"scent of a woman," which grew stronger with each battle, became the biggest dark horse of the 1992 fall season after just three weeks of release. Universal Pictures struck while the iron was hot, increasing the number of screens to 1,400. After continuing its outstanding per-theater box office performance, it grossed an astonishing $9.5 million in its first weekend of November. This marked the fourth consecutive week that its weekend box office had risen, and its cumulative box office after four weeks had surged to $20 million. Such an outstanding performance left the entire North American film criticism circle exclaiming in shock.If one were to carefully recall the enormous pressure "scent of a woman" faced before its release, as well as the painful suffering Hugo had endured over the past seventeen months, then this battle of redemption was undoubtedly a total victory for "scent of a woman"!Carrying the $9.5 million weekend box office data, "scent of a woman" ultimately defeated the week's premiere "Passenger 57" and successfully defended its title as the champion of the North American weekend box office for the first week of November.Although "Passenger 57," with a $20 million investment, came on strong, its final opening weekend box office of $9.4 million fell just short. It lost to "scent of a woman," which achieved a double win in both word-of-mouth and box office, by a narrow margin of less than $100,000."Under Siege" snatched $5.6 million in weekend box office to take the third spot. With a cumulative box office of $59 million after five weeks of release, it became the biggest winner of this fall season. On the other hand, "a river runs through it," which further expanded its release to 1,000 theaters, grossed $5 million, becoming the runner-up for this week's box office rankings. Its cumulative box office after five weeks also reached $14 million, a very respectable performance.It must be said that "a river runs through it" and "scent of a woman" were rivals. Although "a river runs through it" was released first and seized the initiative, "scent of a woman" achieved an all-around reversal from every angle, leaving its direct competitor breathless. One can imagine the frustration of Brad and Martin.Achieving a two-week winning streak, "scent of a woman" not only broke all the doubts and worries from before its release but also completed an incredible comeback. Although all the spotlight was focused on the male lead, Al Pacino, Hugo's contribution had undoubtedly entered people's line of sight as well. This also signaled that the bad luck of the Golden Raspberry Awards had finally begun to dissipate!In the second week of November, the magical journey of "scent of a woman" finally came to a temporary pause. Facing the $40 million big-budget production "Bram Stoker's Dracula," "scent of a woman" found it difficult to mount an effective counter-attack."Bram Stoker's Dracula" was directed by the great director Francis Ford Coppola and gathered popular Actors such as Gary Oldman, Winona Ryder, Keanu Reeves, and Anthony Hopkins, so naturally, it was not something that could be easily countered.After its release, "Bram Stoker's Dracula" easily swept the board with a $30 million opening weekend box office, occupying the champion's throne without any suspense.Facing such an imposing competitor, "scent of a woman" did not shy away. It delivered a super-low drop of 15%, with a weekend box office reaching $8 million. After stepping down from the championship throne, it firmly held onto the runner-up position. Relatively speaking, "Passenger 57" was slightly regrettable; a 30% drop meant it only turned in a result of $6.5 million. Although it ranked third in sequence, the gap between it and "scent of a woman" had widened.As for "a river runs through it," its performance was also quite good, taking $3.9 million in weekend box office with a 22% drop, but compared to the outstanding performance of "scent of a woman," it was still a tier behind.With "scent of a woman" bringing its cumulative box office to $29 million after five weeks of release, although it no longer had the ability to contend for the box office crown after that, the two-week winning streak was already a surprise, and one could not ask for more. The film's trend curve in the North American box office, relying on excellent word-of-mouth, was still very gratifying. Not only was the weekly drop controlled within 20%, but there were even a few weeks where it experienced reverse growth. Even more gratifying was that the long-term selling power of "scent of a woman" was enthusiastically sought after by audiences. After its release in the second week of October, it stayed in theaters until the first week of July, with a total release cycle of 36 weeks."a river runs through it" was obviously incomparable. After 13 weeks of release, it had to be pulled from theaters early due to a rapid decrease in audience, and its cumulative box office finally stumbled to $36 million. Of course, compared to a small-budget production, achieving profitability was a matter of course for this data, but compared to "scent of a woman," the performance was not as excellent."scent of a woman" eventually brought its North American cumulative box office to $80 million. Compared to the $8 million figure in its book costs, this was a full ten-fold increase. Of course, when