After achieving good results in the midnight screenings, Pirates of the Caribbean 2: Dead Man's Chest continued its strong momentum, becoming the third film this summer to surpass $100 million in its opening weekend.
On its Friday premiere, Pirates of the Caribbean 2: Dead Man's Chest earned $55.5 million on the first day, successfully surpassing Star Wars: Episode III's opening day box office, setting the highest opening day record in film history.
Due to filming the second and third installments back-to-back, coupled with the not-inexpensive salaries of stars like Johnny Depp and Orlando Bloom, and the investment in special effects, the combined investment for the two films reached $500 million.
On average, that's $250 million per film, even more extravagant than Titanic back in the day.
With such massive investment, the pressure to recoup the costs was naturally high. But as the old Hollywood saying goes, greater investment brings greater returns.
This opening day box office was already enough to satisfy Warner Bros. and Disney, and the second film seemed poised for strong sales.
Perhaps because the opening day consumed so much of the audience's enthusiasm, the film's Saturday box office dipped slightly to $47.23 million, still an outstanding number.
More importantly, the film received very positive reviews.
According to reports from professional cinema survey companies, the audience approval rating for Pirates of the Caribbean 2: Dead Man's Chest was 91%.
Another survey of 50,000 responses showed 37,560 gave the film an A+, while fewer than 5,000 gave it a C or lower.
On Saturday evening, IMDb opened ratings for the film. Pirates of the Caribbean 2: Dead Man's Chest already had 110,000 votes, with a score of 8.3, which is excellent for a commercial film.
Although the score would later decline, it didn't affect the fact that the film had strong audience acclaim.
Most viewers' comments focused not only on being attracted by Johnny Depp's Captain Jack but also on praising the special effects.
Especially the giant octopus, Davy Jones, and the Flying Dutchman—all vividly lifelike, almost as if they could crawl out of the screen.
Next year's Oscar for Best Visual Effects would likely be extremely competitive, given how many visual-effects-heavy films were released this year.
After earning $38.54 million on Sunday, Pirates of the Caribbean 2: Dead Man's Chest reached $141.27 million, making it the second-highest opening weekend box office in North American history.
The highest, naturally, was Gilbert's The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, with a staggering $151 million opening weekend, nearly surpassing Titanic's historical record.
However, seeing one record-breaking opening after another, it was likely that The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King's record wouldn't last much longer.
With such a high opening weekend, Warner Bros. and Disney had already started popping champagne.
During the film's release, Disneyland's Pirates of the Caribbean-themed park began a series of activities to coincide with the film's promotion.
On Saturday, the film's actors also made a surprise appearance at Disneyland Orlando, celebrating joyous moments with fans.
Thanks to the Pirates of the Caribbean series and other successful films, Johnny Depp continued to solidify his position as a top-tier Hollywood star.
At the start of the new week, Pirates of the Caribbean 2: Dead Man's Chest began its overseas release, premiering first in Europe, Japan, South Korea, and Greater China regions.
However, mainland China would have a later release, scheduled for September.
At this time, Guo Fan, who had some connection with Gilbert, was attending an event on Hong Kong Island and took the opportunity to watch Pirates of the Caribbean 2: Dead Man's Chest.
After watching, he wasn't excited about the film itself but felt the gap in quality.
Since The Last of Us, Guo Fan had consecutively watched films like Transformers and Iron Man this year. What attracted him wasn't just the excitement of the films, but the technology demonstrated behind them.
Perhaps because he had once collaborated in Hollywood for a period, Jackie Chan still remembered this young man from mainland China.
Upon hearing that he was on Hong Kong Island, Jackie Chan immediately invited Guo Fan to his home on the island.
"Welcome, welcome…" Jackie Chan politely greeted Guo Fan.
Guo Fan held some items in his hands. "Thank you for inviting me, big brother. I brought a few things."
"Just come! What do you need to bring?" Although Jackie Chan said this, he still had his wife Lin Fengjiao accept the gifts and introduced his son to Guo Fan.
"Ah Ming, this is director Guo Fan from the mainland, known as China's Gilbert. You young ones should get to know him."
At this time, Jackie Chan's son had not been discovered to have any issues yet. He behaved obediently in front of his father, but behind him, it might be another story.
After having dinner at Jackie Chan's home, Guo Fan chatted with him.
Jackie Chan said, "I just returned from the U.S. a couple of days ago and spoke with several Hollywood directors."
Guo Fan asked, "Did you meet director Gilbert?"
"No," Jackie Chan replied, "Director Gilbert is currently busy with his own projects. He plans to shoot a series."
It was somewhat unusual for a Hollywood film director to switch to shooting a series, but whether in Hong Kong Island or mainland China, many film directors had originally started in television. So neither of them found it strange.
"Looks like director Gilbert still holds a grudge over that matter. He hasn't come to China for several years," Guo Fan said.
"Yeah," Jackie Chan sighed. "He's the kind of person who won't tolerate even a speck of sand, yet something like that happened."
Jackie Chan was clearly frustrated. If it weren't for the need to maintain unity, he almost would have publicly criticized certain people. That incident had left him in a passive position in Hollywood, and after finishing the The Adventure of Jackie Chan series, he had no choice but to return to Hong Kong Island.
Guo Fan felt equally helpless. "There's nothing we can do about some things. But I heard something—apparently the broadcasting authorities are planning a Young Directors Exchange Program."
"Oh? Who told you that?" Jackie Chan asked, intrigued.
"President Han discussed it with me. I'm the first one selected," Guo Fan said with a hint of pride.
"That's great," Jackie Chan said regretfully, "too bad we have little connection over there. Sigh!"
In the past two years, as the kung fu craze faded, the once-active Hong Kong Island cinemas gradually lost their popularity in Hollywood, leaving many no choice but to return home.
Meanwhile, some individuals had fully integrated into Hollywood, becoming part of the industry there. For example, Lao Hu Chen, a disciple of He Pingyuan, was doing well in Hollywood.
Of course, a group of Chinese-American directors also rose to prominence.
Ang Lee needed no introduction. Then there were the three leading Chinese directors in Xianggua Studios: Huang Yiyu of Cosmic Pursuit, James Wan of Saw, and Lin Yi-bin, who had directed several small productions and was rumored to have taken over the Fast & Furious series. All were examples of strong development.
However, overall, Hong Kong Island's influence in Hollywood had been declining.
Mainland China had its own challenges, but with the market growing steadily, the industry was thriving. Guo Fan had directed two films, both achieving solid results.
Currently, relying on coal tycoon Lao Wang, he had started his own company, attracted a group of investors from film companies, and was doing quite well.
After leaving Jackie Chan's home, Guo Fan kept thinking about his future direction.
To be honest, the films he had directed so far weren't exactly what he truly wanted to make. Ever since 1994, when he saw Real Steel in the theater and was deeply shocked, Guo Fan had planted a seed for science fiction.
Now, it was time for that seed to take root and grow.
...
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