Hollywood: Lights, Ink, Entertainment!-Chapter 177: Billion Dollar Film

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Alexander's face shifted, not into fear - but into sincerity. "I am sorry, it's just one of my favorite books, I got a little excited seeing it out in the open."

Ross stared at him for a second longer, eyes hard to read, then, unexpectedly, he asked. "Why?"

?...?The question caught both men off guard.

But Alexander, after a beat, let out a quiet breath and answered.

"I think it's because I see myself in the protagonist." He said, this time more measured, less casual. "He is born ordinary, he doesn't stand out, he is not brilliant, powerful, or famous. He has no claim to anything, but then he falls in love - with someone so far above his reach that the very idea seems absurd. A woman who lives in a world he doesn't belong to, a world made of clouds and sky, but even knowing that, even with the whole world telling him he is not enough, he doesn't give up. He keeps trying."

Alexander smiled and continued. "For me, it wasn't exactly a woman, it was the cinema as a whole. This craft - the atmosphere in sets - I fell in love with that I have no real claim over, something I can't touch, and maybe I will never really grasp it. Surely, not the way Regal does, and not the way people like you do. Just a love so ridiculous that I keep chasing it even when it doesn't love me back."

Ross stared at him, and then, like a blade slipping cleanly into its sheath, he said flatly. "Then you should give up."

Alex didn't flinch at the straightforwardness but Stephen Jr. definitely felt the harshness.

Still, Alexander simply smiled a little - more awkwardly this time as he admitted.

"I probably should." He admitted, his voice quiet but clear. "Honestly, that would be the sensible thing to do. But I guess I came to the conclusion that... even if I never reach the clouds, I would still be happy building something down here. The ground, the land - it stretches far, it's just as big, just as endless, just like the sky, it's vast. If I can't fly, then I will walk. If I can't walk, I will crawl. But I will keep building something here that stands."

He paused for a beat, then added with a sheepish breath. "So maybe, if I can't be ruler of the sky... I will be king of the land."

He met Ross's eyes then, and this time, there was no awkwardness in his voice, just conviction.

Ross didn't move, he stood still, arms crossed, watching the young man speak as if hearing something strange but familiar.

There was a pause, a heavy, thoughtful one.

Ross looked down briefly, then back at the young man in front of him.

He remembered the sky too - how he had spent so many years reaching upward, not for praise or fame, but simply to stand where the greats had once stood. Where legends like Stephen Sr. had already carved their names into the clouds.

But the sky was never really his, it was never built for him, he wasn't born with wings.

Wasn't meant to fly.

He was no eagle or a hawk.

But what he had - what he always had - were his legs, his fists, his voice, and the brutal patience of someone who could outlast a storm if it meant staying on his feet.

The way Alexander had put it... the way he said he would claim the land instead of the sky... it echoed something deep inside Ross.

Maybe he wasn't born to fly.

But he could rule the ground.

A bear, not a bird.

"Ruler of the land." He murmured.

Then, finally, he gave the faintest nod, and suddenly, that didn't feel like a compromise anymore.

But to Stephen, standing quietly at the side, it was everything.

Ross didn't need to say it, they all knew what that nod meant.

He was in...

....

"I still can't believe these numbers are real." Stephen Jr. muttered, scrolling through an endless feed of headlines, tabloid covers, trade reports, and even jumbled fan forum posts that had somehow made it into his organized folder.

Beside him, Alexander tilted his head with a bit more curiosity than actual concern. "Huh... are they that big of a deal?"

"...sigh." Stephen Jr. didn't answer right away, he closed one tab, opened another, and glanced at a sales graph that was already climbing steeply enough to make even seasoned execs break into a cold sweat.

He sighed, leaned back, then simply said. "Just forget it."

Alexander got the message, he wasn't insulted, he never was when Stephen Jr. brushed him off like that.

Still, a small grin played on the young director's face.

It had been exactly one week since [Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone] had premiered.

