[Chapter 537: Scandalous Intrigue, the Fiery The Long Kiss Goodnight]
The next morning, almost every newspaper reported on the premiere of The Long Kiss Goodnight.
What Linton hadn't expected was that the majority of gossip and entertainment tabloids focused their coverage on the glamorous "beautiful angels" themselves rather than the film.
Some papers took a more positive angle, emphasizing themes like [The beautiful angels' sisterhood shines as they rally behind Nicole Kidman's new film.]
But more tabloids intentionally stoked conflict and drama:
[Explosive! Plastic sisterhood revealed -- why did only 15 of the 21 beautiful angels show up to promote Nicole Kidman's The Long Kiss Goodnight premiere?]
[Shocking: Internal discord among the beautiful angels -- Madonna, Cristiana Reali, Sophie Marceau, Monica Bellucci, Winnie Gesso, and Xu Qing refuse to attend Nicole Kidman's new movie premiere.]
[Extra! Linton crafts a tailor-made female-led blockbuster for Nicole Kidman, sparking turmoil within the beautiful angels.]
Linton and his circle of close female companions could only laugh and shake their heads. Thankfully, everyone knew each other well, shared genuinely friendly relationships, and understood that Madonna, Winnie, and Xu Qing's situations were unique. Without that understanding, the reporters might have lit a real fire of mistrust among the group.
Yet, compared to the straightforward and tame premiere coverage or the usual predictions of box office success and sisterly camaraderie, these scandalous rivalry reports clearly sold better.
Though the tabloids' "brawling" stories were completely fabricated, audiences loved the scandalous intrigue. Over the next several days, more newspapers jumped into the fray.
Even on the internet, a wildly popular forum post appeared titled [The Battles Behind Linton's Beautiful Angels.]
In reality, this was just a fanfiction piece -- an epic, dramatic saga of intrigue and romantic rivalries among Linton and his 21 girlfriends. It was pure fantasy, but had nothing to do with the actual situation.
Upon posting, the thread immediately soared to the number one spot on Yahoo forums. The comments and likes quickly climbed into the tens of millions as curious netizens eagerly begged the moderator to continue the story, turning it into a serialized drama.
Other websites picked it up too. Some tabloids even purchased rights from the poster to print the story, resulting in a surge in newspaper sales that day.
Even Madonna, Cristiana, Sophie, and Monica -- remote out at the farm -- called Nicole to explain themselves.
Winnie, needless to say, returned to the estate that night to attend the evening party with Nicole and others, while the other sisters left in the afternoon to handle their own work.
Only Xu Qing, who was back in China and completely unaware of the rumors, remained unaffected. Everyone understood her situation.
...
Forced to address the swirling gossip, Nicole had to proactively debunk the rumors during a UPN TV promotional appearance on the afternoon of July 11, clarifying the attendance circumstances of Madonna, Cristiana, Sophie, Monica, Winnie, and Xu Qing.
But it was to no avail. Audiences craved conspiracy and betrayal dramas, and the juicy gossip surrounding Linton's 21 beautiful angels perfectly fit their fantasies.
Twenty-one women living together, without scheming, drama, and rivalry but instead bound by genuine sisterhood and harmony? Who would believe that? Who were they kidding?
The newspapers sold well; the forum posts garnered clicks. Naturally, the scandalous reports kept pouring in.
...
On the brighter side, the coverage still included plenty of promotion for The Long Kiss Goodnight, so it was a fortunate bonus.
Moreover, some fans might have believed the stories, sparking heated online battles among supporters on the Yahoo forums. Luckily, with the internet still in its early 1.0 phase, fans' zeal to express themselves was limited, and these online spats didn't escalate too wildly.
If this had been the internet's 3.0 era, with platforms like Twitter and emerging social media deeply permeating society, those fan battles would have exploded into massive viral events, likely dominating the top five trending spots nationwide.
Still, this situation reminded Linton that even in the internet 1.0 phase, there were ways for stars to engage their fans online. Star fan forums, if managed well, could significantly boost their popularity.
