"Will Smith did such a great job."
In Times Square, a few people came out of the AMG cinema, chatting about the movie they had just watched as they walked. "The two movies that kicked off this summer season are both really good. The Dark Knight was excellent. I Am Legend was a bit weaker, but still very exciting."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah..."
A young girl chimed in, "I absolutely love Will Smith's films."
"The movie really was great."
Suddenly, one of them said with slight dissatisfaction, "But there was one part that was really annoying. The main character, played by Will, actually killed a dog!"
With that reminder, the others recalled the scene and immediately joined in. "That's right, the director is so heartless, he actually killed a dog!"
"Even if it's just a movie, that's an unforgivable act!"
"Yeah, so cruel. The dog just died like that."
In their discussion, the dog's death in the movie was practically a cardinal sin.
When they reached the plaza right in front of the cinema, the girl who spoke first suddenly pointed at a crowd. "Look, someone's protesting I Am Legend."
There were at least dozens of people gathered there. Some held banners, others signs, and they all looked agitated, as if I Am Legend had deeply wounded them and their families.
"Using dog abuse to provoke emotion is despicable and shameless!"
"Please treat mankind's best friend dogs — kindly in all circumstances!"
"We call on all dog lovers to boycott this dog-killing film!"
These people quickly attracted media attention, and in front of reporters and cameras, they shouted slogans. Seeing the chaos of the scene, the small group of friends didn't stay long and left Times Square.
This was just one of many protests against I Am Legend on that Saturday. Across the U.S., at popular cinemas and major hotspots, animal rights groups and dog lovers appeared, protesting the film in various forms.
Sky Studios in Los Angeles and the Hilton Hotel where David Ellison was staying were surrounded by hundreds of protestors, all demanding an explanation from the film's producers and director.
Some even submitted complaints to local governments and the North American Theater Alliance, requesting a forced removal of I Am Legend from theaters.
Of course, such requests were clearly impossible. I Am Legend had already shown strong market potential, and theater chains would never abandon it.
But a lot of trouble was inevitable, especially as it could impact dog lovers' decision to see the movie.
"It's just a dog dying, isn't it?"
Inside the hotel suite, David Ellison had to exert all his strength to keep his anger in check. "There weren't even any close-up shots, and it was to highlight the film's theme. And yet they're protesting outside the hotel?"
The others in the room remained mostly silent, just looking at David Ellison.
"Don't these people have anything better to do?"
Walking over to the floor-to-ceiling window, David Ellison looked down and could clearly see the protestors in front of the hotel. He was furious. "So many people died in the movie, and they don't protest that? But one dog dies and it's a problem?"
Even director Francis Lawrence kept quiet, along with everyone else in the room.
After a long while, Michael Ovitz, who had been sitting on the sofa, stood up and walked over. Standing shoulder to shoulder with David Ellison at the window, he offered some advice. "These people are a real nuisance. We should try to calm them down."
David Ellison, still furious, crossed his arms and didn't respond.
Although I Am Legend wasn't one of the Artist Management Agency's packaged projects, it was still involved to some extent. Thinking about the profits, Michael Ovitz continued, "David, if the protests spread completely, it will definitely affect the box office of I Am Legend."
He also turned his gaze to the protestors below. "I know you don't care about box office revenue, but this will affect your competition with Duke Rosenberg!"
At the mention of Duke Rosenberg, David Ellison took several deep breaths, suppressing his rage and starting to consider the current situation more realistically.
I Am Legend's opening weekend box office couldn't compete with The Dark Knight's, but that didn't mean it couldn't beat The Dark Knight's second weekend. If protests caused a loss in ticket sales, it would definitely impact his plans.
David Ellison thought for a few minutes, then slowly said, "Call a press conference."
This weekend, commercial theater chains across North America were basically dominated by The Dark Knight and I Am Legend. The former was still running high in 4,460 theaters with a screening rate close to 55%; the latter was showing in 3,600 theaters with a 30% screening rate.
Other films could only struggle to survive in the gap between these two blockbusters.
Heading into its second weekend, The Dark Knight's appeal had declined somewhat, but it still drew audience attention. Many people who hadn't planned to see it were drawn into theaters by its explosive word-of-mouth.