The first screenings had taken place at the historic Odeon Leicester Square in London, two back-to-back days of red carpets, carefully choreographed interviews, high-profile guests, and layers of buzzing security on November 4 and 5, 2012.

And just as predicted, or maybe even feared, once the curtains rolled up, there was no stopping what came next.

Within hours, demand for the original books had surged, the first and second installments of the [Harry Potter] series saw a massive spike in global sales - shattering their own previous records.

Everleaf Press, who had already been preparing for a sizable bump, found themselves scrambling to meet a tidal wave of demand... but even then warehouses were cleared out faster than they could restock, bookstores couldn't keep copies on shelves for more than a day - sometimes hours.

And that was just the beginning.

The film officially opened worldwide on November 10, its biggest theatrical footprints were in the United States, United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada, and Taiwan - markets that had long been seen as major cinema strongholds.

But even seasoned analysts weren't ready for what they saw.

Buzz from the premiere had already ignited social media, fan pages, early reviews, and mainstream entertainment circuits, influencers and niche bloggers alike couldn't stop writing about the film.

Movie fans who had never touched the books were talking, book fans who had never cared for cinema were booking entire rows for their families.

The opening day numbers confirmed it - there is no stopping this film.

In the UK and Ireland alone, [Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone] was screened on 1,168 screens across 507 theatres.

In North America, United States and Canada, it expanded to 3,672 theatres, at the time, it marked the widest theatrical release ever attempted in both territories.

Theatres were forced to add last-minute late-night screenings just to keep up with demand, lines spilled out of multiplexes, tickets sold out hours, sometimes days, in advance.

Industry insiders were already calling it the "Event of the Year."

And then came the box office numbers.

On its first preview day alone, the film pulled in a staggering £3.6 million ($4.9 million USD), setting a new record for a single-day gross.

The following day, Sunday, it raked in another record-breaking £3.1 million ($4.2 million), bringing its two-day preview total to £6.7 million, or $9.1 million in U.S. terms.

By now, prediction models were useless, studio analysts had projected a massive hit, but this was blowing past every curve, every ceiling, every benchmark that had been set by previous blockbuster films.

If it kept up this pace, the movie wasn't just going to be one of the highest-grossing films of the year - it would define the year.

Stephen Jr. leaned forward again, elbow on the desk, one hand on the mouse, and refreshed the browser for what must have been the hundredth time.

The numbers had climbed again - barely a few minutes passed since the last update.

"This is unreal." He sighed.

But it wasn't the box office alone that had him speechless, it was what was happening critically too.

The conversation around the film was overwhelmingly positive, universally, almost disturbingly so.

However, nobody, not the studio, not the distributors, or even Regal himself - nobody in their wildest projections or backstage war room debates expected this level of praise.

The kind that wasn't laced with caution or polite admiration. This was genuine, sometimes tearful, often stunned reverence.

From London to Los Angeles, Seoul to São Paulo, audiences were erupting.

Not just in applause during the credits, but in forums, reviews, videos, memes, essays, standing ovations, the response defied expectation and more importantly, it erased borders.

There was no 'region' dominating the love, it was everywhere.

The word-of-mouth was so powerful that industry trackers began whispering a phrase rarely uttered this early in a run: Billion Dollar Film.

It was almost laughable, an indie-made starter, written by a 22-year-old director, in a debut adaptation of one of the most beloved children's books in history - and yet, it wasn't just surviving the scrutiny.

It was thriving, people were calling it a masterpiece, a generation-defining film.

Some even said it was better than the books.

Right, unimaginable.

And yet - here it was.

But the thing that really struck Stephen Jr. the most, the thing that settled deep into his chest with something between pride and humility, was the realization that it wasn't strategy, or promotion, or even prestige that carried this film over the edge.

It was the people.

The audiences in packed theatres, the children's excitement.

The parents bought tickets for a second viewing because their kids couldn't stop talking about it, the books being re-read, quotes being memorized... and the art being shared online.