Especially for the pioneers who embraced these tools early, gaining first-mover advantages along with platform support offered obvious benefits, easily attracting more fans.
...
With that in mind, Linton picked up the phone and called Bella, head of the online publicity department. He carefully explained the concept of star fan forums from his previous life,
"Put together a formal proposal. Go find Winnie and have her introduce you to Yahoo's top executives. Pitch them this idea. Promise that Madonna, Naomi, Nicole Kidman, and the other 20 female stars will be the first to join. Get them to offer us prime operational support."
Bella, Hollywood's first head of film publicity online, managed a vast digital army and deeply understood movie and star promotion dynamics with growing industry influence.
She immediately saw how powerful star fan forums could be for Hollywood but wasn't familiar with how internet companies operated, puzzled about why Yahoo would agree to so many conditions.
"Boss, this idea is great for managing stars' fandoms, but Yahoo would have to develop custom features for us and give extra operational support. Would they really agree to that?"
"Bella, you don't understand internet firms. Here's the thing: this plan benefits them even more because traffic is their lifeblood, and our concept will generate enormous traffic for them. You get it now?"
"Traffic... now I see. Looks like we share the same interests. Thanks for explaining, boss. Don't worry, I'll meet with Winnie and Yahoo tomorrow to get this rolling."
---
In the early hours of July 12, The Long Kiss Goodnight opened on 2,400 screens, pulling in $2.87 million from midnight showings.
At 3 a.m., upon hearing the strong midnight box office numbers, Nicole Kidman was ecstatic. She dominated Linton's attention at the following party, her energy unstoppable.
Knowing she had a promotional day ahead, Winnie, Catherine, Michelle Reis, and others gracefully gave way to her.
...
By 9 a.m., Nicole cheerfully arrived at the office to join director Anne and others for the North American promotional tour.
That same day, the film expanded wide, showing on 3,300 screens in North America, capturing 15% of the market's available screens.
On opening Friday, The Long Kiss Goodnight grossed $8.65 million, adding to the midnight's $2.87 million for a total of $11.52 million, securing the day's box office crown with a 21% share.
Saturday brought $9.53 million, and Sunday $8.31 million.
Over the first weekend, the film earned $29.36 million, maintaining the 15% screen share but capturing 21% of box office revenue, topping the weekend charts.
Surprisingly, audience word-of-mouth was overwhelmingly positive. Viewers praised the thrilling action scenes, Nicole's superb performance, and of course, her beauty.
A third-party survey gave the movie an overall audience rating of A-, predicting a total gross of $120 million.
Critical reviews, however, were lukewarm, calling The Long Kiss Goodnight a flashy popcorn flick. Critics disliked the switch from the usual handsome male spy to a fierce female lead who kills relentlessly, calling it unrealistic and illogical.
It didn't matter much. Since the divided reactions to Independence Day, studios and audiences largely disregarded critics' opinions during the summer blockbusters.
IMDB user ratings told a better story -- 7.4 out of 10 -- reflecting solid audience approval.
Monday's box office earned $4.31 million, a notable drop but still within an acceptable range.
Tuesday pulled in $4.27 million, Wednesday $4.19 million, and Thursday $4.07 million.
After one week, North American box office totaled $44.7 million, retaining the top spot.
The film's trajectory strongly suggested it would easily cross the $100 million mark in the domestic market.
Elated by the box office surge, Nicole called Linton almost daily, sharing her joy and promising a big surprise once the promotional tour concluded.
Next week, the market would see eight new releases, including Disney's highly anticipated blockbuster Phenomenon. [T/N: Originally, it was The Rock. But it was already made.]
Consequently, The Long Kiss Goodnight's screen count would naturally decline -- from 3,300 down to 2,600 theaters -- and its screen share would dip to 9%.
At the same time, Universal Pictures launched The Long Kiss Goodnight in 18 countries and regions overseas that weekend, marking the film's international debut.
*****
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