No one could have predicted that "Journey to the Misty World 2," a film entirely starring Chinese actors, would shatter a record in North American film history on its opening day, raking in an astonishing $92.3 million.
For context, the previous North American opening day record was set by "The Lion King" over a decade ago with $71.32 million. "Journey to the Misty World 2" surpassed this by over $20 million, completely stunning countless Hollywood media outlets and film companies, who regarded this sudden contender like a bizarre anomaly.
Indeed, this was a film that seemed to appear out of nowhere.
Within Hollywood circles, excluding low-budget productions from minor studios, any film from a major studio, or a significant investment from an independent one, would typically generate buzz from its announcement. Everyone in the industry would be aware of its production.
However, for "Journey to the Misty World," until its release date was set, very few companies had even heard of its production.
This wasn't to say these Hollywood companies underestimated films invested in by Jiangnan Group. After all, Marvel Studios had already released two successful films, even revitalizing the superhero genre, prompting many companies to announce new superhero film projects. Therefore, no one dared to look down on Jiangnan Group's film investments.
The issue was that "Journey to the Misty World" was filmed to the specifications of a television series and entirely shot in New Zealand and China. Hollywood film companies simply wouldn't pay attention to the production of such a TV series.
Thus, it wasn't until Jiangnan Group began promoting Peter Jackson's film adaptation, "Journey to the Misty World," that they became aware of its impending release.
Even then, not a single Hollywood film company took it seriously. A film with no extensive pre-release hype, choosing an unfavorable release slot, was clearly destined to fail.
Then, they were horrified to discover that the first installment began to defy expectations, outperforming all films released during the Christmas season with its box office performance in a less opportune slot.
What's more, the second installment directly broke the North American opening day box office record, which had stood for over a decade, solidifying its place in cinematic history. This left countless film companies in awe and created a sense of impending change, hinting at the possibility of a film surpassing "The Lion King" and entering the top ten highest-grossing films of all time.
However, their anxieties were soon allayed after an investigation.
They discovered that the phenomenal success of "Journey to the Misty World 2" was largely attributed to the first installment.
Although "Journey to the Misty World 1" was a sequel, and its box office had not yet surpassed $500 million, it was considered a relatively good film.
The crucial point was that only a little over 20 days had passed since its release, accumulating a large audience eager to see the continuation of the story.
When the second installment was released a mere 20 days later, these audiences naturally flocked to see it on the very first day, resulting in the $90+ million opening day record.
It was predicted that after a few days, as these existing viewers finished watching, the box office would decline, with even the possibility of surpassing the first film seeming unlikely. After all, those interested in the second installment must have seen the first, meaning the audience size for the second could not possibly exceed that of the first, naturally limiting its box office potential.
With this realization, major film companies breathed a sigh of relief, confidently stating that while the film had set a new North American opening day box office record, it might soon set a record for the steepest box office decline, with its earnings plummeting to very low levels in no time.
Facts seemed to support this prediction. The film's box office on its second day dropped to $47.83 million, more than halving the opening day’s takings.
On the third day, it fell by roughly half again, to $25.62 million, a quite astonishing drop. Nevertheless, the opening weekend still grossed a cumulative $150 million, placing it within the top five for North American opening weekend box office.
However, according to the optimistic projections of other Hollywood film companies, the film's box office in its second week would at most reach around $80 million, followed by a halving to about $40 million in the third week. After that, its box office would become negligible, ultimately stabilizing around $350 million, about $100 million less than the first installment.
These weren't mere guesses; they were calculations made by Hollywood film companies based on their meticulously designed mathematical models.
These data models were derived from historical box office data for Hollywood films, boasting an accuracy rate of around 80%.
However, reality proved that an 80% accuracy rate was a bit too high. The true accuracy was closer to 70%, as "Journey to the Misty World 2" achieved $110 million in its second week, exceeding the projected $80 million by $30 million.
