520 Walking on eggshells

"May I help you with something?" The voice in front of him interrupted Chris's chaotic thoughts. He suddenly realized that it was his turn in line. His mind struggled to catch up, and he found himself momentarily speechless, his words stuck in his throat. It was quite an embarrassing moment.

The staff had to repeat the question, and finally, Chris managed to say, "One ticket for "Thor", I mean, two tickets." After confirming his order with a nod, he repeated, "Two tickets." It seemed like this behavior boosted his confidence a bit. In a hurry, he added, "My girlfriend is waiting nearby," as an attempt to mask his anxiety and turmoil.

Unconsciously, Chris wiped his sweaty palms. The damp sweat made his palms slippery, and the perspiration on his back had soaked through his clothes. He quickly accepted the two movie tickets, almost fleeing from the counter. He turned and walked briskly, the staff's voice gradually fading into the distance as he made his way toward the screening hall.

Suddenly, a robust figure appeared in front of him. Both of them were moving so fast that they almost collided, but they managed to brake just in time.

"Sorry," Chris muttered under his breath, lowering his voice and pretending not to be himself. In the rush, he glanced up and froze when he realized it was Vin Diesel standing before him.

This was undoubtedly an unexpected encounter. Meeting any actor here wouldn't be surprising, but Vin?

Chris instinctively lowered his head and subconsciously glanced at Vin's movie tickets. Two tickets as well, and also for "Thor". Chris didn't know why he had looked down or why he had checked Vin's tickets, but the result left him momentarily stunned. His gaze froze as if his brain had suddenly gone ice-cold.

Vin seemed to notice Chris's intense stare, and although he feigned indifference while placing the tickets in his pocket, he couldn't hide his awkwardness. Chris, on the other hand, kept his hands behind his back and unintentionally crumpled the tickets into a ball.

The atmosphere between them became unnatural. Chris looked to the side, trying to hide his embarrassment, while Vin's expression was equally strained. Chris clutched his fists behind his back, and the tickets remained crumpled.

Silence. Neither of them spoke, just an uncomfortable silence. They both seemed lost in thought and were trying to conceal something.

Perhaps it lasted for a second, maybe a minute. It was unclear who reacted first, or maybe it was simultaneous, but both of them lifted their heads, their gazes briefly meeting. There was no conversation, just a nod of acknowledgment, but even the meaning behind that nod remained unclear. Then, both of them hurriedly lowered their heads and continued walking in opposite directions.

It wasn't until they reached the entrance to the screening hall and had their tickets checked that Chris's mind relaxed a little. For some inexplicable reason, his nervousness had diminished, and his confidence in success had slightly increased.

Upon deeper reflection, the seemingly glamorous Renly, hailed by the media, might also be enduring his own struggles. This thought took root in Chris's mind and brought a smile to his lips. The burden on his shoulders seemed to have lightened a bit.

Perhaps "Thor" could indeed clinch the top spot at the weekend box office this week. Who knows?

On May 8th, Fox TV produced a program analyzing the victory and defeat trends in the summer box office opening battle, focusing on the first major showdown in this year's film market.

After "Thor" delivered a single-day box office of $23M on Friday, the outlook for its premiere became increasingly unpredictable. The market share between it and its direct competitor, "Fast 5", could very well follow a development curve of one's gain being another's loss. The fluctuations on Saturday and Sunday might influence each other's performances, which meant that the battle for supremacy had reached a white-hot stage, exciting everyone.

This opening battle was attracting more and more attention. According to incomplete statistics, the audience traffic in the major theaters of the top ten cities in North America had reached its peak for the year. Furthermore, the theater occupancy rates had surpassed sixty percent. It was certain that the first week of the summer box office had unleashed astonishing energy, and the total North American box office for the weekend was very likely to exceed $200M. This was a shot in the arm for the entire film market.

It should be noted that, up until now this year, only one weekend had managed to exceed $150M in total box office. It was the weekend led by "Fast 5".

Fox TV's program drew a final conclusion: this would be a closely contested battle, with the margin likely to be within $10M, ultimately ending with a narrow victory for "Thor". Considering the entire prior momentum, a more accurate choice of words would be a brutal victory.

