekend—a disastrous result compared to its $130 million budget.
Of course, Kingdom of Heaven still had a glimmer of hope. If its overseas box office performed well, it might break even. If not, it could still recover costs gradually over time.
When The Shawshank Redemption was released back in the day, it lost money despite being hailed as a classic. No matter how good the reviews were, it was still a box office failure. Yet after more than ten long years, The Shawshank Redemption finally recouped its investment.
But the investment in Kingdom of Heaven was far higher than that of The Shawshank Redemption. The latter only cost a little over twenty million dollars, and it still took more than a decade to break even.
On Monday morning at Skyd Flim Studios, David Ellison took the coffee his assistant brought him and glanced at the newspaper.
When he saw the opening weekend box office of Batman Begins, David Ellison was not surprised in the slightest. After attending the premiere, he already felt that Kingdom of Heaven was no match.
What's more, Kingdom of Heaven's quality was so poor.
"Michael, you're here? Sit down. Have you had breakfast yet?"
"I have," Michael Ovitz replied, sitting down and holding a few documents in his hand. "I came to discuss the planning for the Flyboys and Transformers projects with you.
Also, about the Napoleon project—McCourt said he wants to increase the investment."
"Increase the investment?" David Ellison looked puzzled. "We've already invested $150 million. He wants to add more?"
Michael Ovitz sighed. "McCourt says at least another $50 million. From what I know, there are also others showing interest in this project."
"What about Gilbert?" David Ellison asked.
"He hasn't. Once he learned the project landed in our hands, he gave up pursuing it.
Lately, Pirates of the Caribbean 2 and The Fast and the Furious 3 have entered pre-production, along with Marvel Studios' new projects. He's probably spread too thin," Michael Ovitz explained.
Though his reasoning sounded solid, David Ellison still felt uneasy. "Tell me, is it possible that this project is actually a setup?"
"You mean a scam?" Michael Ovitz asked.
David Ellison nodded. "Logically, even if Gilbert didn't personally oversee it, he would at least have one of his assistants stay in touch about the project.
But he's acting out of character—he hasn't even tried to make contact."
Unlike John Carter and Tron: Legacy, projects that David Ellison already held firmly in his grasp, McCourt's project still had some flexibility and room for negotiation.
If Gilbert were truly interested, he would've at least sent a representative to maintain contact, right?
But he didn't. On the contrary, once David Ellison invested money, Gilbert completely withdrew from competing for the project. That unusual behavior made David Ellison uneasy—something was fishy.
He immediately told Michael Ovitz, "We need to thoroughly review this project. Investigate this French baron—just in case."
Michael Ovitz had seen a lot in his life and knew David Ellison's concern wasn't without reason.
He nodded solemnly. "Don't worry, I'll have someone look into it."
However, by the time David Ellison became cautious, it was already too late. Seeing that his scam was about to fall apart, the French baron fled with the money that very night.
When David Ellison heard that the baron had run away, his head spun, and the world seemed to collapse around him.
"He knew. He knew all along. He set me up on purpose."
That was David Ellison's last sentence before he fainted from rage.
As for who that "he" referred to—well, that was open to interpretation.
...
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