Chapter 98

The box office performance of *The Matrix* on Friday, August 7th, did not disappoint the cinemas or the Matrix Film Studio. It led the box office with $15.83 million from 3,200 theaters on its opening day. This number spoke volumes; it was a blockbuster that could stir up a frenzy.

Previously, the box office dark horse *The Blair Witch Project*, which swept across North America in July, had lost its momentum by August, with a final box office of around $130 million, far less than last year's dark horse *The Sixth Sense*.

Each time the competition between these two films was referred to as a battle between the old dark horse and the new dark horse, it seemed that the old dark horse was ultimately the darker one. Moreover, Chen Tiandu, the old dark horse, was no longer content with horror films; he had made a new sci-fi film that completely overshadowed the new dark horse.

The media, which had previously criticized Chen Tiandu for having only one successful film, had long since fallen silent. More media outlets were now seriously reporting on the sci-fi craze in the film industry, a major sci-fi work completely different from *Star Wars* in May.

"Chen Tiandu, the Chinese Dark Horse, Reaffirms His Nature, Breaking All Doubts," "Self-Directed and Self-Acted, Who Is His Role Model? Mel Gibson, Clint Eastwood, or Jack Nicholson?"... Such headlines were countless. No media outlet was foolish enough to speak against him now, and even the gossip media sang his praises, not daring to act against the tide.

Chen Tiandu, seeing these headlines, broke out in a cold sweat.

There were no shortage of stars in Hollywood who directed and acted in their own films. Mel Gibson could be compared, but Clint Eastwood and Jack Nicholson were veterans. Putting Chen Tiandu's name alongside theirs was like inviting their fans to criticize him. This was what was known as "high-level black."

The media coverage was all about *The Matrix*. *Deep Blue Sea*, which was released concurrently, was not in the same league. *The Net* from MGM and *The Big Con* from Universal, which were released a week earlier, also saw their box office shares split to some extent.

*The Blair Witch Project*? After a month of release, it was time for it to be taken off the screens. DV films could not last long; once the craze was over, no one would pay attention to it anymore. Perhaps in second-tier cities, it could barely reach the $140 million mark.

The main creative team members were busy traveling to various cities to promote the film.

Chen Tiandu declined some TV appearances, so Kate, Lawrence, Hugo, and others had to go instead.

Even so, he finally experienced the hardships of promotion. Unlike the previous film *The Sixth Sense*, which had high box office with little promotion, he was now sleeping less than five hours a day and running to over a dozen theaters in three cities.

No wonder big stars always complained about how hard promotion was; he finally understood. As he promoted the film, his popularity soared. Wherever he went, there were cheers. People preferred to call him Neo rather than Christmas.

Now, when people went to the cinema, young people generally went to see *The Matrix*, while only a few viewers went for the disaster film *Deep Blue Sea*. *The Net*, in its second week, was only on par with *Deep Blue Sea* and could not challenge the rise of *The Matrix*.

"Hi, do you like *The Matrix*?"

This was a promotional event held by AMC Theaters. Chen Tiandu appeared alone here, with little promotion, yet still attracted nearly a thousand spectators.

"Yes!"

A loud and整齐的喊声从下面传来，居然是女粉丝居多。

"谢谢……"

在主持人的引导下，陈天都与不少粉丝互动。无非是合影、签名、拥抱一类，顺便回答一些问题。结束这一站后，又“马不停蹄”赶赴下一个场景。

如此再三，直到次日清晨，奔波一天的陈天都才找了家酒店睡下。几乎是挨着枕头就打起了呼噜。可是没睡几个小时，又被一通电话叫醒。他眼睛未睁，手在床头桌子上不停乱摸着，终于找到手机，勉强睁开一只眼睛，发现打来电话的是佩克，“老板，今日票房也出来了，想知道吗？”

陈天都无语，一向严肃著称的佩克，居然也跟他开起玩笑来，没好气道：“说吧。”

佩克兴奋道：“周六票房1820万，比周五高出近三百万。如果按照周五小于周六大于周日的常态分析，周末三天首映成绩可能会达到4800万美元左右……”

“咔”他还没说完，陈天都就挂断了电话。

脑袋一沉，重新倒回床上。

此前陈天都在媒体口中的绰号是“黑马导演”，如今连续两部电影都已大成功，这个绰号似乎已经不太适合他。他在好莱坞的脚步，也进一步扎稳脚跟。

随着《黑客帝国》的成功，陈天都的影迷数直线上升，这其中有很多狂热的女粉丝，居然也有了好几个粉丝建立起来的网站，专门收集他的图片和讯息。无论成为他粉丝的原因是因为他帅，还是因为他会赚钱，或者其他什么原因，他都俨然已经成为了很多、很多同龄人心中的榜样和偶像。

关注电影的人越来越多，连华尔街也来凑热闹。

根据这些市场动态，华尔街的一名电影金融评估师做出了预测，他估计《黑客帝国》的全球总票房最终有可能会突破4亿美元左右。这个票房成绩虽然比不上《第六感》带来的暴富，却胜在有细水长流，而且这个首映成绩，续集计划似乎已经可以启动了。

很快，这名评估师的预测就得到了进一步的证实，8月6号－9号的首周末放映落下帷幕，票房统计在8月9日凌晨出现。

口碑的持续走高，居然让《黑客帝国》周日票房不跌反升，打破周日小于周六的传统。只周日一天，就创收2468万美元票房，首周末三天加上周四的午夜试映场220万票房，累积达到6088万美元。

