Huayu Entertainment 1995 started with hijacking.

Chapter 150 The Director Who Rose the Fastest in Hollywood!
Phone Booth's opening weekend gross of $5025 million broke the North American February opening weekend box office record, and also shocked everyone in Hollywood.

Opening weekend box office is very important for a movie. In film marketing, there is a concept called the opening weekend effect or the first week effect. A high opening weekend box office can attract casual viewers to buy tickets, and even if it is a bad movie, they will be curious.

For most commercial films, the opening weekend is essentially the deciding factor; the box office performance on the first weekend largely indicates the film's subsequent box office trajectory. If a film achieves high box office returns on its opening weekend while maintaining a positive reputation, it's almost guaranteed to become a blockbuster.

It's not uncommon for films to gross $50 million in their opening weekend in North America; in fact, it's happened every year in recent years. Films like "Batman Forever" in 1995, "Independence Day" in 1996, and "Jurassic Park 2" in 1997 were explosive openings, grossing $72 million in their opening weekend, which also set a record for the highest-grossing opening weekend in North America.

But what kinds of movies are these?
They either have big IPs or big productions; even the lowest-budget film like *Jurassic Park 2* cost 73 million. So what makes *Phone Booth*, with its mere 10 million budget, stand out?
Just because you have Leonardo DiCaprio?

Oh, and we should also add Sylvester Stallone...

But this is just too outrageous!
With a box office of $5025 million in its opening weekend, it will undoubtedly gross over $100 million in North America!

Good Morning America has always been one of the most popular morning shows in the United States, mainly discussing news, gossip, weather, and interesting stories.

At this point, the two hosts started talking about entertainment, and the male host said:

"This past weekend, Titanic's 10-week reign as the box office champion was finally ended. Interestingly, the one who capsized this giant ship from its throne was none other than its leading man, Leonardo DiCaprio!"

Leonardo DiCaprio's new film, *Phone Booth*, grossed $5025 million in its opening weekend, breaking the North American February box office record—an astonishing number!

The beautiful female host next to him then chimed in:
"Although the opening weekend box office is a bit unbelievable, I'm not surprised. No woman can resist Leonardo DiCaprio these days!"

Seeing his partner's exaggerated expression, the male host gave a slightly helpless smile, then shrugged and said:

"Okay, I admit Leon is the most popular star right now. What's even more surprising is that this movie only cost around ten million dollars, meaning it grossed five times that amount in its opening weekend alone! Hollywood truly is a place where miracles happen!"

The female host retorted:
"Oh no, I don't think you should calculate it that way. After 'Titanic,' Leonardo DiCaprio's salary will skyrocket to 2000 million. If you were to produce 'Phone Booth' now, the cost would be at least 3000 million. If you calculate it that way, does it make you less surprised? You can only say that the production company was very lucky to be able to get Leonardo DiCaprio!"

"What you said does make some sense. But I think Sylvester Stallone and director Wu also deserve some credit; they just collaborated on the hugely successful 'Frequency.' Now, with Leonardo DiCaprio added to the mix, successful people collaborating always makes it easier to achieve success."

……

And there are many reports in the already published newspapers and magazines:

"Phone Booth ended Titanic's box office reign, with its opening weekend grossing 5025 million, setting a new February box office record!"

"Leonardo DiCaprio successfully shot down the Titanic!"

"Leonardo DiCaprio dominates North America in the first quarter by employing both left and right skills!"

"Leonardo DiCaprio and Sylvester Stallone clash in a showdown! 'Phone Booth' ignites North America!"

"Following the success of 'Frequency,' Chinese director Wu Yuchen has achieved another brilliant success with 'Phone Booth'!"

Leonardo DiCaprio is currently the most popular person in the world. Everyone is willing to read anything related to him, so almost all the reports revolve around him.

However, Wu Yuchen did have a hit film called "Frequency" before, so he wasn't a nobody in Hollywood, and his name was mentioned in many articles.

Renowned film critic Roger Albert ran into the reporter he was interviewing as he walked out of the movie theater.
"As for the film itself, it's a pretty good movie. It's tense, exciting, and full of conflict, all within a small phone booth, which shows director Wu's skill. Compared to his previous film, Frequency, Phone Booth is a pleasant surprise for me."