Despite being affected by protest activity, I Am Legend was still a movie many chose to watch. Will Smith's star power remained strong, and the original novel had a large fanbase, so overall attendance rates remained optimistic.
However, Duke didn't focus entirely on the North American market. Charles Roven was already leading the production team on a week-long promotional tour in Europe, and The Dark Knight was set to launch widely in overseas markets this weekend.
How such a dark and heavy film would be received overseas was truly hard to say.
In Duke's view, even if The Dark Knight's overseas box office did exceed that of North America, the margin wouldn't be too large.
The overseas market was too fragmented, and data collection took time, whereas statistics in North America were relatively easy to obtain basic figures for the previous day were usually available by the next.
On the Friday when I Am Legend officially opened, it successfully beat The Dark Knight with a single-day box office of $27.25 million versus $25.66 million, becoming the box office champion of the day.
But as the novelty faded, I Am Legend's lead came to an end.
On Saturday, The Dark Knight saw a strong rebound, with over 400,000 people attending and raking in $32.88 million in box office!
I Am Legend, on the other hand, saw a slight decline, ending the day with $26.64 million.
Although Scarlett Johansson suggested during a phone call that she could meet with David Ellison in person, Duke had no time to spare he boarded a plane back to Los Angeles early Sunday morning, while the rest of the crew flew to East and Southeast Asia to promote The Dark Knight's overseas release tour.
David Ellison, who stayed behind in New York, was quite irritable at this point. The anger stirred up by protests two days earlier had not yet been vented, and seeing the significantly lagging box office numbers almost drove him crazy.
"Is there any way to make up the box office gap between the two films in just one day?"
He forced himself to hold back his anger, stood in front of Michael Ovitz, and loudly asked, "Aren't you Hollywood's top agent? Didn't you claim that every project you served never failed? Tell me what can still be done now?"
"I'm sorry, David," Michael Ovitz remained clear-headed, "At this point, there's nothing we can do, unless..."
"Unless what?" David Ellison asked again.
Michael Ovitz looked up at him and said, "Unless you put up a large sum of money to buy tickets yourself."
David Ellison certainly understood what this meant. He stopped roaring and seemed to be weighing the feasibility.
"However..." Michael Ovitz reminded him, "If word gets out, you'll become a laughingstock throughout Hollywood and even the entire global film industry."
David Ellison had always been arrogant and proud. After a brief moment of thought, he slowly shook his head. "That's not a choice a smart person should make."
After speaking, he walked over to the sofa opposite Michael Ovitz and slowly sat down.
"David, you should look at it this way—I Am Legend hasn't failed!" A voice of self-consolation echoed in his mind. "With the current trend, the film's opening weekend box office will definitely exceed the expected $70 million. As long as it maintains a relatively stable performance, I Am Legend won't have a hard time turning a profit through box office alone."
If the film could be profitable, he would have an explanation for his father and other financiers, which would mean he'd still have another shot.
Upon entering the Hollywood circle, even someone with David Ellison's wealth and status realized how crucial opportunities were. To achieve major success in Hollywood, opportunities were far more important than talent or even money.
As long as there was another chance, he believed he would win one day.
On that same day, a shocking event happened online that rocked the entire American film industry the famous Internet Movie Database, IMDb, officially announced the temporary closure of the rating and comment sections for The Godfather and The Dark Knight in order to quell the mutual attacks between the two fanbases.
The fan wars surrounding IMDb scores had reached a fever pitch, with aggressive remarks and tactics emerging one after another. Even the site administrators, who usually tolerated internet trolls, couldn't take it anymore and had to step in to prevent this mutual attack from collapsing the entire IMDb scoring system.
However, in the eyes of Duke's fans, they were the clear victors. Not only did The Dark Knight rank first on the TOP 250 list with a 9.6 score, but they also used their overwhelming numbers to drag The Godfather's score down to 8.8, allowing The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, with a 9.0 score, to leapfrog into second place on the chart.
But even though IMDb had shut down those sections, the fan conflict was far from over. Both sides continued attacking each other on social media and major forums. A lot of rumors spread online some said The Godfather's fans started the war by spamming 1-star reviews, while others claimed it was "Duke fans" who launched the first strike against The Godfather?...
The truth would only be drowned in the endless spitting match on the internet.
.....
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