A cinema in Los Angeles.
Many moviegoers—men and women, old and young—were there. With so many movies to choose from, quite a few people were caught in a dilemma of indecision.
"What movie should we watch?"
A few young people in their early twenties were currently debating which movie to pick.
"What's there to be conflicted about? If you're going to see a movie, you naturally choose the hottest one out right now. As of now, what movie is more popular than 'Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'?" a young man with a mohawk laughed loudly.
A blonde girl nodded in agreement. "That's true. Quite a few of my classmates have seen the 'Harry Potter' movie and said it's very good."
As she finished speaking, several companions with her nodded in agreement.
The Christmas season could be described as a gathering of excellent films, and there was certainly no shortage of high-quality titles, but the standout among them was naturally 'Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'.
"someone like you", "The Emperor's New Groove", "chocolat", and others—every single one of them was being suppressed by 'Harry Potter'.
As of today, the 'Harry Potter' movie has been in theaters in North America for 10 days and has earned $145 million at the box office.
It was obvious that its North American box office would exceed $300 million.
However... on December 22, 2000, the movie "cast away", starring two-time Oscar winner Tom Hanks, was released in North America!
Many moviegoers, film critics, theater chains, and film companies all believed: "The biggest competitor for 'Harry Potter' in the Christmas season has appeared."
20th Century Fox Film Corporation, the production company of "cast away", was equally full of confidence in the film's box office performance.
Murdoch personally took the field, telling the media: "'cast away' took two years to build, costing $90 million, with a promotional budget as high as $70 million. Even compared to 'Harry Potter', it's not inferior."
Shea, the boss of New Line Cinema, also jumped out and said: "'cast away' will naturally win market recognition. Don't forget, the director of this film is Robert Zemeckis!"
Robert Zemeckis,
Is a famous big-name director in Hollywood.
The films he has directed, such as the 'Back to the Future' trilogy, 'Who Framed Roger Rabbit', and 'Forrest Gump', are all famous classics.
"When I watch a movie, I first look at who the director is. If the director is Robert Zemeckis, then it's fine; the quality of the films he directs is guaranteed."
This was the comment of one moviegoer.
Looking at the Hollywood film market in the late 90s and early 2000s, directors were naturally behind-the-scenes workers compared to the actors in front of the lens, making it difficult to harvest fame. But when a director reached the level of Robert Zemeckis, he himself was a box office guarantee.
"I also think the box office for 'cast away' might overtake 'Harry Potter'."
The person who said this was none other than Harvey Weinstein, president of Miramax Films.
Harvey Weinstein is a veteran producer.
Although his status in Hollywood cannot be compared to the likes of Kyle, Redstone, and Murdoch... his professionalism in film is beyond doubt.
He said: "Tom Hanks is currently one of the best actors in the U.S. and the world. His movies never lack fans. Coupled with excellent production and a distributor like 20th Century Fox Film Corporation... well, I can't imagine any possibility of failure."
For a time, the entire Hollywood industry sang praises for the film "cast away".
And indeed!
With 20th Century Fox taking action, the number of opening theaters for "cast away" reached 3,500 in one go.
3,500 opening theaters!
It was much more aggressive than the movie "someone like you" released by Paramount Pictures not long ago.
However... when the box office results for the first three days of the opening weekend of "cast away" were released, many people in the industry were collectively dumbfounded.
$30.12 million!
That's right, the box office results for the first three days of the opening weekend for "cast away" barely exceeded $30 million!
"What?!"
"This..."
"No way? This is the Christmas season!"
"Logically speaking, an opening weekend box office exceeding $30 million is already quite an excellent result, but this is a work created by the partnership of Robert Zemeckis and Tom Hanks! It shouldn't have only this much box office?"
"My god!"
"The opening weekend box office for 'cast away' was barely $30 million, while the opening weekend box office for 'Harry Potter' exceeded $80 million. The difference between the two is actually this big?"
Many people were stunned.
Shea, the boss of New Line Cinema, who had always been jealous of Kyle's achievements, almost had his eyes pop out when he heard the news.
"Damn that Kyle, this guy's luck is just too good. God is blind!"
Shea was almost going crazy with jealousy.
Media mogul Murdoch's mood was not much better at this moment.
"I had this concern before, but I didn't expect the gap to be so large?" Murdoch shook his head with a bitter smile.
Similarly, the two-time Oscar Best Actor winner Tom Hanks couldn't help but say bitterly: "It's impossible for a person to be successful forever; I never worry about failure. However, I didn't expect to lose to a group of children."
And isn't that the truth!
Many of the characters in the 'Harry Potter' movie are just a group of children!
FedEx Corporation.
"Unbelievable!"
Fred Smith, the founder and boss of FedEx and a super-rich man worth tens of billions, looked at the newspaper and laughed: "For the movie 'cast away', we spent $20 million just on sponsorship fees. Most importantly, we mobilized 1,200 couriers to participate in this movie. In the end, we still lost to the 'Harry Potter' movie?!"
Fred Smith was smiling, but the group of people in front of him couldn't laugh.
A lot of money was spent, many people were mobilized, and even Chairman Fred Smith himself had a cameo in the movie, yet they still lost.
Think about it, man; no one would be happy in that position.
"Hahaha~"
Fred Smith let out a hearty laugh and said: "Kyle Page's movie was well-made. Well then, in terms of product placement in the future, we can lean towards Page Pictures. There's nothing bad about that."
...As things progressed to this point, film companies large and small in Hollywood all understood one fact.
The overlord of the 2000 Christmas season was none other than 'Harry Potter'.
In the words of Disney Chairman Michael Eisner: "Even Tom Hanks couldn't win this battle. In this Christmas season, who else can curb the powerful rise of 'Harry Potter'?"
And that was indeed the case.
After Christmas, Hollywood would release several more excellent films in succession.
But!
Whether it was "traffic", "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon", or other movies, they were all Oscar-contending films—niche movies that couldn't possibly impact the box office of 'Harry Potter'. Moreover, these films released at the end of December were only in limited release.
Well, after all, these movies were Oscar contenders!