As for Leonardo DiCaprio, his performance was also very good, showing people a completely different character from Jack.

box office?

If it's a $2000 million opening weekend box office, I'd say it's well-deserved.

If it grosses 3000 million in its opening weekend, I'd give it a thumbs up.

But 5025 million? My God, has the world gone mad?!
Well, after Titanic, the world has gone crazy for Leonardo DiCaprio.

And I can already foresee that all the Hollywood studios are waving their cash over Leonardo DiCaprio; he's now undoubtedly a member of the $2000 million club!

Indeed, after the opening weekend box office results of "Phone Booth" were released, various Hollywood studios began to frantically extend offers to Leonardo DiCaprio, with an unsurprisingly high salary of 2000 million.

There's a general consensus that while *Phone Booth* is entertaining, it definitely wouldn't have reached the level of 50 million in its opening weekend. With a different actor, it would have easily grossed 20-30 million. But Leonardo DiCaprio, as the lead actor, single-handedly pulled in 50 million in the opening weekend. Isn't that enough to drive them crazy?
Let alone Leonardo DiCaprio, even Wu Yuchen is getting a constant stream of calls. With the consecutive blockbusters of "Frequency" and "Phone Booth," he's clearly a hot commodity.

To put it bluntly, Wu Yuchen has now joined the ranks of top-tier commercial directors in Hollywood.

Although many people believe that his high box office numbers are due to Leonardo DiCaprio, the numbers are real, and Hollywood has always let box office results speak for themselves!
Moreover, Wu Yuchen is only 20 years old and has a promising future. As a result, several major film companies have contacted him to build rapport and inquire about his next move.

At this moment, Wu Yuchen had just hung up a phone call and was instructing his agent, Karl, on the following:

"If you're interested in collaborating, just say I'm currently busy promoting 'Phone Booth,' and postpone all collaborations for a month. If you're looking to buy my scripts, forget it; in the near future, I'll only be making my own films based on my scripts!"

Agent Carl nodded in agreement, treating Wu Yuchen with utmost respect. Now, with Wu Yuchen's continued success, Carl had become his biggest client.

Two films raised Wu Yuchen's director's fee to 800-1000 million, in US dollars, of course!
Actually, if you include his previous director's fee of 500 million, the production cost of "Phone Booth" should have reached 1700 million. However, at the time, he only signed a contract and chose to postpone payment.

The company belongs to the company, and the individual belongs to the individual; they should keep that distinction clear, even though the company is his too. By the way, the company he registered in the United States is also called Miracle Films.

In fact, Wu Yuchen doesn't care about the many people who say he's a "lucky director." He's just trying to ride on Leonardo DiCaprio's popularity, and he does it with a straight face.

Big stars play a significant role in boosting a movie's box office. To be honest, without Leonardo DiCaprio and Sylvester Stallone, it's hard to say whether the movie would have even grossed 20 million in its opening weekend; it would have relied solely on word-of-mouth.

Just then, Wu Yuchen saw Leonardo DiCaprio walking over, beaming with pride, and couldn't help but smile and ask, "Leon, I think the whole of Hollywood is focused on you right now!"

Little Li laughed and said, "Wu, you're the same. I heard that all the scripts you've filed for approval have been targeted by big studios, and they all want to work with you."

Then Leonardo DiCaprio asked, "Wu, are you still interested in collaborating with us in the future?"

Wu Yuchen joked, "Oh, Leon, I can't afford to pay you anymore!"

Little Li leaned closer and said:

“What I mean is, we can bring in the big studios and have them foot the bill. Are you going to keep producing independently? That’s very risky.”

Wu Yuchen pondered for a moment, then smiled and said, "If there's a suitable opportunity, I'd certainly be happy to cooperate with you. But right now, we should put in a little more effort to push the box office of 'Phone Booth' as ​​high as possible. I think you'd better carefully scrutinize these projects that have been sent to you."

Leonardo DiCaprio chuckled and said, "Of course. I haven't accepted any of the offers yet. Fox told me that Titanic might do quite well at the Oscars next month, so I plan to wait until after the Oscars."

