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The Revenant was released in North America, its premiere happened in TCL's Chinese Theater. Many celebrities attended the premiere. Movie critics were curious if Kazir had what it takes to make an art movie. Because let's be honest here, Kazir was best at making box office hits but definitely not artistic films that focused more on human psychology.
The movie critics knew the reason why CAA invited them to this premiere, they were not stupid. Grey Pictures rarely invited so many movie critics in a premiere, they mostly invited 5 to 10 critics and these people were usually not that famous.
Yet now, the situation was very obvious. Kazir Grey was asking for help so that this movie would get positive reviews. He wanted to get nominated at the Academy Awards, perhaps vying for the Best Director Award.
Kazir already acquired the Best Original Screenplay, the highest award a writer could get. And now, the big director wanted to get the Best Director. Well, with his race as a card, he might get a chance...
The movie critics watched the movie and they were surprised that Kazir changed his usual style. There were no hype action scenes or any heart-racing combat.
Still, the critics felt that the movie was too mainstream... You see, movie critics really hate mainstream movies. As long as people like the movies, the movie critics would hate them.
Movie critics hate any kind of movie that made well at the box office. And from the looks of it, this movie might do well at the box office.
Well, CAA, Grey Pictures, and even Tom Cruise worked together and gave them "gifts" so it would be bad if they wrote anything negative. If they broke their promise and wrote something bad, then they would never be invited and no more "gifts" ever again.
The movie ended and the reaction of the audience was good but not great. After all, The Revenant was different from Spider-Man and Wanted. The Revenant lacked heart-racing scenes, perhaps the selling point of the movie was Hugh Glass wrestling against a grizzly bear.
Tom Cruise really accepted this role just for a nomination, huh? The actor even has a beard and never flaunts his handsome face. He looked old in this movie, which was historically accurate.
The interview happened after that. While the TCL's Chinese Theater had its premiere, the other theaters all over North America started their rounds of screening.
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The Santa Clause 2 was a movie produced and distributed by Walt Disney. It was a heartwarming movie about Santa Claus and his family. You know, the usual formula of Disney movies. A movie that all family members could enjoy.
The movie had a budget of $65 million and Walt Disney believed that this movie would do well at the box office... The company suffered a huge loss after the release of John Carter. At that time, the executives wanted to roast Michael Eisner alive.
Unfortunately for them, The Santa Clause 2 had a strong opponent.
Both The Revenant and The Santa Clause 2 were released on the same day. The Santa Clause 2 had an opening with 3,350 theaters while The Revenant had 3,375 theaters.
The two seemed promising because the first one was a sequel while the latter was directed by a famous director and the male lead was a superstar.
24 hours later(November 1, 2002), the results were tallied.
The Santa Clause 2 grossed $7.51 million at the box office. A good start, Walt Disney thought that movie would have a lower box office since its rival was The Revenant.
The Revenant grossed $15.90 million. Compared to Wanted and Spider-Man, each grossed more than $30 million on its first day, The Revenant was very weak. Perhaps this was the reason why The Santa Clause 2 had a space to breathe.
For Grey Pictures and Tom Cruise, this result was already within their expectations. The Revenant was not meant for the audience, it was an autobiography movie for the purpose of competing at the Academy Awards.
Three days after the premiere which was November 3, Friday, the results of the two movies were tallied again.
This week, only these two movies were released that had good performance at the box office. Everything else that was released this week was mediocre and didn't make enough money.
The Santa Clause 2 grossed $29 million after three days of screening. It got the second place this week.
As for The Revenant, the movie got first place this week as the highest-grossing movie with $41.38million.
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"Congratulations on your new movie, it's an interesting one. I thought you would film another action movie this year. Don't worry, I'll make sure to vote for you."
"Thanks, George, that's great to hear." Kazir appreciated it, having support from a famous director like George Lucas was an honor.
Tonight, 20th Century Fox and LucasFilm had a party to celebrate the success of Star Wars Episode 2: Attack Of The Clones. After six months of worldwide screening, the movie grossed $656 million at the box office.
Usually, Kazir didn't like to attend parties but he didn't have a choice. For the time being, he had to attend at least one party per week. Hollywood was always active and parties were everywhere, Kazir just didn't like to attend one.
Actually, Kazir received so many invitations but he rarely attended unless he was close to the person in question.
He was never a party type. It was even a miracle if he stepped into a formal party, much more a party that was filled with drugs and naked people. Kazir was not comfortable attending those kinds of parties. He would rather watch the 3 hours length of The Godfather. At least that movie was worth watching.
George Lucas excused himself after their conversation. The director also had a lot of people to greet.