"Additionally, Rotten Tomatoes shows a 91% Fresh rating, and the audience score is 98%. It looks like audiences love this movie even more than critics," Mia murmured as she glanced at the data. Before she could finish her thought, she gasped in surprise.
"CinemaScore gave an A+ rating? Oh my god, the last time that happened was with *Gladiator* and *Mission: Impossible 2*, right?"
"Those two movies made $460 million and $545 million worldwide, respectively!"
No wonder she was so shocked.
CinemaScore's rating is entirely based on how well a movie appeals to audiences, which is usually tied to box office performance. So, a CinemaScore rating is almost like a box office prediction.
Clearly, CinemaScore is highly optimistic about *The Bourne Identity*'s box office performance, having given it an A+ rating.
However, Wayne wasn't surprised by this.
"Isn't this normal? After all, we went all the way to freezing Europe to film this movie," he said. "And on top of that, I had to deal with those annoying reporters and critics for the promotion. If this rating wasn't high, it'd be a disservice to all my hard work!"
Mia and the others couldn't help but laugh, recalling how Wayne was surrounded by a group of men at the after-party last night.
Just then, Wayne's phone rang.
He checked the screen and saw it was from Sera.
"Hello, Sera. You're calling at this hour—don't tell me someone's already interested in buying the overseas rights?"
"You're right. Fox offered $65 million, and Disney $68 million. I also expect the other big studios to call today with their offers."
"Let them wait a bit longer," Wayne replied with a sly smile. "This movie's overseas box office will likely surpass $200 million. Combined with DVD sales, their offer is far too low—it's insulting."
"What if they team up to lower the price?" Sera asked, slightly worried.
"If that happens, we can just break the deal and follow the film festival model, splitting up and selling *The Bourne Identity*'s overseas rights in smaller pieces."
After hanging up, Wayne quickly finished his breakfast and headed to the *The Notebook* set with Mia and the others.
*The Bourne Identity* was, in some ways, already in the past. Wayne had done everything he could for it. Now, the priority was completing *The Notebook* according to the updated shooting schedule.
However, every morning over breakfast, he still received daily box office updates for *The Bourne Identity*.
"March 27th: Screens increased to 2,600. Average occupancy rate: 90.2%. Per-screen revenue: $6,494. Total box office: $16.88 million for the day."
"March 28th: Screens increased to 2,800. Average occupancy rate: 88.6%. Per-screen revenue: $6,379. Total box office: $17.86 million for the day."
"March 29th: Screens increased to 3,000. Midnight screenings were added at some theaters, dropping the occupancy rate to 71.3%, but per-screen revenue rose to $6,835. Total box office: $20.5 million for the day."
"Sweetheart, I feel like the distinction between our preview and the official release is basically gone at this point."
"You're right. I'm even considering canceling the premiere."
Of course, canceling the premiere was impossible. Although *The Bourne Identity* no longer needed the premiere to generate buzz, the controversy at the Oscars, along with the promotional efforts, had already driven the hype to its peak.
But canceling the premiere would offend too many people—stars hoping to ride the movie's wave of success, critics aiming to profit from the event, and the paparazzi waiting like hyenas outside for photos.
Even though he didn't care much for these people, there was no need to offend them unnecessarily.
Soon, April 1st arrived, and Wayne left the set of *The Notebook*, dragging Mia and Jessica along with him, leaving behind Richard Curtis, who looked like he wanted to yell but held it in.
"If you hadn't promised Richard an extra $1 million in completion bonuses, I bet he would've jumped up and cursed at you just now," Mia teased with a laugh as they got in the car.
Even though the constantly changing shooting schedule had kept her, as the producer, running in circles, it hadn't dampened her mood. As of that morning, *The Bourne Identity*'s preview box office had crossed $100 million, hitting an astounding $104.68 million.
Despite the preview screenings being almost indistinguishable from the official release, making over $100 million in a week was an impressive achievement by any standard.
The entertainment media went wild, with some outlets even using headlines like "This is not an April Fools' joke."
Wayne and Jessica also benefited from the movie's success, both ascending to Hollywood's A-list in record time—a rise that could only be compared to Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet during their *Titanic* days.
Interestingly, Leonardo DiCaprio, who Wayne had missed meeting at the Oscars, was also attending *The Bourne Identity* premiere.
It's not like Leo needed the extra publicity from someone else's event. He was a star in his own right. So when Mike told Wayne that Leo wanted to come, Wayne was genuinely surprised.
Even more surprising, Leo didn't come to ask for a favor—he was simply there to support his friend "Rose" and to meet "the man she claimed was more handsome than him."
"Wow, Wayne, it's a good thing you didn't audition for *Titanic* with me back then, or Cameron would've definitely replaced me!" Leo joked.
"You don't have to worry about that, Leo. I was only 15 during the *Titanic* auditions!" Wayne laughed.
"Ha! You're just as shameless as they say," Leo chuckled.
"With looks like ours, it's hard to stay humble, right?" Wayne replied, grinning.
Introduced by Kate Winslet, Wayne and Leo quickly hit it off, sharing a playful rapport. But unlike Leo, Wayne cared a lot about his appearance. If not for the enhancements from the serum, he wouldn't have indulged like Leo did.
