With the first weekend box office results out, "juno" took in $50.2 million from over 3,400 theaters.
The champion was indeed the champion, but the results weren't particularly outstanding, after all, the number of screens was limited.
Frankly, it suffered from its subject matter and lacked the backing of big-name stars, being a light comedy without special effects.
Its ability to surpass $50 million was still due to the backing of MGM's reputation; in recent years, it has continuously produced quality works, cultivating a large number of supporters in the market.
Produced by MGM, it must be a quality product.
If not a masterpiece, then at least a good one.
Moreover, Eric didn't care much about the box office. Seriously, with a net worth of over 100 billion, would he even notice a mere ten or twenty million?
The purpose of this movie was to promote Elizabeth.
While the box office was mediocre, the film's reputation was excellent, with an IMDb score of 8.3 and a Rotten Tomatoes fresh rating of 88%.
In the past, similar themes in the market often took a tragic route.
However, "juno" went against the grain, opting for a cheerful and bright approach, which truly impressed many film critics and fans.
The Chicago Sun-Times: "juno is a very unique film, showcasing a perplexing side of United States society, but with a fresh and unique perspective."
Salt Lake City Journal: "juno is a typical light comedy. Beyond its theme, it's more importantly a reminder for parents to prioritize communication and interact more with their children."
ABC Entertainment Online: "The cast of juno is not strong, but everyone contributed excellent acting."
"Elizabeth Olsen proved herself; this little girl possesses a groundbreaking magic."
"Andrew Garfield was also great; he accurately portrayed a sense of youthful bewilderment, awkwardness mixed with tenderness."
"He is a convincing student, and we have reason to believe that he can also fit the role of Spider-Man."
The Independent: "juno is simply terrible, not only bad but also potentially harmful."
"A very serious subject, yet the director chose a heartwarming treatment."
"There isn't a single bad person around juno; her parents, teachers, classmates, and lover all show her great affection."
"It looks beautiful, but it's impossible in reality. More often, you face harsh criticism from society and family."
"This film chose a realistic subject but is not at all realistic. I hope everyone avoids watching juno to prevent negative influences on children."
While other newspapers and media praised it, The Independent, as always, criticized MGM and everything related to Eric.
They had been doing so for years, staying true to their original intention. Not only the public but even Eric himself had gotten used to it.
The Independent had clearly turned this behavior into a traffic-generating stunt; every time MGM released a new film, many people waited to see how The Independent would criticize it.
Audiences watched for entertainment because no one believed The Independent's film reviews anymore.
Even the writers privately admitted that sometimes, to criticize Eric Cooper, they had a tough time.
You had to constantly find tricky angles and still manage to make lame logic sound plausible, which wasn't easy.
With the excellent word-of-mouth, Eric directly approved $10 million for an aggressive public relations campaign.
This money
Andrea, Elizabeth, and Little Liu also frequently accepted interviews, sometimes having three or four engagements a day, all building momentum.
Besides promoting "juno," MGM's other award-contending film was "bohemian rhapsody."
The songs of Queen once again echoed across the United States after several months.
Phoenix also got ready, forcing himself to participate in various shows to maintain his presence, while also enduring more punches from Cate Blanchett.
Time advanced rapidly in this process, and various awards ceremonies were held successively.
Screen Actors Guild Awards, Golden Globe Awards, Film Arts Awards, National Board of Review Awards, Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards, Boston Film Critics Association Awards, New York Film Critics Association Awards, National Society of Film Critics Awards.
In short, if you really want to compete, there are truly many different awards in the United States.
Those mentioned above are quite significant; although not well-known among the general public, they are recognized marks within the entertainment industry.
The judges are also industry professionals, mainly professional film critics and veteran industry seniors.
Besides professional awards, there are also entertainment awards primarily for the public, such as the Saturn Awards and Popcorn Awards. Strictly speaking, Saturn is between entertainment and professional.
A significant portion of these judges also serve as Oscar judges, as there are now over 6,000 Oscar judges.
If you can conquer these awards, your chances of winning an Oscar will greatly increase.
Click! Click!
Outside the Kodak Theatre, a long red carpet stretched to the edge of the main road, and reporters surrounded both sides of the red carpet, snapping photos frantically.
Countless fans also squeezed around, eager to catch a glimpse of their favorite idols.
As a black classic extended Bentley slowly pulled up to the curb, sharp-eyed reporters had already identified the license plate and immediately turned their cameras.
For no other reason than the owner of this car was more dazzling than any star.
Best Actor and Actress winners, and company CEOs would bow their heads to him; even today's Oscar ceremony considered it an honor to invite him.
Eric stepped out of the car, then gallantly opened the car door, and Elizabeth took his hand as she stepped out.
His two sisters got out from the other side; today, the three sisters were all wearing evening gowns.
Eric held Elizabeth's left hand and Ashley's right hand, while Mary stood beside them, and the four walked onto the red carpet together.
"Look this way, Eric, look this way."
"Eric, you look so handsome today. Stop for a photo, please."
"Wait, walk slower, Elizabeth. You sisters, stand closer."
