Entertainment: Starting as a Succubus, Taking Hollywood by Storm Chapter 69: Box Office

Chapter 69

After Christmas Eve classes wrapped up, the five-day holiday break began.

The box office for The Sixth Sense skyrocketed over the Christmas holiday.

Thanks to the film's captivating plot, stellar performances, and a lack of competition at the sa ti, long lines at theaters beca a common sight. So theater owners even compared the film to Steven Spielberg's Saving Private Ryan, which had just been released in July.

By the end of the first three days, the North Arican box office had already reached nearly $29.7 million. This was an impressive figure, considering Saving Private Ryan earned only $30.5 million in its opening three days, despite a higher production budget. The film The Sixth Sense had a $40 million budget, while Saving Private Ryan had $70 million.

Even more astonishing was that the film's box office showed almost no decline over the Christmas holiday. After six days, the total had reached $54.4 million, surpassing Saving Private Ryan in its first week.

The praise for Martin was overwhelming. In Hollywood, the reaction to child actors is often extre—if a child actor accomplishes sothing typically reserved for adults, the accolades pour in. If they perform just a little better than expected, the title of "genius" is quickly bestowed.

But Martin's performance was not rely "better than expected." It was outstanding.

While other child actors might struggle under such intense scrutiny and praise, their minds easily corroded by selfish parents looking to profit, Martin was different. As a succubus who had lived for thousands of years, his maturity far exceeded that of ordinary adults. His "child's appearance" was rely that—skin.

As the film continued its success, Martin's acting was increasingly recognized, and The Sixth Sense was being dubbed "the scariest and warst movie" by the dia. Its box office numbers climbed steadily, with its weekly decline so minimal it reminded people of the juggernaut Titanic.

Was The Sixth Sense another big ship in the making?

anwhile, Harvey Weinstein sat in his office, pounding his fist on his desk in frustration. "40%! That's a 40% share! I'll lose hundreds of millions. I'm so stupid!"

His brother, Bob, took a more asured approach. "Harvey, you need to understand that Martin wrote the script, composed the soundtrack, and gave an outstanding performance. His contributions are a huge part of the reason for the box office success. We can't ignore him."

Harvey, realizing Bob was right, fell silent. Bob continued, "Don't forget what you said—Martin is a gold mine. We need to maintain our relationship with him."

Harvey paused, then stood up. "What are you going to do?" Bob asked.

Harvey grinned. "I'm calling Martin. I'm going to praise him, flatter him, and try to beco his loyal partner."

...

Later that evening, at a quiet movie theater entrance, two older n in masks walked inside. Behind them, three large n in suits kept a discreet distance.

The two old n sat in the last row of the theater, and the three bodyguards sat around them. Not too close, but not too far either.

One of the older n, revealing a graying beard, took off his mask and looked at the other, still masked, and complained, "Steven, what are you doing? Dragging to watch a horror movie in secret—what's so special about this one?"

If anyone in the film industry was nearby, they'd be shocked. The man who had just removed his mask was none other than the legendary Hollywood director and billionaire George Lucas.

Lucas' story was one of the most unique in Hollywood. Born in Modesto, California, Lucas had co from a small-town background. His father ran a stationery store and hoped Lucas would eventually take over. But Lucas had other plans. He was obsessed with racing and lived for speed.

However, that all changed in 1962. Three days before his high school graduation, Lucas was involved in a near-fatal car accident while racing. His Fiat crashed into a tree, leaving him unconscious for 48 hours. When he woke up, he was a changed man, having lost interest in racing and developed a passion for photography. He convinced his father to buy him a 35mm cara, which marked the beginning of his career in film.

Lucas went on to attend the University of Southern California's Film School, where he made his mark. His first film, Arican Graffiti (1973), was a modest $1.25 million project that grossed a staggering $115 million. It was a success that made Lucas and his film company a lot of money.

After the success of Arican Graffiti, Lucas founded Lucasfilm and went on to create Star Wars, the groundbreaking sci-fi franchise. Due to a lack of visual effects companies that could et his vision, he founded Industrial Light & Magic, which would go on to work on hundreds of major films.

Star Wars was released in 1977 and revolutionized cinema, with unprecedented special effects. The film was a phenonon, and Lucas beca a household na.

In addition to Star Wars, Lucas also worked on Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), a massive hit co-created with Spielberg. After finishing the Star Wars trilogy, however, Lucas seed to run out of creative energy. Though The Phantom nace (1999) and its sequels had financial success, the reception wasn't as favorable as the original trilogy.

Eventually, in 2012, Lucas sold Lucasfilm to Disney for $4 billion, including the Star Wars and Indiana Jones franchises.

George Lucas's life had been shaped by a series of turning points. His car accident was a major one, marking the mont he shifted his focus to filmmaking. The release of The Phantom nace was another. After that film, it seed as though his creative spark had dimd, and the era of Star Wars began to fade.

If Lucas's life were written as an online novel, it might be said that a soul from the future entered his body during that car accident. That soul, however, likely faded by the late '90s, explaining why Lucas lost his prophetic vision and began to stagnate in his later years.

In so ways, George Lucas was a ti traveler—a director whose career took unexpected turns, shaped by forces beyond his control.

[•———•——•———•]

𝙥𝗮𝙩𝙧𝙚𝙤𝙣(.)𝙘𝙤𝙢/𝙂𝙤𝙙𝙊𝙛𝙍𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙚𝙧

✨ • 𝗘𝘅𝗰𝗹𝘂𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗔𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀: 𝙂𝙚𝙩 𝟲𝟬 𝙖𝙙𝙫𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙙 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙖𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙙 𝙤𝙛 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙚𝙡𝙨𝙚.