However, no matter what, holding onto the weekend box office championship was the last shred of dignity for "Thor". It was still deeply humiliating and frustrating, but they needed this shred, urgently and sincerely. Whether they had it or not, it made all the difference!

At the very least, winning the weekly championship would allow them to seize the high ground in their promotional efforts. Interviews with cast members, official articles, all of it could gain more leeway, maintaining the posture of the victor in the face of competition and also keeping the posture of continuing box office strength. But if they even lost the championship title, Paramount wouldn't allow this "if" to happen.

This championship was a must for "Thor"!

This episode of the program attracted more than 3.3 million viewers, and the outstanding viewership figures delighted everyone at Fox TV. This was a temporary and timely program, reporting on the box office showdown. They had initially hoped for 1.5 million viewers, and that would have been considered a victory. Who could have imagined that the actual viewership exceeded their expectations by more than double?

What was even more remarkable was that the program was subsequently uploaded to YouTube, and within just twelve hours, or rather, before the final weekend box office results were announced, the video had already garnered an astonishing three million views.

It was no exaggeration to say that the opening battle had become the most sensational, grandest, and liveliest entertainment news event of 2011 thus far. Whether they were fans supporting a particular film or onlookers caught up in the excitement, everyone was curious: Who won? It was the simplest, most direct, and clearest way to judge who was the hero. Whoever won!

On May 9th, amidst great anticipation, the North American box office tracking organization, Exhibitor Relations, unveiled the weekend box office rankings for the second week of May.

In North America, box office statistics were managed by the independent organization Exhibitor Relations. They had an extensive network of professionals distributed across major theaters in various cities, responsible for tracking, predicting, and summarizing box office figures.

Typically, they released three sets of data: the first was Friday's box office, announced on Saturday; the second was the weekend's estimated box office, published on Monday; and the third was the actual weekend box office, released on Tuesday.

The reason for this was the immense public interest in the North American weekend box office rankings. In order to provide timely information, Exhibitor Relations' professionals would estimate the Sunday box office based on the box office trends on Friday, Saturday, and the audience numbers on Sunday morning. However, as long as it was an estimate, there might be some discrepancies. After many years of evolution, errors in estimated box office figures had become increasingly rare. Still, occasionally, when the box office numbers were very close, the margin of error in the estimate could be within $2M. This was considered normal, not to mention discrepancies in the tens or thousands.

In history, after the predicted box office champion was announced, and with accurate adjustments, the situation where the champion changed hands was not unheard of.

In Fox TV's program, the host had joked that the gap in this battle was truly too small. It might even require confirmation from the accurate box office figures. Originally just a joke, after Exhibitor Relations released the estimated box office, it gradually turned into reality.

In the second week of May, the highly anticipated "Thor" made its dazzling debut, opening in 3,955 theaters across North America. Compared to "Fast 5", which was in 3,600 theaters, it had a slight advantage. However, these advantages translated into box office numbers that were extremely marginal.

Following the $23M from Friday, the Saturday box office not only failed to surge but also saw an eight percent drop. Purely in terms of the drop percentage, this wasn't bad, at least it was better than "Fast 5". But considering the abysmal single-day box office on Friday, what Paramount needed wasn't just an increase; it needed a substantial increase, which now seemed like a distant dream. Finally, Exhibitor Relations predicted a further drop of twenty-seven percent for Sunday's single-day box office, arriving at the opening weekend box office total:

$59,610,000.

Silence. When Exhibitor Relations announced the opening weekend box office data for "Thor", all of North America fell into a deathly silence. There were no exclamations, no astonishment, no sighs of amazement; just a profound stillness. It was the kind of eerie silence where it felt like all life had vanished, truly showcasing people's shock and disbelief.

Forget about $95M; don't even mention $65M. The opening weekend box office figures hadn't even crossed the $60M threshold!

This opening box office result only ranked 26th on the North American May opening box office chart. It not only failed to set a record or surpass the $100M mark but didn't even reach $60M. Such a dismal and pitiful performance left people feeling as if they had entered an ice cellar, abruptly shifting from summer to winter in the blink of an eye.

So, what about "Fast 5"?