"Before Batman Begins, perhaps no one dared to attempt what Duke Rosenberg did with comic book films. After all, comic book heroes were a bit too far removed from reality. But Duke Rosenberg very cleverly discovered the most direct point of connection between comics and reality—that is, the inner journey of the characters and the emotional resonance it transmits to the audience. And thus, the great Batman trilogy was born…"
Just like the articles shared by movie fans on Instant Share, though The Dark Knight Rises had endured many twists and turns, its box office continued to advance steadily.
By June, The Dark Knight Rises had finally broken through $550 million in North American box office revenue, with its global total exceeding $1.3 billion.
Such results left many people speechless—after all, The Dark Knight Rises had gone through so many storms.
Everyone in Hollywood, whether they liked Duke or hated him, now fully realized just how influential his commercial films truly were.
On the first weekend of June, John Carter, jointly invested by Sky Flim Productions and Walt Disney, officially premiered in North America. With a production cost of $260 million and distributed by Walt Disney Pictures, the total investment from David Ellison and his Sky Flim Productions in both production and marketing exceeded $300 million. David specifically requested that Disney prepare a grand premiere for John Carter. As the concluding installment of the four-part series he had originally purchased, John Carter could be said to represent David Ellison's last hope.
Although the failure of the film wouldn't immediately bankrupt Sky Flim Productions, everyone would undoubtedly question his judgment and David Ellison was well aware of that.
Of course, he also knew that many people were already doubting his abilities, including his own father, Larry Ellison.
If he lost the support of his father, Larry Ellison, David could hardly imagine the consequences. After all these years in Hollywood, he had never truly managed to stand apart from his family's backing.
After quickly walking the red carpet, David Ellison hadn't even entered the theater when his father's assistant called him into a lounge.
Inside, Larry Ellison's expression was solemn and serious. When David entered, Larry motioned for him to close the door and asked directly, "What's going on with the Vin Diesel car accident?"
Hearing those words, David Ellison's heart sank instantly.
Larry Ellison continued coldly, "Although the situation isn't beyond repair yet, your stupidity has exceeded even my worst expectations!"
There was already clear anger in his tone.
David tried to speak in his defense but was interrupted by Larry's raised hand. "For now, this matter hasn't directly implicated you, and I don't want to hear any excuses! Also, if John Carter fails again…"
At that point, Larry gave David a cold, cutting glance.
Would John Carter succeed? In David Ellison's view, the film had all the makings of a blockbuster hit.
But sometimes, things simply don't go as predicted—especially when it comes to audience reception. Hollywood, known as the world's movie factory, might possess the most standardized system of film production, but even it could not completely grasp the pulse of the market.
The premiere went smoothly. There were no unexpected incidents, certainly nothing like last month's shooting tragedy.
However, right after the premiere and over a thousand advance screenings ended, a storm of online criticism erupted almost instantly. On the largest social media platform in North America, Instant Share, negative reviews of John Carter rapidly climbed to the most prominent spots.
"After all the grand hype, I rushed to my long-awaited date with John Carter on a gloomy Friday night. It felt like heading into a passionate secret rendezvous… only for it to turn out like this…"
"The film boasts many selling points—a famous director, a massive budget, alien landscapes… Yet all of this has been squeezed into one long, foul-smelling fart, echoing through countless theaters in thunderous unison!"
"First, it's ridiculously cliché. The protagonist looks like Prince of Persia, the Martian palaces resemble Thor, the plot mirrors Avatar, and the monsters look like those from The Golden Compass… So what exactly is John Carter like? Like everything—except itself."
"Second, the color palette is dull and murky. Look at other blockbusters—Avatar, The Dark Knight, Transformers, The Avengers—each one dazzling and radiant, determined to overwhelm the audience with visual splendor!"
"Third, the score is old-fashioned. The film relies too heavily on the orchestra, trying to use symphonies to prop up a story that feels equal parts cult and fairytale—it just doesn't fit."
"Fourth, the 3D effects are mediocre—far inferior to The Dark Knight Rises. It feels like they slapped on a pair of fishnet stockings just to charge a few extra bucks."