The red carpet for large awards ceremonies actually has a time limit; generally, it's required to be completed in about 2 minutes.
If you keep lingering, what about the stars behind you?
In a few years, China will produce a large number of 'carpet stars,' primarily those who have no work but insist on hogging the spotlight.
For example, Fan Bingbing, Zhang Xinyu, and various internet celebrities often linger and are driven away by security guards.
While some are criticized for walking too slowly, others walk too fast, and the organizers have to find ways to hold them back, making them stay on the red carpet a little longer.
As soon as Eric appeared, and after walking a few steps with the three girls, he was surrounded by two outdoor hosts, and the three sisters were directly pushed aside.
The two hosts chatted idly, asking about careers one moment, and relationships the next.
Feeling like they were out of things to say, they casually grabbed a passing celebrity and then exchanged a few more words.
Paris Hilton's popularity had surged over the past year due to variety shows, and she had also received an Oscar invitation.
Seeing Eric standing there, she couldn't help but inwardly snort. He had rejected her repeatedly; she had even given him her room number, and he still wouldn't come. The damned guy!
She was lost in thought when she was suddenly grabbed and pulled in front of Eric.
After saying a few muddled words, she suddenly felt a rush of blood to her head. This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
Kiss!
A stolen kiss!
In front of countless cameras, Eric's face was attacked.
Reporters were stunned, the hosts were stunned, and even Paris Hilton herself was dazed.
Eric himself, however, sighed helplessly: "This is what happens when you're too popular. Too much charm, too much charm! Alas!"
Leaving behind a pretentious silhouette, he slowly walked into the theater.
"Welcome to the 78th Academy Awards. I'm your host, Jon Stewart."
On stage, veteran talk show host Jon Stewart delivered the opening remarks, while Eric whispered with Elizabeth and Little Liu.
The Academy was still good at handling things, placing the crews of "juno" and "bohemian rhapsody" together.
To Eric's left was Elizabeth Olsen, and to his right was Cate Blanchett.
The camera occasionally swept over; ABC knew very well, and the director knew very well, that giving the world's richest man more screen time would definitely boost ratings.
"The award for Best Sound Mixing goes to 'bohemian rhapsody.'"
On stage, Jessica Alba and Eric Bana announced together.
The hall immediately filled with the music of Queen. John stepped onto the stage to receive the trophy, expressing his excitement.
He had served MGM for decades, and this was his first time on the Oscar stage.
She thanked her family and colleagues, then thanked Eric profusely again, before wiping away tears and walking off the stage.
After a few awards, Ben Affleck's girlfriend, Jennifer Garner, walked onto the stage.
"The winner for Best Sound Editing is 'bohemian rhapsody', congratulations!"
Another MGM veteran walked onto the stage to accept the trophy; these two awards were undisputed.
Even if Satan were the judge, he wouldn't dare give them to any other film.
Next, Cate Blanchett was nominated for Best Supporting Actress, but she had already won this award last year, so this time it went to Rachel Weisz for 'The Constant Gardener'.
Cate Blanchett was a bit disappointed, but Little Liu was even more so, as she didn't even get a nomination.
There was nothing she could do; her screentime in 'juno' was too short, even less than Cate Blanchett's.
Elizabeth Olsen squeezed her hand: "There will be opportunities in the future, Crystal."
"It's nothing, we came here for you this time."
'Six-Shooter' won Best Live Action Short Film, and Best Supporting Actor went to George Clooney for'Syriana'.
Best Animated Feature Film was won by 'Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit', with 'Howl's Moving Castle' losing out.
Best Foreign Language Film was taken by the South African film 'Tsotsi'; there were no Chinese films this year.
As various awards were handed out, only the more important major awards remained.
Dustin Hoffman pointed to the big screen: "Nominees for Best Adapted Screenplay are: 'brokeback mountain', 'juno', 'Capote', 'The Constant Gardener', 'Munich'."
The camera focused on the five directors and screenwriters, with 'brokeback mountain' and 'juno' being the main focus due to their significant social impact.
The weakest was 'Munich', whose nomination was purely due to political benefits; everyone could see that it was a hastily produced work by Spielberg.
The nomination was to save face for an old veteran; otherwise, he wouldn't have even gotten a single nomination, which would have looked bad.
"I announce that the winner is 'brokeback mountain'."
The crew nearby immediately cheered, and Eric glanced over; Lee Ang also happily stood up and embraced the screenwriter.
He, on the other hand, smiled: "This is good news. The more awards you lose, the greater your chances of winning Best Actress."
Elizabeth was also smiling, 'Come on, reveal the answer already.'
Uma Thurman, in a dress, walked up with an envelope, and after a few words to liven the atmosphere, she opened it.
"Nominees for Best Original Screenplay are: 'bohemian rhapsody', 'Good Night, and Good Luck.', 'Crash', 'Match Point','Syriana'."
"Let me see who will be lucky."
Tearing open the envelope, Uma Thurman chuckled: "It's him again, it's that person again, he's practically taking all the screenplay awards home."
"I'm sure you've already guessed his name. The winner is Eric Cooper for 'bohemian rhapsody'."
