"The film 'Blade,' initially aimed by New Line Cinema at a niche market of vampire action for a few comic book fans, surprisingly garnered immense popularity based on its three-day opening weekend box office."
"The combination of blood, American-style Hong Kong kung fu, and the black hero Wesley Snipes gives 'Blade' a unique charm!"
"Following its opening day gross of $13 million, the film earned an additional $19 million at the North American box office on Saturday and Sunday, bringing its total opening weekend gross to over $32 million."
"Here, we must congratulate New Line Cinema! With an investment of $45 million, they are sure to make a fortune."
"At the same time, this film is the first successful superhero movie since the failure of 'Batman,' and it shines like a golden milestone!"
"Superhero movies have great potential!"
This report, over 500 words long, came from the 'Time Magazine Entertainment Edition'.
Its author was extremely optimistic about the prospects of 'Blade,' but there was also a suspicion of it being an advertisement.
In fact, it was an advertisement!
Because New Line Cinema, the production and distribution company behind 'Blade,' was one of Time Warner's subsidiaries. Backed by Time Warner Group, one of Hollywood's Big Six, New Line Cinema had no worries about film promotion and distribution.
This is also why many second- and third-tier film companies are willing to be acquired by larger corporations.
It's all about the money!
More than 50 media outlets, including the 'Los Angeles Morning Post,' 'California Entertainment News,' 'Boston Evening News,' and 'Global Times,' specifically reported on 'Blade's' outstanding performance.
Even several media outlets in far-off Hong Kong praised 'Blade' profusely!
They ran headlines like:
"Kung Fu Shocks America!"
"Kung Fu Famous Overseas!"
Why?
Because the action and fighting style in 'Blade' adopted Hong Kong kung fu, and a Hong Kong action team was directly involved in its production.
The aesthetically pleasing Hong Kong kung fu, with its distinct style from traditional Hollywood American action, greatly captivated moviegoers in Hollywood in 1998.
Films like 'Charlie's Angels,' 'The Matrix,' and 'Astro Boy' would also adopt the "kung fu" fighting style in the coming years… And according to the historical timeline of the original dimension, 'Rush Hour,' starring Jackie Chan and released in September, achieved a remarkable box office of $141 million, shocking Hollywood.
Its box office performance even ranked 7th on the 1998 North American annual box office chart.
This directly led to the widespread popularity of "kung fu" in America in the following years!
However!
The "kung fu" element in America was ultimately an import, not indigenous. After only a few years, once the novelty wore off, its glory faded…
Warner Bros.
Executive President Joe Hunter Williams put down the report in his hand and couldn't help but smile.
"Mr. Williams, it seems 'Blade's' excellent performance has put you in a good mood!" Assistant Eddy O' laughed.
"Of course."
Executive President Joe Hunter Williams nodded and said, "New Line Cinema is, after all, a subsidiary of our Warner Bros. company. When it makes money, our group makes money. At the same time, 'Blade's' success also means that our Warner DC superheroes can once again appear on the big screen. Tell me, how can I not be excited?!"
Assistant Eddy O' immediately laughed as well.
The sudden emergence of 'Blade' indeed held a special, landmark significance!
It injected a powerful shot into superhero genre films!
…Thanks to 'Blade's' hot performance, Marvel Comics' stock price also soared for three consecutive days, pulling Marvel, which was still on the brink of an abyss, back up.
Investors were somewhat optimistic about Marvel's future development.
However, Marvel, as the comic book producer, was not very happy.
'Blade' did make money, but it was New Line Cinema that profited, and Marvel only received a very small portion of the film's final revenue.
In fact, in the original timeline, 'Blade's' performance earned New Line Cinema nearly $100 million in online and offline markets. Yet, Marvel only received a paltry $15,000.
Such a huge disparity!
Could Marvel be balanced?
Balanced my foot!
"Damn New Line Cinema, we only sold that copyright for $250,000 back then!" Marvel executives felt like dying.
However, this was just the beginning… On Monday alone, eight Hollywood film companies came knocking, seeking the film and television rights to Marvel comics.
"Buddy, sell 'Spider-Man' to our company."
"What? Spider-Man has already been sold?!"
"Then you can at least sell Hulk, Iron Man, or X-Men. If not, we can cooperate and complete it together."
"Oh my god!"
"Spider-Man, Hulk, X-Men… you actually sold all these popular hero copyrights!!!"
The representatives of the eight visiting film companies were collectively dumbfounded!
Unwilling to give up, the representatives of the eight film companies began to inquire about the ownership of the superhero copyrights that Marvel had already sold, hoping to get a piece of the pie following 'Blade's' success.
20th Century Fox;
Page Pictures;
The names of these two film companies prominently entered the eyes of various Hollywood film companies.
20th Century Fox, as a behemoth among Hollywood's Big Six, was not to be mentioned for now.
But for Page Pictures, which had only risen to prominence in recent years, to hold the rights to dozens of popular superheroes like Spider-Man, Venom, Hulk, and Black Widow—how could they not be shocked?
"My God, Page Pictures is so ruthless?!"
"Damn it!"
"Marvel's popular superhero copyrights have all been acquired by those two companies. Although Marvel still has many superhero copyrights now, what good are those unknown ones?!"
"Forget it, forget it!"
"Exactly! We shouldn't even think about 20th Century Fox. Maybe we can find a way through Page Pictures."
"Nonsense! Kyle Page is notoriously ruthless, leaving nothing behind. You'd only pry a copyright from him if Satan turned into God!"
The representatives of various Hollywood film companies were truly gnashing their teeth in anger.
There were even a few stubborn individuals who went to Page Pictures, but they were rebuffed after only a few words, returning crestfallen.
Marvel was also stomping its feet in anger!
On this very day, Page Pictures President Bill McNick held a press conference, officially announcing that 'Spider-Man' had entered its preparatory phase.
Hollywood was shocked!
'Spider-Man,' initially underestimated by investors, quickly transformed into a hot investment project.
Peter Parker was on the rise!