Chapter 144: A Surprising Midnight Box Office

Chapter 144: Chapter 144: A Surprising Midnight Box Office

A crisp female voice suddenly rang out from the crowd. "Director Irene! I’m your fan, I’ve been following you since Legally Blonde!"

Everyone looked towards the sound to see a girl with a ponytail, clutching a pen and notebook tightly. "Are you really going to film a movie about pirates next? Can you reveal any details?"

This question caused the scene to instantly fall silent, and everyone’s gaze was fixed on Irene.

"Regarding Pirates of the Caribbean, I can’t say anything yet," Irene paused deliberately, eliciting a burst of light laughter, "but I think next year you will be able to see how a pirate captain who is ’both crazy and romantic’ stirs up a storm on the sea."

The interaction lasted for over ten minutes. The fans’ questions mostly revolved around filming details, character development, and follow-up plans. There were no overly tricky follow-up questions, only sincere love and curiosity.

The creators patiently responded to every question, occasionally teasing each other, and the atmosphere on and off the stage was warm and enthusiastic.

When the last fan finished asking their question, Irene raised her hand to signal everyone to be quiet. "Thank you all for your support tonight. The success of The Italian Job cannot be separated from the efforts of every creator, and even more so, it cannot be separated from your recognition."

She bowed deeply, and Matt, Charlize, and the others behind her also followed suit.

"Film is an art of mutual pursuit. Your applause is the greatest motivation for us to continue creating."

The morning in Malibu was beautiful. The warmth of the sunlight spilled over the sea surface, and even the floor-to-ceiling windows of the villa had a faint golden glow.

Irene curled up in the soft bed, still immersed in a light sleep after the premiere, with the sound of applause rising and falling in the cinema still lingering in her dreams.

An abrupt mobile phone ringtone broke the silence, making the bedside table vibrate slightly.

Irene groggily reached for her phone, pressed the answer button with her eyes closed, her voice raspy from just waking up. "Hello..."

"Irene! My God! It’s ten o’clock and you’re still not up!" Shelly’s voice sounded like it had been pressed on fast-forward, carrying an irrepressible tremor, exploding through the receiver. "The midnight box office! It’s broken records!"

Irene instantly woke up more than halfway, rubbed her eyes, and sat up. "What? Say it slowly, how much?"

"2,810 theaters opened simultaneously! The midnight box office is 4.48 million dollars!" Shelly’s voice raised a few notches, then deliberately lowered, as if afraid of disturbing something, but could not hide his wild joy. "It’s 1.59 million higher than the midnight box office of Mean Girls! It directly broke your own record!"

Irene sat up abruptly from the bed, a look of disbelief flashing in her eyes, followed by being submerged in immense joy.

A midnight box office of 4.48 million dollars, in 2001 Hollywood, was definitely a phenomenal achievement, which meant that the audience’s expectations and love for the film far exceeded expectations.

This number hovered in Irene’s mind for a moment before it truly transformed into a concrete impact.

She threw off the covers and walked to the window, pushing it open a crack, and the cool sea breeze rushed in, blowing away the last of her sleepiness.

"Fox is already exploding over there." Shelly’s voice continued, and in the background, one could vaguely hear the sound of keyboards clicking and voices.

"Adelaide called me three times just now, already planning a celebration banquet, saying it should be grand, inviting all the creators and investors, and by the way, inviting the people from Disney over, emphasizing repeatedly that you must attend. You know, this is to strike while the iron is hot to discuss Pirates of the Caribbean."

Irene leaned against the window sill, her fingertips unconsciously tracing the cold glass.

She naturally understood Adelaide’s intentions. The midnight box office was like a shot of adrenaline, not only giving Fox confidence but also leaving Disney, which had been watching from the sidelines, with no reason to hesitate.

"There’s something even crazier." Shelly’s tone calmed down a little, but still couldn’t hide the excitement.

"Box office forecasting agencies just updated their data. Based on the occupancy rate of the midnight screenings and the speed of word-of-mouth fermentation, the first-week box office is conservatively estimated to break 50 million dollars! 50 million! Irene, you’re going to become the youngest director in Hollywood to have a first-week box office break 50 million dollars!"

50 million dollars.

A sense of indescribable reassurance instantly welled up in Irene’s heart.

From Legally Blonde to Mean Girls, her steps had been very steady, but to take another step forward, she had to break the routine. She had thought she would have to rely on Pirates of the Caribbean to reach her next stage, but who knew The Italian Job would give her such a big surprise.

Irene’s voice gradually calmed down. "You arrange the celebration banquet as you see fit. All the creators must be invited, especially Matt and Charlize, and Johnny. Remember to reserve the best seats for them."

"Don’t worry, I’ve noted it down." Shelly laughed.

"By the way, Vera just sent a message. The initial negotiations for the rights to Brokeback Mountain went very smoothly. There aren’t many companies in Hollywood that can accept same-sex themes.

When the other party heard you were a director, they immediately relented, and the price was even 30% lower than expected."

This news made a glimmer of light flash in Irene’s eyes.

Buying the rights to Brokeback Mountain was her attempt at diverse themes. In the future, she couldn’t always be the director, so she would either have to befriend excellent directors or cultivate her own team, and Brokeback Mountain was one of the few good projects that had controversy, box office potential, and award potential.

More importantly, this uncut gem had not been discovered by anyone at all.

Hollywood is not short of good projects, but most excellent projects are either held in the hands of the Big Six, or Irene simply cannot afford the rights.

And the success of The Italian Job gave her more confidence to push forward this "non-commercial" project.

Brokeback Mountain is a good start. Perhaps she should search her mind for those movies that are both good and sell well. Focusing only on commercial films will eventually lead to aesthetic fatigue.

"Have Vera sign the contract as soon as possible. After getting the rights, archive them first, and wait until after filming Pirates of the Caribbean before talking about it," Irene instructed.

"Fine, you’re bossing me around again."

Hollywood is never short of geniuses, nor is it short of flash-in-the-pan successes.

But what she wanted was not momentary popularity, but long-term creative freedom.

Just like the robbers in The Italian Job, with clear goals, moving step by step, and finally returning fully loaded.

The phone vibrated again. It was a text message from Baird: "Congratulations, the midnight box office is a big hit. Disney has already replied. Next week, a three-party meeting for Pirates of the Caribbean will be held, and Jerry Bruckheimer will also be there that day."

A confident smile curled at the corners of Irene’s lips, and she replied with a single word: "Okay."

Time quickly arrived at Monday, and after getting the first-week box office results, Irene was even more confident about the upcoming three-party meeting.