Money has always been the element most capable of stimulating the senses of ordinary people.
Compared to film reviews, which tend to be professional and personal, many ordinary folks judge a movie's quality based on its box office numbers, and they're more easily drawn in by those figures.
The minor box office miracle Run Lola Run created with just 207 screens over its opening weekend was naturally thrust onto newspaper pages by media outlets keenly attuned to readers' interests. This time, coverage of Run Lola Run generally broke out of the entertainment sections and into the higher-profile news pages.
Due to lifestyle and reading habits, evening papers in Los Angeles had long struggled to thrive.
In recent years, the increasingly declining Hearst Corporation's evening paper, the Los Angeles Herald-Examiner, pushed Run Lola Run's box office story straight to the front page that afternoon to grab eyeballs, even dragging in a heavyweight for comparison.
"Run Lola Run Crushes Stallone's Latest with $26,000 Per Screen!".
"Last Friday, newcomer director Simon Westeros film Run Lola Run opened on a small scale across West Coast states and in New York. Before this, the 18-year-old Hollywood rising star had already sparked widespread media controversy and discussion."
"Run Lola Run lived up to expectations, earning rave reviews from critics upon release. With the Presidents' Day weekend four-day box office data now out, Run Lola Run claimed a strong $5.51 million opening, overpowering Sylvester Stallone's new film Over the Top to secure fourth place on the 1987 seventh weekend box office chart."
"However, the data comparison between Run Lola Run and Over the Top is even more astonishing."
"Run Lola Run's production cost was $650,000; Over the Top, a joint production by Warner Bros. and Cannon Films, had a budget of $25 million—38 times that of Run Lola Run. Run Lola Run screened on 207 theaters; Over the Top opened on 1,758 screens—8.5 times the scale of Run Lola Run."
"Under such a vast disparity, Run Lola Run effortlessly dominated with $5.51 million, boasting a staggering per-screen average of $26,600—far surpassing all contemporaries."
"It's foreseeable that, riding on stellar word-of-mouth and massive buzz, as Orion Pictures expands Run Lola Run into the broader Midwest, East, and Canada, the film's box office miracle is just beginning. This ultra-low-budget independent, practically miniature in scale, could well become 1987's first film to break $100 million in the next six months."
"Meanwhile, facing Over the Top's dual flop in reputation and box office, Hollywood might need to reflect once more on the ever-rising costs of film production."
This report from the Los Angeles Herald-Examiner became the near-universal focus of West Coast media that afternoon and in the days that followed.
With the media's one-sided commentary and even mockery, Stallone—whose rise to fame was the stuff of inspiration—suddenly became the tragic exemplar of the old wave crashing on the beach.
Right in the midst of Oscar season's liveliest party period, media reporters and tabloid paparazzi weren't about to miss this golden opportunity. Unable to track down the other central figure, Simon Westeros, they turned their attention to hounding Stallone.
Stallone's status clearly wasn't shaken by one film's failure. Facing the media's pursuit and questions, he maintained his composure as much as possible, responding with grace.
But even the most patient have limits. After days of relentless chasing, at a party in Beverly Hills, Hollywood, on Thursday evening, one paparazzo's question cut too deep. Stallone's face darkened, and he simply ignored the man. The pap persisted, blocking his path and pressing on.
Pushed to the brink, Stallone raised a hand to shove him aside.
Then, clearly channeling Rocky, with Stallone's light push, the paparazzo crumpled to the ground, "unconscious."
Though many could see it was an obvious scam, this explosive news was pure sales gold—who cared about the facts?
So the next day, headlines blared with stories like "Stallone Lashes Out in Rage, Knocks Paparazzo Unconscious." The incident's cause was crystal clear, so Run Lola Run's already scorching buzz was like doused with another bucket of gasoline.
Time swiftly moved into Run Lola Run's second week of release.
Though they'd accelerated distribution as much as possible, the film's screen count only rose to 265 in the second week—mainly from theaters already under contract adding more showings.
Orion's deals with these chains netted only 43% of the box office split: 15% to Simon, 28% to Orion.
With Run Lola Run's heat at fever pitch, Orion wasn't content with that split anymore and was negotiating with other chains. Of course, since the contracts were fixed, even if Orion secured higher splits from theaters later, it wouldn't affect Simon much.
Still, Simon was more than satisfied with the current situation. After all, partnering with the Big Seven might have gotten him only about 10% even if he'd negotiated a split.
Moreover, Simon still held all other North American distribution rights for Run Lola Run beyond theaters. With the film's massive theatrical success, subsequent rights sales would naturally fetch richer returns.
On the other hand, Run Lola Run's first full-week box office emerged amid the frenzy, settling at $6.97 million—still firmly suppressing Stallone's Over the Top, and closing the gap even further on third-place Mannequin compared to the four-day weekend.
Many media outlets began speculating on Run Lola Run's precise box office prospects.
Given the film's current word-of-mouth and buzz, combined with the era's long-tail distribution and multiple-release cycles, its North American theatrical run could stretch to about six months.
Six months—roughly 26 weeks.
Run Lola Run hit $6.97 million in its first week on just 207 screens. Factoring in its reputation, buzz, and Hollywood precedents for hit films' curves, media consensus predicted the final North American gross could reach a staggering $150 million to $200 million.
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