If a 70% accuracy rate was considered acceptable, even勉强, then after the third week's data emerged, this accuracy rate dropped below 50%. The third week's box office reached $102 million, over $60 million more than the projected $40 million, infuriating Hollywood film companies to the point where they deleted the mathematical model.
Later analysis suggested that the box office did not experience the drastic drop predicted by the mathematical models due to two primary reasons.
Firstly, with the continuous exposure of "Journey to the Misty World 1" and "2" to audiences, many viewers who were initially uninterested in Eastern fantasy stories developed a certain level of curiosity.
Furthermore, the second installment's breaking of the box office record prompted many viewers to seek out what kind of film it was and why it had achieved such a feat.
The mathematical models, however, relied solely on past box office figures and could not account for the surge in casual viewers attracted by the significant news of breaking box office records, thus leading to a severe calculation deviation.
However, this was only one factor. The other factor stemmed from Daniel. Yes, the very Daniel who claimed he would become the first saint of Taoism in the West. He indeed fulfilled his promise.
On the third day of "Journey to the Misty World 2"'s release, with the assistance of professionals dispatched by Zuckerberg, Daniel created a short, approximately three-minute video. Through this video, he explained the meditation steps depicted in the film.
It was through this video that Zuckerberg learned that the sleeping posture in bed was not conducive to entering a meditative state.
Only by adopting a seated posture, with palms facing the heavens as demonstrated by Daniel in the video, could the human body better enter a meditative state.
Secondly, achieving a meditative state was not simply about sleeping. It involved pressing the tongue against the lower jaw, holding saliva in the mouth, focusing the senses inward, relaxing the entire body, employing a unique breathing technique, emptying one's thoughts, and persistently trying to enter the meditative state.
In this video, Daniel revealed many methods never before mentioned, which greatly benefited Zuckerberg upon first viewing. He immediately began meditating in his office. Although he didn't directly enter a meditative state, Zuckerberg miraculously found his mental state improved, his concentration enhanced, and his thought processes became as active as they were in his childhood – a period filled with innocent and fanciful dreams, a time he thought he would never return to.
In essence, though the video didn't lead Zuckerberg to successfully meditate, it provided him with tangible mental benefits.
Zuckerberg was by no means a cultivation prodigy. In fact, the preparatory steps for meditation were essentially a method to help the human mind relax and enter a state of deeper mental recovery.
By diligently following the meditation requirements, one could recover a significant amount of mental energy, making the body feel as refreshed as waking up naturally – essentially an advanced form of sleep.
Therefore, when Zuckerberg ordered Weibo to allocate substantial resources to this video for rapid online dissemination, Daniel was destined to become the first saint of Taoism in the West.
While most viewers might have chuckled at the video and not actually attempted meditation, those who had watched the film were different. They were already captivated by the magical cultivation depicted, and now that they had found a video teaching meditation, they naturally wanted to try it.
Even if perhaps one in a hundred wasn't a natural genius who could meditate successfully on the first try, they would, like Zuckerberg, at least feel the immense mental recovery and assistance that meditation provided.
This mental support offered an irresistible allure, much like the addictive nature of certain mind-altering substances. This ideal method for mental recovery was also somewhat addictive, leading many to habitually meditate from time to time to restore their state.
When people around them saw friends suddenly sit cross-legged to meditate, they naturally became curious and inquired about what was happening, leading to enthusiastic recommendations.
In fact, even if friends didn't ask, those who had experienced the benefits of meditation couldn't resist showing off their discovery in a somewhat boastful manner.
The result was increasing interest in "Journey to the Misty World," driving more people to cinemas and becoming its audience.
This then shattered the mathematical models of various Hollywood film companies. The conclusion that the box office would not exceed $350 million became a complete joke, as by the end of the third week, the film's box office had already surpassed $370 million. And given the current trend, breaking the $500 million mark seemed a simple matter.
However, by this time, Hollywood film companies were no longer concerned with "Journey to the Misty World 2" approaching $500 million. This was because the first installment, "Journey to the Misty World," had already surpassed $650 million, officially entering the top ten highest-grossing films in North America.