Film Reviews and Box Office

The center of the newspaper featured a photo from Eyes Wide Shut, showing Cruise and his wife embracing in gorgeous attire, surrounded by brilliant lights. The visual contrast of the photo was striking, yet it was impossible to discern any specific emotion.

Kenneth Turan, the chief film critic for the Los Angeles Times, titled his review: "A Dazzling 'Eyes Wide Shut'."

He gave the film high praise, considering it a masterpiece. He noted that the film's pacing was "slow, solemn, and dreamlike," more akin to a psychological exploration than a carnal carnival.

He further mentioned that from thematic depth to visuals, atmosphere, and performances, everything was impeccable. It was a complex, luxurious, and thought-provoking legacy left to the world by Kubrick, well worth the patience to watch.

Beyond the Los Angeles Times, The New Yorker, the Chicago Sun-Times, the San Francisco Chronicle, and others all gave Eyes Wide Shut extremely high evaluations.

After reading these, Irene turned her head and asked Shelly, "I imagine Mr. Cruise's PR budget must have been quite generous."

Shelly did not answer her directly, instead giving her a look that suggested it was a matter of course.

However, not all media outlets lacked a bottom line and knew only how to offer praise. The New York Times, for instance, criticized the film, arguing that its pacing was too slow, pretentious, or failed to reach its grand ambitions.

"Why don't I see any reviews for our film?" Irene flipped through the newspaper in her hands. She hadn't woken up this early just to see how much everyone loved Eyes Wide Shut.

"Be patient, darling. Take a closer look." Francis walked over, patted her on the shoulder, and went to the liquor cabinet to retrieve a bottle of red wine.

Irene frowned, looking at her father's actions with confusion. Usually, he only brought out the wine from his private estate when he was exceptionally happy. "Are our box office numbers out?" she couldn't help but ask.

"I am still waiting for a call from MGM. You know, statistics take time, especially when it comes to financial data; it requires patience."

Well, you're certainly popping the champagne at halftime! Irene thought to herself, hoping this jinx wouldn't manifest on her.

She carefully flipped through the newspaper in her hands and finally found a review of Legally Blonde in The Washington Post.

Critic Hall Carter described the entire film as an unexpected surprise. Based on the film's synopsis and trailer, he had expected a shallow and boring movie. But after watching it, he found the film to be actually very funny, cleverly written and directed, and he believed Reese Witherspoon's performance was the key to the film's success.

She was not merely playing a stereotypical blonde bombshell, but had imbued the character with soul, intelligence, and astonishing comedic talent, praising the lead actress's charm throughout the piece.

"'Cleverly written and directed'—that should be a compliment to me, right?" Irene wasn't entirely satisfied. Although what the critic said was the truth—the highlight of the entire film was the lead actress, which she had known from the start—she felt unhappy only getting a two-word evaluation.

Then, in the Chicago Sun-Times, she discovered that renowned critic Roger Ebert had used the flamboyant headline [The Glory of the Coppola Family—The Birth of Another Genius Director] to praise Irene.

The entire piece revolved around comprehensive praise for Irene, yet the precision and appropriateness of the wording made it feel far from excessive.

Irene had to admit that she was very happy reading it. "I don't seem to recall seeing Roger Ebert at the premiere?"

"Hollywood's top critics always enjoy certain privileges."

"So, what is the value of this report?"

"Ring-ring—ring-ring—"

Before her father could answer, the house landline rang.

Irene and Shelly exchanged a glance. Before the domestic staff could reach the tea cabinet, Francis picked up the phone first.

"Hello, this is Francis Coppola... Yes... Thank you very much for your support..."

Inside the MGM headquarters, Joyce Jackson held the freshly printed statistics and walked quickly to Robert Smith's office, knocking twice before pushing the door open.

"Robert..." Before she could finish her sentence, Robert Smith reached out and took the data from her hand.

Joyce Jackson had no choice but to sit down.

"Midnight screenings in 820 theaters, Legally Blonde brought in $890,000. This number far exceeds our expectations," Robert said, looking directly at the results.

"Not only that, the survey company we hired randomly consulted nearly 2,000 audience members. The A+ rating rate is 85%, the A or higher rating rate is 96%, and the C or lower rating is less than 1%!" Joyce Jackson spoke rapidly and with great excitement. "That's more than ten percentage points higher than our 007!"

Many of the audience members who came to watch were Britney's fans or passersby attracted by Britney, but such a high approval rating proved that the content of the film could truly move this demographic.

And such a high approval rating often meant that the film's box office prospects were astonishing.

"This move was the right one. Irene Coppola is truly incredible; she hasn't let down our expectations of her." Robert Smith took a deep breath. He had faced significant pressure to accept Joyce's suggestion to distribute Legally Blonde. Now that both the word-of-mouth and box office were excellent, he could finally report back.

"Contact the theater chains and find a way to expand the release scale beyond what we currently have. With data like this, not to mention 2,000 theaters, doubling it to 1,600 is definitely not a problem." Robert made a quick decision. Reducing the theater count earlier was a move of desperation; now, expanding the scale was their moment to turn things around.

"Understood, I will contact them immediately."

"Also, increase the promotion. Most of the critics we contacted were distracted by Eyes Wide Shut; now it is finally time for them to exert their influence."

"Understood."

Following this, the two formulated a more detailed promotional strategy based on the actual situation, ensuring that Legally Blonde would exert its greatest advantages.

"Midnight screenings brought in $890,000. MGM is preparing to ramp up the promotion." After hanging up the phone, Francis told Irene and Shelly the good news.

"Expand the promotion?" Irene heard her father relaying MGM's intentions. "It seems our film is a success."

Francis Coppola poured red wine into a glass and handed it to Shelly, then poured a little for his daughter when he saw her pouting. "This box office is not bad," he said, raising his glass. "Congratulations, my darling."

Irene revealed a relaxed and playful smile, clinking her glass against her father's. "Thanks, Dad."

In a place where even she couldn't see, her pressure had been suppressed. Although in her previous life, Legally Blonde had achieved a massive box office, and she had tried her best to recreate the scenes from the original film—even keeping the same lead actress—everything became unpredictable once she took over as director. Her father had comforted her in private, saying that if she failed, she could simply study hard at school and find a new project to start over in four years.

But she knew that once labeled a failure, it would be much harder to return to the ranks of commercial film directors.

Not to mention that her subsequent series of plans would all turn into bubbles.

Therefore, for Irene, this film had to succeed; failure was not an option.

Fortunately, she was already halfway to success. As long as the subsequent box office trend remained stable, she would not be abandoned by Hollywood.