As the weekend came to an end and the workweek began, even though The Two Towers earned over $100 million in its opening weekend and the theater chains increased the number of screenings, there was inevitably a decline. However, the market had already been warmed up last year by The Fellowship of the Ring. Except for the slightly better performance of the American version of The Ring, The Two Towers had no substantial competitors in the same time slot.
Even the American version of The Ring, which had replaced its female lead, could be ignored.
After all, The Two Towers had a weekend box office of $103 million, while the American version of The Ring only earned a little over $17 million.
By Monday, due to a reduced number of screenings, The Ring dropped to $1.02 million in daily box office. In contrast, The Two Towers only experienced a 40% drop in daily earnings, earning $20.71 million on its first weekday.
Although The Two Towers saw a continuous decline in the following days, it remained relatively stable at this stage, earning $19.75 million, $19.53 million, and $18.66 million on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, respectively.
By the end of its first full week of release, The Two Towers had accumulated $185.75 million in North America!
The film demonstrated a crushing dominance over the market.
Whether it was art-house cinemas or commercial chains, from the small border town in Washington state to the beach area in Miami, The Two Towers could be seen everywhere in cinemas. People gathered to discuss whether or not they had watched it.
Especially at schools, those who hadn't seen the film were subtly ostracized, being considered out of touch with the times.
Duke's films may not be popular with older housewives, but they had become a hit among many young girls and working women.
In this world, publicity plays a huge, even crucial, role in a film's commercial success. But no matter how intense the publicity campaign is, nothing compares to the word-of-mouth buzz that brings people into the theaters.
The Lord of the Rings series had already created a solid fan base with The Fellowship of the Ring, and The Two Towers had only strengthened it. When a film creates a viewing frenzy, it can trigger some people's rebellious mindset, but it also drives the curiosity of many others, bringing them to the theaters and contributing to box office earnings, even turning them into loyal fans who spend heavily on merchandise.
The two Lord of the Rings films released so far were the prime example of this. Furthermore, the PG-13 rating ensured a broad audience.
Before the second weekend arrived, the team split into two groups. Duke led one group to Europe to promote the film's European journey, while the other group continued to tour major cities in North America.
While it may be an exaggeration to say that Hollywood films had conquered the entire world, it would be hard to deny that they had no competition globally.
Duke's first stop in Europe was Cannes, France. Though The Two Towers wasn't participating in the competition section of the Cannes Film Festival, it was still scheduled to be screened during the event.
While Duke had no interest in the three major European film festivals, he would not deny their influence, and screening at Cannes was Warner Brothers' established promotional strategy.
However, no one expected that The Two Towers would steal the show at the Cannes Film Festival. Its premiere coincided with Roman Polanski's The Pianist on the same afternoon. The festival's promotional push for The Pianist was largely ignored by both the media and film fans. The red carpet for the premiere was sparsely populated, with only a few people from the press and the audience.
In contrast, the premiere of The Two Towers was grander than even the opening ceremony of this year's Cannes Film Festival. Fans waiting outside the venue stretched from the festival palace to the opposite beach, and the press area was crowded, with reporters constantly jostling for positions. Had this not been a film festival, there would likely have been physical altercations.
As with the general public's reaction to the two films, The Two Towers had a huge, excited crowd, while The Pianist was left cold and empty.
"The world's best artistic directors are gathered in Cannes, yet they're overshadowed by a commercial director from Hollywood. It's truly a tragedy," commented Le Figaro the following day. "I don't know what the organizing committee was thinking, allowing The Two Towers to be screened during the festival. Did they really think the competition films could suppress Duke Rosenberg? It's clear that this year's Cannes Film Festival committee has made a huge mistake!"
When The Two Towers had been screened for three consecutive days at Cannes, with tickets sold out, Le Figaro once again spoke out. "The combined reaction to all the films in the competition section is still less than the response to The Two Towers. Even if they don't want to admit it, reality proves that Duke Rosenberg has outshone the entire Cannes Film Festival."