Wu Yuchen gave a thumbs-up and praised, "A wise decision!" At this moment, the publicity manager walked over and said to the two, "Leon, Wu, we will arrange an interview for you next..."

At this point, Leonardo DiCaprio interrupted her and asked directly, "Hey, Helen, how much do you think our movie will ultimately gross?"

“Oh, Leon, that’s hard to say,” Helen said, shrugging.

"Helen, you're a professional, we all trust your expertise!" Little Li praised.

Helen chuckled upon hearing this, and then asked:

"Leon, Independence Day also grossed over $50 million in its opening weekend and ultimately reached $3.06 million in North America. Do you think we can achieve that?"

"Why not?" Leonardo asked, his expression somewhat excited.

He has recently experienced the miracle of "Titanic" and the success of "Phone Booth," and everyone is praising him, which has clearly made him a bit arrogant. Now he feels that he is invincible.

Helen gently shook her head and said, "There are many reasons, you'll understand if you think about it. First, we didn't have any big events, so achieving such a high opening weekend box office is already a miracle. Second, our release date wasn't good enough..."

At this point, Helen glanced at Wu Yuchen, after all, it was he who strongly requested the film to be released as quickly as possible. And indeed, it has achieved a very impressive opening weekend box office.

"You should know that March is the off-season for North American movies. There's the NCAA March Madness, the Oscars, and students have to prepare for the exam week before spring break."

"And 'Independence Day' was released in the summer..."

However, she then changed the subject: "Of course, according to surveys, 'Phone Booth' is currently receiving good reviews from audiences, and its box office won't collapse after the opening weekend. Breaking 100 million is no problem, and 150 million is quite possible. This is already a huge success for a low-budget film."

Wu Yuchen nodded in agreement. Helen's analysis made a lot of sense. The March movie release schedule was clearly not as good as the November and December releases of "Frequency," as that period included both Thanksgiving and Christmas.

However, he didn't regret it, because only by doing so now could he maximize Leonardo DiCaprio's impact. If it were delayed for several months until the summer season, many people would have already calmed down. It's possible that by then, a third or even half of the audience would have gone to the theater specifically for him.

Leonardo DiCaprio also let out a long sigh upon hearing this, abandoning his fantasy of catching up with "Independence Day" at the box office. Although he had become arrogant, it didn't mean he had really lost his mind.

Then he smiled again, just as Helen said, reaching 1.5 million was a huge success for him.

After the start of the work week, box office revenue naturally plummeted, averaging around 700 million per day. It rebounded to 1050 million on Friday, 1326 million on Saturday, and 884 million on Sunday.

Phone Booth grossed 1.12 million yuan in 10 days!
This result was not unexpected for either the media or the production team, given that the film had already grossed 5025 million in its opening weekend. This achievement was within expectations.

This week ends, and March begins. Sure enough, the box office plummeted again upon entering March. The first week of March saw only around three million yuan in box office revenue, bringing the total for the seven days to 2632 million yuan. The second week saw many schools holding exams, causing the weekly box office to drop to 1365 million yuan. However, in the third week, with schools on spring break, the decline slowed, and the weekly box office reached 967 million yuan.

By this time, Phone Booth had been showing in North America for over a month, and its total box office had exceeded $1.6 million!
This box office performance is undoubtedly a blockbuster!

Although it's far from the $5 million box office success of Titanic in North America, it's still incredibly impressive for a low-budget film!

"Leonardo's meteoric rise has been so strong that Tom Cruise has had to avoid reporters' microphones!"

"Wu Yuchen, with two consecutive films grossing over 1.5 million, is the fastest-rising director in Hollywood!"

Sylvester Stallone claims he'll get $1000 million for voice acting in his next movie!

Amidst the commotion outside, a lively banquet was being held inside a luxurious mansion—a celebration party for the success of "Phone Booth"!
It wasn't just the crew of "Phone Booth" who were present; executives from major studios such as Warner Bros., Paramount, and Disney also attended.