The people had decided.

And in this industry, where ego often walked louder than talent, and where names could eclipse substance, it was easy to forget the only real power that ever mattered.

No matter your experience, your resume, or how much influence you thought you had - nobody is bigger than the audience.

And this audience? This audience had spoken clearly.

They had embraced [Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone].

Their verdict was not written in reviews or articulated in studio notes, it was in standing ovations, in sold-out shows and through repeat viewings.

They chose this.

And the reviews... they only reinforced what was already being screamed from every corner of the internet and the streets outside theatres:

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Reviews:

–"I laughed a lot. I teared up once or twice. And I wasn't the only one. People were clapping at the end. It was just... special."

–"An exceptional big-screen treat."

–"[Harry Potter]'s first venture, mounted by Red Studio onto the screen, is a solid blockbuster."

–"Indeed - The first Potter movie is a magical ride but also intense, it is a near-perfect commercial and cultural commodity."

–"The quickest, zappiest two and a half hours of entertainment you will ever see, also the first ever book that won't disappoint the novel fans."

–"The film is overflowing with joy, tension, innocence, and wonder - but what really hits you is the emotional honesty. Even the biggest spectacle is grounded in something very real."

–"What a feast for children! Long, and engrossing. Kids will love it! Wizard!"

–"Whether you are a fan of the book or not, the movie pulls you in. Kids were glued to the screen. Grown-ups too. Everyone was quiet at the right moments and laughing at the right ones."

–"The young director 'Regal Seraphsail' showcased his brillency for yet another film, one could say he wants to show us a magical world that is, at the same time, wholly believable. He wants to create matter-of-fact miracles, but what they end up with is mostly just plain matter-of-fact."

....

This is the most trending article from Twitter from many countries.

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Hey, I am just a nobody - but I watched this film with my nieces today, and while they obviously loved it, I have to admit... so did I.

***

[Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone] is a full-blooded adventure film - overflowing with atmosphere, packed with both the eerie and the awe-inspiring, and crafted with some of the most astonishing action sequences I have seen in recent years.

For a movie of this scale, so much could have gone wrong.

The acting, the score, the sprawling sets, the crucial CGI - all of it needed to click, but somehow, not a single thing faltered, in fact, every department went above and beyond.

Special shoutout to the production team at [Red Studio] and the visual masterminds at [Unique FX] Studio, you have outdone yourselves.

But if there is one name that truly steals the spotlight?

Regal Seraphsail.

The first ever Author and the Director in the History of Cinema.

Remarkable feat right? But that wasn't the end.

Against all said odds of enormous expectations - Regal delivered an enchanting classic that does full justice to a story that was a daunting challenge.

Originally, the novel was muscular and vivid, and the danger was that the movie would make things too cute and cuddly.

However, it doesn't.

It manages to tell a rip-roaring tale of supernatural adventure, where colorful and eccentric characters alternate with scary stuff like a three-headed dog, a pit of tendrils known as the Devil's Snare and a two-faced immortal who drinks unicorn blood.

Scary, yes, but not too scary - just scary enough.

Our first glimpse of Hogwarts sets the tone for the movie's special effects.

The school, rising on ominous Gothic battlements from a moonlit lake, looks about as real as one could ever imagine and its corridors, cellars and great hall, although in some cases making use of real buildings, continue the feeling of an atmospheric book illustration.

Computers are used, exuberantly, to create a plausible look in the gravity-defying action scenes.

Readers of the book will surely be satisfied how magnificently the movie visualizes the crucial game of Quidditch.

If Quidditch is a virtuoso sequence, there are other set pieces of almost equal wizardry.

A chess game with life-size, deadly pieces.

Everything works.

About halfway through the movie, I realized: this isn't just a good adaptation.

This is a classic.

It's going to be watched, rewatched, and passed down, it will live with kids, teens, adults, families - for years to come.

And it absolutely deserves to.

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[To be continued...]

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