May 24, 2001, 9:00 p.m.
Los Angeles, Egyptian Theatre.
Lin Yuan and the two directors stood outside the movie theater known as the Egyptian Theatre.
It was a distinctive cinema built in the style of an Egyptian temple. Ochre plaster walls formed the main structure, while two rows of tall, straight palm trees stood on either side of the entrance hall. Even from the outside, it was steeped in the exotic atmosphere of ancient Egypt.
Once inside the lobby, the scarab decorations on the ceiling and Tutankhamun masks on the walls created an even stronger sense of immersion.
Looking at the dense crowd flowing in and out, Director Cohen could not help saying, "Watching The Mummy Returns here must be quite an experience."
Of course. Two days earlier, The Mummy Returns had chosen this exceptionally fitting theater for its premiere, firing the opening shot in the box office war.
Naturally, Lin Yuan and the others had come to observe their rival's performance and audience feedback firsthand.
"As expected of their home turf. The screening share is actually as high as 60%," Director Johnston said in amazement.
"After spending that much on promotion, they had to get results. The screening share at other theaters across the country is generally around 40% as well," Lin Yuan said.
Director Sommers' no-expense-spared promotional campaign had earned the film the most favorable screening arrangements from major theaters.
Hearing Lin Yuan's words, Director Cohen smiled. "That doesn't scare me. Seeing how confident you are, I know we can't lose."
Recently, both directors had become increasingly confident in Lin Yuan. They were more and more convinced that he had a way to secure victory, no matter how formidable the competition appeared.
"Come on. Let's contribute three tickets to our opponent. We can afford that much grace."
Lin Yuan queued up at the counter, silently complaining about how backward ticket-buying was in this era.
Buying tickets at the counter, paying in cash...
Returning with three tickets, Lin Yuan said with a smile, "This is really bad news. The tickets are selling extremely well. Only seats in the corners were left. Even then, we nearly couldn't get any."
"Damn it. There goes the little bit of hope I had left," Director Cohen said.
"Don't lose heart so soon. Maybe they bought all the tickets themselves?" Director Johnston joked.
"Not likely. At least, not yet," Lin Yuan said. "Let's go watch the movie."
The three entered the screening room. Not long after they took their seats, the movie began.
The two directors watched intently, evaluating the film from a professional perspective.
But Lin Yuan's attention was not on the film at all. He had watched The Mummy Returns many times in his previous life, so there was no need to see it again in a theater today.
His goal was to observe the audience's reactions.
The Mummy Returns was a fantasy film built around visual effects, and in terms of visual impact, it truly stood at the very peak of its era.
A swarm of scarabs surged forth and devoured people.
The high priest Imhotep kissed his lover in his decayed form.
Mummies ran across walls and rooftops as they pursued the protagonists riding in a bus.
Imhotep's waterfall face magic.
Dwayne Johnson's appearance as the Scorpion King.
As these iconic scenes appeared one after another, the audience repeatedly cried out in amazement. They had clearly been conquered by the visual effects.
Lin Yuan was not surprised in the slightest that The Mummy Returns performed this well.
He had never underestimated the film. On the contrary, he thought highly of it. Otherwise, he would not have tried so hard to join its cast in the first place.
But acknowledging its quality did not mean Lin Yuan would surrender without a fight.
On the contrary, personally destroying a classic in his heart was Lin Yuan's loftiest form of tribute.
The Mummy Returns excelled in its perfect combination of fantasy elements and visual effects. It was a film with extraordinarily strong strengths, but that did not mean it had no weaknesses.
Its weakness lay in its character work. In particular, the protagonists were portrayed in a stereotypical and shallow manner.
The Chicago Sun-Times offered this review:
"The Mummy Returns makes the mistake of abandoning character development, using its plot only as a clothesline for visual effects and action scenes.
If it did not rely on 1999's The Mummy, this sequel could hardly be said to have a plot at all."
Though the criticism was somewhat harsh, it was also accurate.
The audience's feedback on site also confirmed Lin Yuan's judgment.
Whenever thrilling action scenes arrived, the audience was generally engrossed, with cries of surprise coming one after another.
But whenever the film moved into other plot sections, the audience was generally far less interested.
Once he confirmed this, Lin Yuan had essentially accomplished his goal for the day.
He began watching the movie properly, revisiting this classic that held a place in his heart.
After the screening ended and the three left the theater, Lin Yuan finally asked, "What did you think after watching it tonight?"
"It's very good. Although it has a few minor flaws, it's a formidable rival with the potential to contend for the annual box office crown." Director Cohen looked rather grave. "I'd estimate its opening-week box office could reach 100 million dollars. Your earlier prediction of 280 million dollars may really come true."
"These visual effects are top-tier by today's standards, aren't they? They're far better than those in my Jurassic Park 3. Can we really win?" Director Johnston did not look optimistic either.
"Of course. Remember when I mentioned timing? Director Sommers chose the wrong time to release his movie.
Our first monster ally is rising. It will hit our opponent hard." Lin Yuan answered.
"A monster?"
"This animated film called Shrek will deliver an iron fist to our opponent." Lin Yuan nodded.
"Can it really? It's only a mid-budget animated film," Director Johnston said incredulously.
At this point in time, no one but Lin Yuan dared believe that this animated film, made for 60 million dollars with only 30 million dollars spent on promotion, would soon beat The Mummy Returns—a film with a 100 million dollar production budget and another 100 million dollar promotional budget—into retreat after retreat.
In Lin Yuan's memories from his previous life, Shrek had earned a staggering 267 million USD in North America, ranking third for the year and utterly crushing The Mummy Returns, which ranked sixth.
And that third-place ranking carried tremendous weight, because the top two films were simply absurdly dominant—unbeatable masterpieces.
"Trust me, it'll be fine. Shrek's word of mouth is steadily building, and its screening share is rising as well," Lin Yuan said with a nod.
"But even if Shrek's screening share keeps increasing as you say, it still won't be enough to squeeze out The Mummy Returns' screening space." Director Cohen asked, "It can still maintain around 30% of the screenings at minimum. We're still in danger."
"Don't worry. Our second monster ally is about to enter the field too," Lin Yuan said with a smile.
"Another monster movie?"
"No. I mean its performance will be monstrous. It is one of only two monsters in the next decade."
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