Just kidding, this film crew includes Wu Yuchen, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Sylvester Stallone!
Leonardo DiCaprio is incredibly popular; even that doesn't fully describe his fame. Everyone wants to sign him for his next film.

Wu Yuchen proved how much money he can make with two high-grossing films. In Hollywood, as long as you can make enough money, big studios will come to you eagerly.

Sylvester Stallone also made a comeback with these two films, showing everyone that the old man's appeal should not be underestimated.

At this moment, several Chinese people were standing in front of Wu Yuchen.

"Director Wu, I really admire you! Only you and Brother Sen can achieve such brilliant results in Hollywood!" A man with a big nose shook Wu Yuchen's hand to congratulate him, speaking Mandarin with a Hong Kong accent rather than English.

"Haha, Brother Long, I grew up watching your movies!"

Looking at Jackie Chan in front of him, Wu Yuchen couldn't help but feel emotional. He hadn't run into him when he went to Hong Kong Island before, but he never expected to bump into him in Hollywood.

And it wasn't just Jackie Chan; another man, thinner than Jackie Chan but with a more upright posture and a buzz cut, also spoke up with a smile:
"Director Wu, your remarkable achievements in America are a real source of pride for us Chinese!"

Standing next to him was a beautiful woman with a graceful figure, who also held a glass of red wine and congratulated Wu Yuchen: "Director Wu, congratulations!"

Both of them are very famous: one is the kung fu emperor Jet Li, and the other is his wife, Li Zhi.

"Brother Jie, I never expected to meet you two in Hollywood. It's all fate!" Wu Yuchen said with a smile, looking at the two of them.

Although Jet Li is not tall, he is full of energy. His wife, Li Zhi, truly lives up to her reputation of having an "angelic face and a devilish figure"—she is indeed a rare beauty, a woman among women. No wonder he is so infatuated with her, and has publicly stated that he would die for her.

Li Lianjie said with a smile, "We are new to Hollywood and don't know much about many things. We may need Director Wu's help in the future."

"Don't mention it. We're all on the same side. It's only natural for us to help each other out in Hollywood."

At this moment, Cheng Long shook his head and said:
"Director Wu, many Westerners in Hollywood look down on us. I just finished filming a movie, and there was a lot of backstabbing and infighting on set. Even a cinematographer dared to yell at me, and there were just too many rules and regulations. I didn't want to come back here anymore. But if you have any suitable roles, Director Wu, just give me a call! We Chinese should help each other!"

Wu Yuchen's heart skipped a beat. It seemed that Jackie Chan's "Rush Hour" had already finished filming. Once it was released and became a huge hit, he wouldn't say he didn't want to come back. At that time, his career focus would be completely shifted to Hollywood, and he would be making so much money that he wouldn't want to go back to Hong Kong Island, right?
Li Lianjie added indignantly, "I recently auditioned for a small role in 'Lethal Weapon 4.' We initially agreed on $100 million, but a few days later they told me they wanted to lower it to $75. I hesitated for a long time before gritting my teeth and agreeing. Then, three days later, they told me they wanted to lower it to $50. It's outrageous!"

"Brother Jie, you shouldn't have agreed in the first place. They're just testing your limits. Your kung fu movies have a certain audience in the North American video market. If you stick to your guns, they'll probably agree eventually."

At this moment, Li Zhi, who was standing next to Li Lianjie, spoke up for him: "It was his agent who persuaded Brother Jie to agree, saying that the first step in Hollywood is the most difficult, and opportunities for big productions like 'Lethal Weapon 4' are rare."

Wu Yuchen nodded in agreement. Since the other party had already agreed, he said, "That makes sense. This is indeed a good opportunity for you to show off your skills."

In his previous life, Jet Li indeed made a deep impression on the audience with just one minute of screen time, which opened up opportunities for him in Hollywood.

Li Lianjie smiled again: "Director Wu, if you have any suitable roles, feel free to contact me. I'm always available!"

"Don't worry, you two are both outstanding Chinese actors, and I would love to work with you if I had the chance!"

Cheng Long laughed heartily, "Haha, Director Wu, I'll definitely give you a good welcome whenever you come to Hong Kong!"

(End of this chapter)