Clap!
Whoosh!
Instantly, amid the music, the entire venue erupted in thunderous applause.
Eric embraced his crew and then calmly walked onto the stage.
Uma Thurman came forward for a cheek kiss, then curiously asked: "Eric, you don't seem excited at all."
"Haha. Didn't you just say that all the screenplay awards these past few years have been taken home by me? What's there to be excited about?"
Hahahahaha
Eric gave his usual thank-you speech, his heart truly unruffled by now; it had become second nature.
Subsequently, last year's Best Actor, Jamie Foxx, took the stage to present the Best Actress award.
"Nominees for Best Actress are: Keira Knightley for 'Pride & Prejudice', Reese Witherspoon for 'Walk the Line', Judi Dench for 'Mrs Henderson Presents'."
"Felicity Huffman for 'Transamerica' and Elizabeth Olsen for 'juno'."
The big screen showed the five individuals, and Eric clearly felt Elizabeth Olsen's body tense up, her small hands beginning to tremble with nervousness.
"The winner is Reese Witherspoon for 'Walk the Line'."
As the result was announced, Elizabeth instantly deflated like a leaky balloon, quickly adjusting her expression to face the camera and applaud.
Eric leaned close to her ear: "It's nothing, baby, there will be plenty of opportunities in the future. I promise I'll get you an Oscar for Best Actress before you're 18."
Her lover's encouragement made Elizabeth Olsen smile again; actually, just getting a nomination was already great for her.
Purely comparing acting skills, she was the weakest among the five.
"Just a little disappointed, dear."
"How about I help you relax when we get home later?"
Elizabeth Olsen's little face flushed, and she softly hummed in agreement.
Next, only the three major awards remained: Best Actor, Best Director, and Best Picture.
Joaquin Phoenix had already swept most of the awards, so his Best Actor win was well-deserved.
Even though Eric really liked Heath Ledger, and his performance in 'brokeback mountain' was excellent, he couldn't in good conscience say it was stronger than the former's.
Anyway, 'The Dark Knight' was in preparation; he'd see if he could win him a Best Actor award with the Joker then.
Commercial films don't deserve it?
That depends on who the investor is.
In another year or so, Eric's business empire would be even larger, and his relative influence would also be greater.
If you don't give me an award, don't blame me for starting a new Hung Hing.
Subsequently, Best Director was indeed won by Lee Ang, and Best Picture naturally fell into 'bohemian rhapsody''s pocket.
Beverly Hills, everyone was comforting Elizabeth Olsen on the way back.
Upon entering, Avril and Theron, who were at home with Nicole, also rushed to hug her.
After all that, Elizabeth herself didn't feel much anymore.
"Your ways of comforting people are too old-fashioned; let me do it."
Eric pushed the women aside, picked up Elizabeth Olsen, and placed her on the table.
It started gently, but within a few minutes, both of them began tearing at each other's clothes, damn gentleness.
Soon, the villa was a chaotic tangle of women.
The night faded, and light returned. After a wild half-night, it was the weekend, so it didn't matter.
He had intended to sleep longer, but Eric groggily opened his eyes. Before he was fully conscious, a hand pulled him up.
"Three of us are missing one, hurry up and get up."
"Huh?"
"Huh what, huh! Come play cards!" Avril said sternly.
"You guys play, I want to sleep a bit."
"Then give me 1 million US dollars, I lost everything."
"How did you lose everything? Who were you playing cards with?"
"Ashley, Mary, and Elizabeth. They each won over 300,000 from me. I suspect they cheated."
"They're three sisters, can't you play with someone else?"
"No! I want to win it back, give me 1 million."
Eric's eyelids were drooping: "Go, go, whatever you lose, put it on my tab."
Avril then left contentedly. Eric had barely lain down for half a minute when another hand pulled him up.
"Darling, try my pineapple pie, it's fresh out of the oven."
"And my Apple pie, it's also freshly baked."
Eric instinctively opened his mouth, and Nicole cut a small piece and put it into his mouth.
"Ugh! What's that taste? The pineapple must be expired."
"Is it? I didn't check the time."
"Darling, try my Apple pie, I guarantee it's not expired."
"Ptooey, ptooey, ptooey! What did you put in it? It's practically going to make me sick with sweetness."
"Is it too sweet? I just put a bottle of condensed milk in it. It seems it still needs improvement."
"Alright, go to sleep."
The two didn't even give him water to drink. Eric sighed and closed his eyes again.
Before he could fall asleep, noisy music already filled his ears.
It was Judy, Gadot, and Crystal dancing. The three of them liked to exercise and work out, so they would just dance whenever they had nothing to do.
Eric was so bothered by the noise that he could only cover his head with a pillow.
After a while, he got somewhat used to it; no matter how loud the music was, it couldn't overcome his sleepiness.
He vaguely drifted into dreamland, but before a good dream could even begin, he suddenly felt a pair of small hands touching his chest.
Daddario licked his ear: "Darling, I wasn't satisfied last night, you have to compensate me."
Eric rolled his eyes: "Next time?"
"I want it now!"
"Hehe."