这个首映成绩，几乎是《第六感》的两倍了，毫无悬念的拿下本周末票房冠军。而这个周末票房冠军，也是陈天都第六个周冠军了。

6088万美元的开画成绩，也创下了R级电影的最高纪录。

陈天都看到这个数字，也老怀宽慰。如果没记错的话，原作《黑客帝国》的首映成绩好像还没过三千万吧。这说明他的网络病毒营销模式，得到了近乎双倍的回报。

当这个数字得到确认之后，矩阵电影工作室、矩阵特效工作室全体欢呼起来。

“这真是一个伟大的胜利。”

员工们总算不用担心“爆发富”陈天都在钱花完之后，他们又将面临卖给下一家的下场了。《黑客帝国》的成功，至少说明陈天都是个可以依靠的老板，他不会只有一部“幸运”的《第六感》，以后也会有更多的电影。而且这个票房成绩，说不定年终还会有一份丰厚的奖金。

“喂，爸~~”

关注票房的人太多了，可不仅仅是关系切身腰包的员工们，还有远在中国的亲人和同胞们。

“天都，票房出来了吗，赚了还是亏了。”陈永和语气平淡问道，尽量让自己显得不在意，万一票房赔了，他可不想刺激孩子。

陈天都笑道：“首周末票房6088万美元，赔是赔不了的，就看能赚回多少了。”

“赚了吗？那就好，那就好。”旁边传来陈母大松一口气的声音，然后陈天都就听到对面一屋子人都在欢呼议论了。

陈天都嘴角也溢出一丝微笑，最关心你的，依旧是你的亲人。

（多谢“莞尔乐”“万般皆下品惟有读书高”“松树尖子”朋友的打赏。凌晨更新，求推荐票，求收藏！！）

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The整齐的 shout came from below, and it turned out to be mostly female fans.

"Thank you..."

Under the guidance of the host, Chen Tiandu interacted with many fans. It was mostly taking photos, signing autographs, and hugs, along with answering some questions. After finishing this stop, he hurried to the next scene.

This went on repeatedly, and it wasn't until the next morning that the exhausted Chen Tiandu found a hotel to sleep. He almost started snoring as soon as his head hit the pillow. However, he was woken up by a phone call after just a few hours of sleep. Without opening his eyes, he fumbled on the bedside table until he found his phone, barely opening one eye to see that the caller was Peck. "Boss, the box office for today is out. Do you want to know?"

Chen Tiandu was speechless. Peck, known for his seriousness, was actually joking with him. He replied irritably, "Go on."

Peck, excited, said, "Saturday's box office was $18.2 million, nearly $3 million higher than Friday. If we follow the usual pattern where Friday is less than Saturday and Saturday is more than Sunday, the opening weekend box office could reach around $48 million..."

Before he could finish, Chen Tiandu hung up the phone.

He sank back into bed, his head heavy.

Previously, Chen Tiandu was known in the media as the "dark horse director." Now, with two consecutive major successes, this nickname seemed less fitting. His foothold in Hollywood was becoming more solid.

With the success of *The Matrix*, Chen Tiandu's fan base grew rapidly, including many passionate female fans. Several fan websites were even created to collect his pictures and information. Whether it was because of his good looks, his ability to make money, or other reasons, he had become a role model and idol for many of his peers.

More and more people were paying attention to the film, and even Wall Street joined in the excitement.

Based on these market trends, a film finance analyst from Wall Street made a prediction. He estimated that *The Matrix* could eventually gross around $400 million worldwide. While this box office performance might not match the windfall of *The Sixth Sense*, it was steady and promising. Moreover, this opening weekend performance suggested that plans for a sequel could already be in motion.

Soon, this prediction was further confirmed. The opening weekend from August 6th to 9th concluded, and the box office statistics were released in the early hours of August 9th.

The sustained positive word-of-mouth actually caused *The Matrix*’s Sunday box office to rise instead of fall, breaking the usual pattern where Sunday is lower than Saturday. On Sunday alone, it grossed $24.68 million, and with the Thursday midnight screening adding $2.2 million, the total for the opening weekend reached $60.88 million.

This opening weekend performance was almost double that of *The Sixth Sense*, and it took the weekend box office crown without any doubt. This was Chen Tiandu's sixth weekend box office victory.

The $60.88 million opening weekend also set a new record for R-rated films.

Chen Tiandu, seeing this number, felt a great sense of relief. If he remembered correctly, the original *The Matrix*’s opening weekend was less than $30 million. This indicated that his viral marketing strategy had paid off nearly double.

When this number was confirmed, the Matrix Film Studio and the Matrix Special Effects Studio erupted in cheers.

"This is a great victory."

The employees no longer had to worry about the "sudden rich" Chen Tiandu running out of money and having to sell the studio. The success of *The Matrix* proved that Chen Tiandu was a reliable boss, not just a one-hit wonder with *The Sixth Sense*. There would be more films in the future, and this box office performance might even lead to a generous year-end bonus.

"Hey, Dad~~"

Many people were paying attention to the box office, not just the employees whose livelihoods depended on it, but also family and compatriots in China.

"Tiandu, is the box office out? Did you make a profit or a loss?" Chen Yonghe asked in a calm tone, trying to sound indifferent so as not to upset his son if the box office was poor.

Chen Tiandu smiled and said, "The opening weekend box office was $60.88 million. There's no way it could be a loss; we just need to see how much profit we can make."

"Profit? That's good, that's good." His mother's voice came from the side, clearly relieved. Then Chen Tiandu heard a room full of people cheering and discussing.

A smile spread across Chen Tiandu's lips. The people who cared about him the most were still his family.

(Thank you to "Wan Er Le," "Wan Ban Jie Xia Pin Wei You Du Shu Gao," and "Song Shu Jian Zi" for your support. Midnight update, please recommend and collect!!)

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