May 24, 2001, 9:00 p.m.
Egyptian Theatre, Los Angeles.
Lin Yuan and the two directors stood at the door of a cinema called the "Egyptian Theatre."
This was a distinctive cinema styled like an Egyptian temple. The ochre-colored plaster walls formed the main structure of the cinema. Two rows of tall palm trees stood on both sides of the hall. From the outside, it exuded the exotic style of ancient Egypt.
Stepping into the cinema hall, elements such as the scarab decoration on the ceiling and the Tutankhamun mask on the wall created a strong sense of immersion.
Looking at the dense crowds coming and going, Director Cohen couldn't help but say, "It must be a great experience to watch 'The Mummy Returns' here."
Two days ago, "The Mummy Returns" chose this highly suitable theater to hold its premiere, thus kicking off the box office war.
Lin Yuan and his team naturally wanted to come to the scene to observe the performance of the rival film and gather user feedback.
"It's really their base camp; the screening rate is as high as 60%," Director Johnston exclaimed in amazement.
"After all, the maximum publicity and promotion expenses weren't wasted. The screening schedules of other theaters across the United States are generally around 40%," Lin Yuan said.
Director Sommers spared no expense in publicity and promotion, which resulted in all major cinemas giving the film the best screening arrangements.
Hearing Lin Yuan's words, Director Cohen smiled and said, "That doesn't scare me. Seeing how confident you look, I know we can't lose."
Recently, the two directors had become more and more confident in Lin Yuan. They were increasingly convinced that Lin Yuan had a way to win, no matter how strong his opponent was.
"Let's go and give our opponents three movie tickets. We still have some generosity."
Lin Yuan lined up in front of the counter, secretly complaining in his heart that the way of buying tickets in this era was so outdated.
Purchasing tickets at the counter and paying in cash...
Returning with three movie tickets, Lin Yuan smiled and said, "That's really bad news! Movie tickets are very popular, and only the ones in the corner are left. And even then, they're almost out of stock."
"It's terrible. It shattered the little hope I had in my heart," said Director Cohen.
"Don't be discouraged too soon. Maybe they bought the tickets themselves," Director Johnston joked.
"Not really, at least not yet," Lin Yuan said. "Let's go see a movie."
The three of them walked into the screening room, and soon after they sat down, the film began playing.
The two directors watched the movie carefully and evaluated the quality of the movie from a professional perspective.
But Lin Yuan's attention was not on the movie at all. He had watched "The Mummy Returns" many times in his previous life, so there was no need to watch it again in the cinema today.
His goal was to see feedback from the live audience.
"The Mummy Returns" is a fantasy film that focuses on visual effects. In terms of visual impact, it had indeed reached the top level of this era.
A swarm of scarabs rushed out and devoured everyone.
High Priest Imhotep kissed his lover in his decayed form.
The mummy climbed walls and chased the protagonists who were riding on the bus.
Imhotep's Water Face Waterfall magic.
Dwayne Johnson, who played the Scorpion King, made an appearance.
…
When these famous scenes appeared one by one, the audience on the scene kept exclaiming in surprise, obviously conquered by these visual effects.
Lin Yuan was not surprised at all that "The Mummy Returns" performed like this.
He never looked down on this movie. On the contrary, he respected it greatly, otherwise he would not have tried his best to compete against it.
But respecting it did not mean that Lin Yuan would surrender.
On the contrary, surpassing the classic in his heart with his own hands was the most noble way for Lin Yuan to pay tribute.
The excellence of "The Mummy Returns" lay in the perfect combination of magical elements and visual effects. It was a movie with extremely strong strengths, but that did not mean it had no weaknesses.
Its shortcoming lay in the character portrayal, especially the characters of the protagonists, which were stereotyped and thin.
The Chicago Sun-Times gave this review:
"The Mummy Returns' mistake was abandoning character development and using the plot as a clothesline for visual effects and action sequences.
If it weren't for the reliance on 1999's The Mummy, this sequel wouldn't even have a plot."
Although this evaluation was a bit harsh, it was also accurate.
The feedback from the audience also confirmed Lin Yuan's judgment.
When the thrilling action scenes came, the audience was generally focused and kept exclaiming.
But when the film played other plot parts, the audience was generally not interested.
After confirming this, Lin Yuan's goal for today was accomplished.
He began to watch the movie, revisiting this classic in his heart.
After the movie was over and the three of them walked out of the theater, Lin Yuan asked, "What did you think of this movie tonight?"
"It's excellent, despite some minor flaws. It has the potential to be a strong contender for the annual box office title," Director Cohen's expression was somewhat serious. "I estimate it could reach $100 million in its first weekend. Your earlier prediction of $280 million is very likely to be achieved."
"This visual effect is considered top-notch today, much better than my 'Jurassic Park III.' Can we really win?" Director Johnston's expression was not very optimistic.
"Of course, remember what I said about timing? Director Sommers picked the wrong time to release the movie.
Our first monster ally is rising, and it will snipe our opponents fiercely," Lin Yuan replied.
"Monster?"
"This animated film called 'Shrek' will give our opponents an iron punch," Lin Yuan nodded.
"Really? It's just a medium-budget animation?" Director Johnston was a little incredulous.
At this point in time, no one except Lin Yuan dared to believe it:
This animated film, which cost $60 million to produce and only $30 million to promote, unexpectedly defeated "The Mummy Returns," which cost $100 million to produce and also had a promotion cost of $100 million.
In Lin Yuan's memory of his previous life, this "Shrek" grossed $267 million in North America, ranking third for the year, beating "The Mummy Returns," which ranked sixth.
Moreover, the value of this third place was extremely high, because the first two were so exceptional that they could be called invincible masterpieces.
"Believe me, it's okay. The reputation of 'Shrek' is constantly growing, and the screening rate is also increasing," Lin Yuan nodded.
"But even if, as you said, the screening schedule of 'Shrek' keeps rising, it won't be enough to squeeze out the screening space of 'The Mummy Returns,'" Director Cohen asked. "It can still maintain at least 30% of the screening space, so we are still in danger."
"Don't worry, our second monster ally will be arriving soon," Lin Yuan said with a smile.
"Another monster movie?"
"No, it's a monster. It's one of only two monsters in the next ten years."