"Next time, come to one of my parties. Trust me, you'll love it," Leo said.
At that, Wayne imagined a scene of sunshine, beaches, supermodels, squirt guns, and… beer bellies. He barely kept himself from laughing.
Still, Leo's connections to supermodels piqued Wayne's interest.
"Too bad Victoria's Secret became the biggest lingerie brand in America in the 90s. Otherwise, buying it would've been a good move."
Perhaps it was the hype from the premiere, but *The Bourne Identity*'s daily box office, which had been slipping slightly, bounced back over $20 million, earning $20.87 million on April 1st.
This secured *The Bourne Identity* the weekend box office crown and pushed its total North American earnings to $125 million.
Given the film's strong word-of-mouth and quality, it was likely that *The Bourne Identity* would gross an impressive $250 million in North America, with global earnings surpassing $450 million. It was set to become the next blockbuster spy-action series after *007* and *Mission: Impossible*.
The Big Seven studios couldn't sit still anymore.
MGM, which has been heavily in debt over the years, was the first to take action by raising the new round of overseas copyright bids for "The Bourne Identity" to $100 million!
To be honest, at such a price, it's already quite difficult to recoup the investment solely through box office returns.
Considering the popularity of "The Bourne Identity," they don't need to spend much on overseas marketing, but due to the cinema's revenue-sharing model, they would need to bring in at least $220 million in overseas box office revenue to break even.
But don't forget, the overseas rights for "The Bourne Identity" also include the DVD rights.
Think about how the first and second "Mission: Impossible" movies both sold over a hundred million in the DVD market, bringing tens of millions in profits for the distribution companies. Since "The Bourne Identity" isn't inferior to "Mission: Impossible" in terms of box office or reviews, the DVD sales should be strong too, right?
The other major studios held similar views, and the price soon skyrocketed to an astonishing $110 million.
However, this was about the limit for the seven major studios. After all, DVD sales are a long-term business, unlike box office revenue sharing, which can be settled once the movie finishes its run.
So, three days later, on April 4th, Wayne had to take another leave from his film set, much to the dismay of Richard Curtis, and return to the office.
"Sorry, Mr. Stringer, for keeping you waiting."
"Not at all, Mr. Wayne. I know you're busy filming, and I've heard it's going to be another excellent production. I hope when the time comes to sell the rights, you'll give Sony Columbia serious consideration."
In the meeting room, Howard Stringer, President of Sony Columbia, greeted Wayne warmly, bending over for a handshake with a low posture, which was quite unexpected.
But Wayne didn't underestimate the man in front of him with his glasses, graying hair, and slight natural curls.
When Sony first acquired Columbia, they suffered several years of consecutive losses due to unreliable leadership, becoming the laughing stock of Hollywood. It wasn't until Howard Stringer took charge that Sony finally turned things around.
Not only does this guy manage Sony's film business, but he's also in charge of Sony's music and gaming divisions in North America.
If history follows its original path, Howard Stringer will become the global head of all Sony entertainment by 2003, wielding far more power than a typical studio head.
Plus, his whole bowing and handshake routine was very familiar!
But business is business, and Wayne wasn't going to go easy on him.
After confirming the contract had no issues, both parties swiftly completed the signing.
That same day, Hemera Pictures received the full $110 million, and on April 7th, "The Bourne Identity" was released simultaneously in over 70 countries and regions worldwide. Sony moved fast, no doubt.
To generate buzz, Sony even leaked the contract price.
Soon, the whole world knew that Sony had spent $110 million on the overseas rights for "The Bourne Identity," sparking curiosity among countless moviegoers about what kind of film was worth such an investment.
This curiosity, combined with the strong word-of-mouth and box office performance in North America, caused the global release of "The Bourne Identity" to explode on its first day.
Not only did it gross $18 million in North America, a nearly 50% increase from the previous two days, but its overseas box office on the first day was a staggering $41.82 million!
Yes, $41.82 million!
In recent years, the only films to achieve such overseas box office results were "Titanic" and "Star Wars: Episode I," both of which grossed over $1 billion worldwide!
This result shocked not just the general audience but even Wayne himself when he saw the numbers.
Honestly, he didn't think "The Bourne Identity" was good enough to be compared to "Titanic" or "Star Wars: Episode I."
Negative reviews started to appear online and in newspapers.
Some film critics harshly pointed out that "The Bourne Identity" wasn't on the same level as "James Bond" or "Mission: Impossible," arguing that the film's only advantage was that Wayne was better-looking than Bond or Tom Cruise, and it didn't deserve such high box office numbers.
But by that point, the critics' opinions didn't matter.
Just like with "The Blair Witch Project," everyone had heard through the media or friends that it was a terrible movie, yet people couldn't resist going to see just how bad it really was.
And many audiences were curious to see what a $40 million opening-day movie was all about, right?
As a result, "The Bourne Identity" grossed another $42.06 million overseas on its second day, April 8th.
Even though the third day's box office dropped below the $40 million mark, it still brought in $37.51 million.
With a three-day total of $121 million, the critics and media's negative reviews were completely silenced.
(End of chapter)