calculating profits, the film company and major theater chains still needed to divide it, and the film company also needed to divide it with Actors, directors, and others, but in any case, the huge success achieved by "scent of a woman" was unquestionable.On the other hand, "scent of a woman," which had received much attention in North America, also landed in overseas markets. Compared to the United States, the enthusiasm in overseas markets was even higher, ultimately turning in a box office figure of $90 million. This brought the global box office of "scent of a woman" to $170 million in one go, enough to make everyone at Universal Pictures beam with joy.The success of "scent of a woman" was unquestionable, and Hugo also swept away his previous slump, once again entering the sight of mainstream media and becoming a hot figure. Compared to Al, who had always been active in the public eye, Hugo, who had experienced ups and downs for a year, was clearly the focus of attention. This also made Hugo a guest on the new episode of "The Tonight Show.""The Tonight Show" under NBC Television is currently the highest-rated talk show in the United States. The previous host, Johnny Carson, hosted the show for 30 years, pushing it to its peak. However, this May, when Johnny Carson announced he was retiring, the host position sparked an intense battle. Competitors included Jay Leno and David Letterman. In the end, the more loyal Jay Leno won. David Letterman, who had been promised that he could take over the position after Johnny retired, felt betrayed and left in a fit of anger for CBS Television Station. The vacancy he left at NBC Television was taken over by Conan O'Brien.The guests on "The Tonight Show" included people from various fields such as sports, film, music, politics, and economics. The twice-weekly broadcast was always enthusiastically sought after by the audience, and after Jay took over the host position, he continued this advantage.Hugo arrived early at the studio in Burbank, but while still a distance away from the studio, Joseph had to slow down the car. Hugo looked at the crowded people in front, about a dozen or so. Although not many, they made the road narrow, so he had to be careful while driving. "What's going on? Aren't studios only open to audience members?" Hugo had been to the Burbank studio many times before and had never seen such a peculiar situation.Joseph also looked around and said uncertainly, "Maybe these are all here to attend the show, waiting for a Staff Member to come and receive them."The crowd gathered at this time also noticed the car slowly driving up behind them and couldn't help but look back. The few people closest to the center of the road scattered, preparing to make space. But just then, someone suddenly rushed up, startling Joseph, who was driving, and he didn't dare to speed up. Hugo, sitting in the passenger seat, was also stunned, completely unable to figure out the situation."Hugo! I love you!" The first person rushed to the passenger seat and shouted loudly through the glass window, the excitement on their face vividly presented in front of Hugo.Before Hugo could react, the people behind finally realized that Hugo Lancaster was sitting in the car. Because Joseph didn't put any blackout film on the windows, it was easy to see the situation inside the car. Thus, the dozen or so people swarmed up, surrounding Joseph's old Volkswagen Golf."Hugo! Hugo!" Looking at the calls from outside the window, Hugo finally understood. He looked at Joseph, dumbfounded, "They... are here for me?" The slapping sound of pa pa pa was deafening, making one wonder if this old car might fall apart at any moment.Joseph now understood the situation as well, a curve forming on the corner of his mouth. "It seems so. To be precise, they are waiting for you." When Actors come to record a show, fans waiting in front of the studio—this kind of star-chasing behavior, while not common—more often seen at premiere sites—was not that strange either. It's just that Joseph hadn't expected that "scent of a woman" had only been released for a week, and the effect had already appeared."So, I, what should I do?" Hugo asked foolishly.Joseph took a moment to look at Hugo. Seeing Hugo's slightly naive expression, he almost couldn't control himself and laughed out loud, but he held it back and said hesitantly, "Wave?"In Hugo's impression, fans gathering and screaming were treatments only popular idols had, for example, someone like Justin Bieber, or someone like Robert Pattinson, because those who truly chase stars are mostly young girls, and they need a "fan-girling" trigger point. But Hugo didn't have that now; "scent of a woman" was not a movie that would make young girls scream after watching it.So, facing the dozen or so fans waiting for him outside the car window, Hugo was truly caught off guard. Even when "Glory to Death" had a few female fans, he hadn't been this nervous. Thus, Hugo did as Joseph said; he smiled at the window and waved.In an instant, "Ah! Ah! Ah!" screams surged in like a tide. Hugo knew for the first time that a dozen people screaming together could actually create such a terrifying effect. However, the feeling was really good. The slightly stiff smile on the corner of Hugo's mouth relaxed uncontrollably and bloomed completely, and golden light surged from his amber eyes.
