Apart from the North American market, The Last of Us was also released simultaneously in eighteen overseas territories, primarily across Europe and South America.
These regions contributed $76.35 million in its first weekend, pushing The Last of Us's global weekly box office to $164.75 million.
More importantly, the film maintained a solid reputation, so its future box office trend was expected to stay strong.
Of course, The Last of Us didn't perform too well in terms of merchandise sales. Aside from collectible figures of Tom Cruise's Joel and Saoirse Ronan's Ellie, there wasn't much to attract buyers.
Still, some fans with special interests did purchase zombie figures as display pieces.
And to be fair, the zombies in the film were impressively diverse in design—some fans even joked that buying them for "warding off evil spirits" at home wasn't a bad idea.
Meanwhile, both Disney and Warner Bros. were working hard to expand the film's merchandising potential. After announcing the development of the video game Batman: Arkham City, Warner's gaming division revealed plans to produce a The Last of Us game as well.
"Want to go on an adventure with Ellie? Then step into the world of gaming!"
However, a high-quality video game takes time to develop, so fans could only hope to see it by 2010 if everything went smoothly.
In its second weekend, The Last of Us expanded its international release and grossed an impressive $131 million overseas.
In North America, it earned $53.32 million for the weekend, retaining both the domestic and global weekly box office crowns with a worldwide total of $184.32 million.
Cumulatively, its North American box office climbed to $141.72 million, and its global total reached $349.07 million.
Crossing the $300 million mark this quickly was fairly standard by modern standards.
Since the 1990s, Hollywood films have enjoyed increasingly smooth international distribution, rarely facing the old situation where a film would finish its U.S. run while still opening in new territories abroad.
The Last of Us was also released in China, where Gilbert's films had always performed well and this time was no exception. The film's opening weekend brought in 22.5 million RMB.
With a little more push, it looked likely that The Last of Us would surpass 100 million RMB in China.
Since the "fake student roster incident," Gilbert hadn't visited China for quite some time. Seizing on the film's booming success there, the Shanghai International Film Festival once again extended an invitation to him.
However, Gilbert declined, citing an overly busy schedule.
He truly was busy. After The Last of Us finished its second weekend and the North American publicity tour officially wrapped up, Gilbert stepped away from the production team, skipping the overseas promotion to focus on his other projects.
First on his list was Iron Man. Following several well-received test screenings, the film began limited advance showings city by city.
The strategy worked perfectly. Word-of-mouth spread quickly, and audiences who attended these screenings were full of praise, calling Iron Man one of the best films of the summer.
As the buzz grew, anticipation among the general public also soared, and theater chains started raising their box office projections for the film.
As the first film from Marvel Studios, Gilbert paid special attention—after all, this was the cornerstone of a long-term franchise.
At the same time, Gilbert was also working on his own long-term project: the Cyberpunk: Edgerunners series.
As the production process accelerated, more and more information leaked online. The news that Gilbert would personally direct his first-ever TV series was no longer a secret.
Although many found it odd for such a world-renowned film director to take on a TV project, online audiences were actually thrilled, eager to see what kind of spectacle he could create.
Another project that Gilbert was watching closely was Michael Bay's Transformers. The film had opened for online pre-sales, which alone generated an astonishing $35 million.
Apparently, the earlier "leaked footage incident" hadn't hurt Transformers at all—if anything, it boosted hype. People were more curious than ever to see the final version.
That bold "leak marketing" strategy genuinely impressed Hollywood; no one expected David Ellison to pull off such a clever stunt.
Just as Sky Dance Studios announced the pre-sale numbers, Gilbert received an official invitation from them as well:
"Dear Mr. Landrini,
We sincerely invite you to attend the world premiere of Transformers, to be held at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles on May 18th."
When Gilbert looked at the invitation in his hand, he couldn't help but chuckle.
David Ellison was truly a contradictory person—cowardly yet somehow brave at the same time. Too timid to confront him directly, yet bold enough to invite him to witness his success in person.
Since the invitation was sent so sincerely, Gilbert felt it would be impolite to refuse.
"Scar, Scar…"
Hearing her name, Scarlett dashed over from her training area. "What is it?" she asked.
"Come with me to a movie premiere in a few days," Gilbert said.
"What movie?"
"Transformers."
"I don't want to go…"
Gilbert raised an eyebrow, curious. "Why not?"
Scarlett pouted. "I'm afraid I won't be able to stop myself from mocking David Ellison and causing trouble for you."
Gilbert burst into laughter. "That's exactly why I want you there. Without your sharp tongue, who else could keep David Ellison in check?"
Her eyes lit up. "Then can I bring a spider to scare him?"
"Uh…" Gilbert immediately refused. "I'm afraid not. It's a public event—we have to mind our manners."
"Fine," Scarlett sighed dramatically, then began thinking about what gown she should wear to the premiere—something that would make David Ellison jealous yet completely untouchable, just to infuriate him.
When it came to mischief, Scarlett was undoubtedly an expert. Charlize Theron had more of a commanding aura, and the other women around Gilbert were too gentle for this kind of playful confrontation. Scarlett was the perfect choice to deal with David Ellison.
Before Transformers hit theaters, several other films were released in between but none drew much attention. Everyone's focus was locked on May 19th.
Sony Pictures' The Da Vinci Code became the unlucky one, scheduled for release during the same time frame as Transformers.
Although Sony Columbia tried every possible trick to compete, early pre-sale data made it clear that The Da Vinci Code couldn't match up to Transformers.
There was nothing they could do. Transformers had pulled a brand-new marketing stunt, and all Sony could rely on was Tom Hanks' star power and the loyal fans of the original novel to boost ticket sales.
On May 18th, Los Angeles enjoyed bright sunshine with a gentle sea breeze. The Last of Us had already entered its third week, and its popularity was naturally beginning to wane.
After all, this was the height of the summer blockbuster season—maintaining strong buzz for two weeks was already impressive.
That day marked the world premiere of Transformers, officially kicking off the North American summer movie season.
To avoid direct competition, The Da Vinci Code had already held its own premiere the day before. Gilbert attended that event with Cameron Diaz, out of respect for Tom Hanks.
But today, Gilbert arrived at the Transformers premiere accompanied by Scarlett Johansson, ready to see exactly what kind of spectacle David Ellison had prepared this time.
...
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