Sitting on the balcony of his hotel room, Duke looked out over the yacht dock across the street. This was his first time in Cannes and his first time attending a European film festival, but it was destined to be just a brief stopover.
"The support from the organizing committee is decreasing," Tina Fey said, putting down her coffee and looking away from the distant view.
"It's normal," Duke said, stirring his coffee slowly with a spoon. "To the Cannes Film Festival, we're just disruptors."
No one would be happy being overshadowed by a film that was only using the festival for promotion.
Suddenly, Tina Fey's phone rang. She answered briefly and then hung up, saying to Duke, "The guests have arrived. They're in the café on the first floor."
"Let's go down."
The people Duke was meeting were clients introduced by Warner.
In the quiet café on the first floor, the Warner representatives were waiting for Duke. Among the two quiet men, one seemed a bit nervous.
"Old Liu..." the younger man said. "You've been through a lot of big events. Don't you think the domestic directors are all respectful when they see you? Why are you suddenly nervous?"
"Can they compare to him?"
The middle-aged man named Old Liu knew that the younger man, who had always been in the domestic market, didn't understand the foreign film industry. So he began to explain. "Do you know how much The Two Towers earned in North America over its first three days? Over $100 million! Do you know how much his last film earned? $1.1 billion!"
"$1.1 billion!" The younger man's mouth dropped open. "His film's box office is more than our total domestic box office over the last two years?"
"It's just the box office!" Old Liu sighed, deeply moved. "Do you know the film's merchandise? I heard his last film's total merchandise sales reached $1 billion!"
"How much?" The younger man couldn't believe it. "A billion dollars? Is that all from toys and things like that? How could they sell so much? Those are just cheap items."
"In China, it really doesn't amount to much..." Old Liu shook his head. "But in Hollywood, the profit margin for merchandise can exceed 50%."
The younger man took a deep breath, thinking that the merchandise alone had brought in $500 million in profit...
Old Liu continued, "Do you know how much Duke makes per film?"
"I saw a report that some top Hollywood stars earn $20 million per film. They say that's the highest salary."
Hearing this, Old Liu shook his head, raised two fingers, and said, "The most conservative estimate is that he made $200 million from his last film's profits!"
The younger man nearly spit his coffee out. He quickly swallowed and said, "200 million dollars? That can't be true."
"Not a bit less!" Old Liu said firmly. "Don't be fooled by the fact that he hasn't won an Oscar. In Hollywood and America, his status and treatment are second only to Spielberg."
At this point, footsteps approached, and both men turned and quickly stood up.
"This is Director Duke Rosenberg, and this is Ms. Tina Fey."
"This is Mr. Smith Liu, and this is Mr. Johnson Han..."
Warner's people briefly introduced the two sides and then stepped aside, not saying much more. They knew Duke's temper well and wouldn't interfere in such matters.
This was a work-related meeting, and Duke didn't waste time. He asked directly, "Mr. Liu, Mr. Han, you've contacted me through Warner. What's the matter?"
"It's like this."
The two were clearly led by Smith Liu, and their English was impeccable. "Our group has been introducing your films, including The Rock, Speed, Saving Private Ryan, The Matrix, and The Fellowship of the Ring since 1995. These films have had great responses in China. Director Rosenberg, you are as well-known to Chinese audiences as directors like Spielberg and Cameron."
Duke looked at them. He wasn't used to this kind of speech and preferred directness.
Fortunately, they didn't make him wait long and continued, "Our group's leadership hopes to invite Director Rosenberg to participate in the premieres of your films that we're importing at an appropriate time. This is also part of the film cultural exchange between China and the United States."
Hearing this invitation, Duke wasn't surprised. Given his achievements, it was a natural development. Since last year when Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman went there to promote Moulin Rouge, top Hollywood actors and directors had begun to realize the vast potential of that market.
Particularly with Paramount leading the way, major Hollywood companies had gradually set up branches in the Far East, with a few even establishing liaison offices in the North. Although China's film industry was underdeveloped, the market could be cultivated.