Hollywood Director 1992

While busy filming on set, Link received a call from Liu Xiaoli, who told him that "Final Destination" was about to be released, and even if he, the director, was busy, he couldn't miss the premiere ceremony.

So Link took a day off to return to Los Angeles to attend the premiere ceremony, briefly did two promotional events, and then returned to the set to continue filming.

His actions puzzled many people. Now everyone in the industry knew about his bet with CAA's all-stars, with a stake as high as hundreds of millions of dollars. Facing such a large bet, he actually acted as if nothing had happened, as if he didn't care at all.

Was he confident, or did he see that "The Firm" had reached 202 million at the box office and lost hope, so he just gave up?

Aaron Kouch, the deputy editor of "The Hollywood Reporter," interviewed him by phone, asking if he was worried about the box office of "Final Destination" and if he was worried about losing the bet. Why didn't he try to promote the movie, but continued to film a new movie? Was he full of confidence in the box office of "Final Destination," or did he feel that victory was hopeless and no longer had expectations for "Final Destination"?

Link replied that the promotional work for "Final Destination" had been handed over to the company's publicity and distribution department. Joe Feller and John Gordon and others were more professional than him in promoting this movie, and he was a director, whose main job was to make movies. At this time, instead of waiting to see the box office, it was better to focus on the work at hand and not waste time.

Aaron Kouch asked him if he was confident in the box office of "Final Destination" and to estimate how much the movie would make.

Link smiled and said that based on the current box office situation, the North American box office data for "Final Destination" would not be worse than "The Firm."

Aaron Kouch wished him a big hit for "Final Destination" and that he would win the bet.

Link expressed his gratitude and continued filming.

"Scene 34, take 3, action!"

On October 22, the week before Halloween, "Final Destination" was released in 2,139 theaters in North America.

After a series of promotions, the film grossed $26.09 million in its opening weekend.

This opening result was pretty good, ranking fourth among the movies released this year, behind only "Jurassic Park," "The Firm," and "Shooter."

This result relieved Michael Ovitz and others. According to the movie release situation in the past three years, movies with opening weekend box office exceeding 20 million have a good chance of reaching 100 million in North America, but the final box office will be around 120 million, not much more.

It would be difficult to threaten "The Firm's" 202 million.

However, they did not take it lightly. After the release of "Final Destination," they contacted the media to promote movies released at the same time, such as "Demolition Man" and "A Perfect World," while arranging for people to publish negative reviews of "Final Destination" in the media, trying every means to suppress the box office of "Final Destination."

They originally thought that this method could打击 (dǎ jī - strike/hit) the movie's box office performance.

But the result was beyond their expectations.

In its second week of release, "Final Destination" grossed $48.18 million in 2,141 theaters in North America, with a cumulative box office of $69.59 million. The box office growth was even better than "The Firm."

Michael Ovitz was incredulous about this data and quickly arranged for people to investigate the authenticity of this result to see if Guessing Game Films had inflated the box office numbers.

The result of the investigation was negative.

According to media and audience feedback, the movie "Final Destination" was of high quality. Whether it was the movie's special effects, the actors' performances, or the plot design, they were all very cool. There were no dull moments throughout the entire movie, and many viewers screamed in fright while watching.

"Variety" reported that "Final Destination" was one of the most thrilling horror movies of the year, as well as the best air disaster movie in recent years, and also the best 'Halloween' gift that Link gave to all audiences.

The "Los Angeles Times" published a new survey report. When "Final Destination" was released, Elsie Simmons, a reporter for the newspaper, issued questionnaires to 1,000 viewers who had seen the movie, asking for their opinions on the movie.

The results showed that 99.2% of the audience gave scores above 60 points, 76.5% of the audience gave excellent reviews above 90 points, 81.8% of the audience said they might recommend it to people around them, and 28.7% of the audience said they might watch it a second time.

Among them, male and female audiences had basically the same positive ratings for the movie.

Audiences' praise for "Final Destination" mainly focused on three points.

The first is that the plot design is very amazing, including the design of the Grim Reaper's killing order and the design of the main characters' deaths, which are very incredible and also very scary. It's the kind of feeling that makes you can't help but say 'Wow' after seeing it.

The second point is that the director filmed it very well. The lens design is very interesting, looks very comfortable, and has a strong sense of immersion. The movie's special effects are also very well done. Many shots make people want to watch it a second time.

The third point is that the leading actors performed very well. The male lead Ryan Phillippe is very handsome, and the female lead Liv Tyler is also very beautiful. Several supporting actors, Edward Norton, Angelina Jolie, Jennifer Aniston, and others, are also very beautiful and handsome under the director's lens. Joaquin Phoenix and Ben Affleck, although not handsome, have good acting skills.

Audiences praised the crew for having good vision and choosing very good characters, with both acting skills and good looks.

The survey report also published negative reviews from the audience about the movie, mainly in two points.

One is that the plot is too scary. After watching the movie, there will be psychological shadows when taking a plane, which is very unfriendly to audiences who often travel by plane. Also, the main characters die from various small accidents in life, which also makes the audience tremble with fear after watching it, and they will be worried even when walking.

无一错 一首 一发 一内 一容 一 在 一一看！(This line seems to be gibberish/errors and I'm unable to translate.)

The second point is that it pays too much attention to fatalism. The movie repeatedly emphasizes that people's lives and deaths are predetermined. Some people will not die even after experiencing major disasters, while others will choke to death even when drinking water. This is the design of the Grim Reaper, and ordinary people are powerless to resist.

This view is too pessimistic and will cause people to panic and worry about death, and this worry is often superfluous.

In addition to "Variety," "Los Angeles Times," "The Hollywood Reporter," and other media, after the release of "Final Destination," many media in the United States reported on the movie's release situation. Among them, positive reviews exceeded 80%, and forty-six media outlets gave a comprehensive score of 88 points.

According to media reports, among the audiences who watched the movie "Final Destination," 90% of the audience are between the ages of 18 and 35.

Moreover, this part of the audience gave extremely high evaluations after watching "Final Destination," and even repeatedly recommended it to people around them, praising the movie to the skies. People who haven't seen it will be despised.

This also led to the movie's box office rising steadily after its release.

According to the data provided by the theater, on Halloween alone, "Final Destination" grossed $17.39 million nationwide, becoming the highest-grossing movie on Halloween in North American film history.

"Final Destination's" nearly $50 million box office in its second week put great pressure on Michael Ovitz, Richard Gere, Tom Cruise, and others.