"Fifth, director Andrew Stanton clearly believes he's mastered the formula for commercial blockbusters. The story opens with an action sequence to heat things up—but after a few half-hearted punches, it fizzles out. The director's lack of interest in action scenes results in the audience losing interest too."
"Sixth, the director is, at heart, still better suited for animation. He centers the film around a love story—pure as snow, sincere as water—but no amount of exposed midriffs and thighs adds any maturity. In truth, it's a teenage love story. If the lovers were replaced by two animated robots, their love might move heaven and earth—but in a noisy, cynical real-world setting, how could such a simple love move anyone?"
"Seventh, the director hasn't grasped one fundamental rule: the secret weapon of a blockbuster is grand, spectacular action. As long as the scenes are big, flashy, fierce, cool, and long enough—even a bad movie will sell. But here, the big scenes are few and fleeting. How can that satisfy anyone?"
"Eighth, the director tries too hard to be artistic. There are quite a few action scenes, but all are half-hearted. The two giant beasts featured on the posters don't even appear until the audience is nearly asleep, and after a few quick hits, they're down. How could that possibly please anyone?"
"Ninth, the director doesn't understand the importance of climactic battles. The final showdown barely has any intense fighting before it ends. What the hell is that?! Look at the blockbusters—Transformers, Avatar—their finales go all out, sending audiences home in awe and satisfaction. But John Carter? A few weak punches and then a lengthy, pointless suspense sequence at the end. Completely unnecessary!"
"Finally, every time your excitement is about to ignite, the plot instantly cools it down. When you're just about to get 'hard,' it lulls your nerves toward slumber! And just when you think the climax is coming, it transitions to the next scene without giving you any release at all. Watching John Carter is like having a wet dream—seemingly beautiful, but with no climax whatsoever!"
Like a rapidly spreading plague, the negative word-of-mouth for John Carter swept across the internet at an alarming speed. Even with all the efforts Walt Disney and Sky Flim Productions made, there was simply no saving it.
It could only be said that this film simply did not suit the audience's taste. In the interviews broadcast later on television, countless moviegoers filled the air with complaints and curses.
"The promotion was too overblown. This is purely a crude and sleep-inducing film."
"Not only does it lack grand scenes, but the dialogue and logic are so crude and simplistic that it's unbearable. The fact that the source material is old and aimed at younger audiences is no excuse."
"The plot is incoherent, the main characters lack distinct personalities, and only a few laughable moments reminded me to stay awake in front of the screen—don't fall asleep! These days, if you want to watch sci-fi, there's nothing to see except Duke Rosenberg's films!"
"An entertainment film is supposed to entertain first. There are barely any large-scale scenes, only a few scattered monsters, and the action sequences are dull—who's this for? The story is basically Superman reversed: Superman's an alien who comes to Earth and becomes invincible because of the lower gravity, and here you've just flipped it—an Earthman goes to another planet, gets low gravity, and becomes a super-powered hero."
And that wasn't all. According to the latest survey data released by CinemaScore, John Carter received a grade of "C" from audiences, with a "popcorn index" of only 62%. CinemaScore's prediction for the film's North American box office was around 50 million dollars.
Considering that John Carter had a production cost of a staggering 260 million dollars, if the final box office truly ended up at that number, the investors would be bleeding money.
In reality, the box office trend for John Carter was not much different from CinemaScore's prediction.
On its first day, Friday, thanks to the power of promotional marketing, the film still managed to earn close to 5 million dollars in North America. However, starting on Saturday, dragged down by extremely poor word of mouth, its box office dropped continuously. The overall attendance rate in North American theaters even fell below 5%. After the three-day opening weekend, the film only managed to gross 11.38 million dollars.
In such a fiercely competitive summer season, this kind of opening weekend result had no competitiveness whatsoever. Not to mention grabbing a big piece of the pie—John Carter couldn't even match The Dark Knight Rises, which had already been in theaters for six weeks and still earned 12.13 million dollars that same weekend.
For David Ellison, the box office failure of John Carter wasn't even the most painful part. On Monday, the Los Angeles Police Department held another press conference announcing that they had captured the private detective who had hired James Holmes.
At the same time, Duke, who had returned to Los Angeles after completing his North American promotional tour, received a visit request from Larry Ellison.
....
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