The "Lord of the Rings" trilogy, if we start counting from the official communication with Charles Rowen in Los Angeles, took Duke seven years to complete. This massive project, with an unbelievably complicated preparation process, unprecedented investment, and overwhelming pressure, was far from an easy task.
Only those close to him knew how many restless nights he had spent, how often nightmares woke him up, as he feared the consequences of the project's failure.
In this world, success is never easily or naturally obtained. Duke knew that the special experiences that led him to this point were important, but just as crucial were his careful and relentless efforts over the decades.
Without effort, persistence, learning, and improvement, he would never have been able to turn the fragmented images in his mind into one film after another.
Forget about being an ordinary person without an eidetic memory, even if someone could remember every detail of a film from start to finish, it would mean nothing.
Anyone who isn't deluded understands that watching a movie and making one are two completely different things.
Every time he made a film, especially with investments reaching tens of millions or even over one hundred million dollars, he was carrying tremendous pressure.
He was tenacious. Although the overwhelming stress could make one anxious and sleepless, it had never broken him.
He worked hard. The world might not always reward effort with success, but without effort, success was impossible.
His goal was clear. Over a decade ago, he realized his greatest strength and had been working toward it ever since. Neither women nor other temptations could make him slow down.
After twelve years in Hollywood, after striving for so long, Duke finally reached the most glorious moment of his directorial career.
The Return of the King had shown unparalleled momentum in both the North American and global markets!
Entering the third weekend of May, The Return of the King faced competition from 20th Century Fox's new film. On Friday, May 16, Phone Booth was officially released in over 2400 theaters. The fate of this film had been full of misfortune. Initially, both the director and script were rejected by multiple companies, nearly killing Batman director Joel Schumacher's career. But he managed to secure investment and made it an independent film. Then, a sniper incident in the U.S. delayed its release.
Finally, after the film's release date was postponed several times, it clashed with The Return of the King, which Warner Bros. had already set.
However, 20th Century Fox did not change the release date because the film had already been delayed too long, and the small-budget release didn't warrant much of their attention.
After Phone Booth was released, it garnered professional acclaim despite the previous failures of its director, Joel Schumacher, who almost killed the Batman franchise. Critics felt that it was commendable for a commercial director to successfully transition to the independent film world, even though the film's quality wasn't the top priority.
"Strong dramatic tension, almost abandoning the rich spatial layers brought by scene transitions typical of films. However, the limitations imposed by the camera frame gave the film a deeper meaning, cutting straight to the heart!"
Roger Ebert gave the film a nine out of ten in his column.
Another well-known critic, David Denby, also praised it, giving it an 8.5.
"Overall, the script is above average, but the director and actors' control of the film's rhythm made it a top-tier work."
On the Rotten Tomatoes site, which collects critics' reviews, the film had an 87% fresh rating, while The Return of the King had only 74%, and was still declining.
Looking at just this one figure, Phone Booth seemed to outperform The Return of the King in terms of theater count and release rate.
However, Phone Booth was released in 2400 theaters, but the North American chains kept its screen share under 10%, refusing to increase the number of screens, as they needed to guarantee almost 80% screen share for The Return of the King!
Theater chains never consider critics' reviews or Rotten Tomatoes scores as their basis for determining the number of screens. They look at metrics like the audience's CinemaScore, and Phone Booth performed poorly there.
CinemaScore rated Phone Booth at 71%, with a 'B+' from theater audiences, and 64% popcorn audience love. On the other hand, The Return of the King maintained an advantage with 92% CinemaScore, an 'A+' from theatergoers, and 94% popcorn audience love.
The weekend box office figures proved the theaters' decision correct. Phone Booth earned $3.21 million in its first weekend in 2433 theaters.
The Return of the King, in its third weekend, had a staggering $39.89 million from 4013 theaters!
Combined with the $34.21 million from the previous three weekdays, the North American box office for The Return of the King had reached $378.1 million!
Once again, the market demonstrated that critics were irrelevant during the summer release season.
Overseas, in the past week, The Return of the King earned another $101.26 million, pushing its global total over $1 billion, reaching $1.021 billion!
In less than twenty days, The Return of the King had crossed the $1 billion mark!
However, no matter how hot a film is, its popularity eventually wanes. After the start of the new week, its weekday earnings fell to $6.5 million, showing a slight decline.
But neither Duke nor Warner Bros. were surprised or dissatisfied. This was just a normal market cycle.
Of course, continued promotion was necessary, and after a video conference with Warner Bros., the promotional budget for The Return of the King was increased from $50 million to $80 million, with the possibility of further investment if needed.
Without enough promotion, there would be no further returns. Forget big productions like The Lord of the Rings; in Hollywood, even successful small-budget films had astronomical marketing costs.
While Duke was in Australia and preparing to fly to Europe with the crew, he received some news from Warner Bros. UK.
"Because of the massive success of The Lord of the Rings trilogy, and your contributions to promoting British culture..."
On the official plane just after refueling, Tina Fey said to Duke, "The British royal family is considering awarding you a knighthood."
"An honorary knight?" Duke asked.
"Yes," Tina Fey reminded him, "You're not British, so they definitely won't give you a higher title."
"Mm."
Duke nodded. An honorary knight is also called "SIR," and he remembered that Ian McKellen had received such a title. In fact, honorary knights are not a rare thing in the sports and entertainment world.
If the British royal family is willing to give it, Duke would certainly accept it. If not, he wouldn't care.
With his current status and position, this title, which is almost becoming commonplace, doesn't matter whether he gets it or not.
"Tina, remember to inform Robin when we land," Duke pulled a blanket over himself, preparing to sleep for a while, and before dozing off, he reminded her, "I'll find time to visit the Harry Potter set."
The series had paused for a while, and after the young actors had gone through their voice-changing periods, their money-making journey would restart. Robin Grand, J.K. Rowling, and the Harry Potter studio had decided on a new director earlier in the year, and unsurprisingly, they chose Mexican director Alfonso Cuarón again.
Of course, this Mexican director was only a transitional choice. Now, J.K. Rowling's influence in the crew had increased, and Duke and Warner Brothers had promised her that, eventually, a British director would take over the series.
As for who exactly, like Alfonso Cuarón, Duke didn't plan to interfere directly. After the series' success, as long as the later films didn't turn into disasters, the chances of failure were very low.
J.K. Rowling had also tested the waters about having him take over, but Duke had refused without hesitation. Now, this series was similar to the "James Bond" films for directors—few famous directors were willing to take it on.
Moreover, Duke's next plans had already been set, and they would be executed in a few years.
The "Batman" trilogy would definitely not be made using the same approach as "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy. Duke planned to shoot it in three parts, and Warner Brothers, in order to minimize risk, would never agree to invest such a large amount of money in production all at once.
They would film one movie, first observing the market's reaction, and then decide whether to continue. This was the wisest choice for a film company.
After arriving in London, Duke met up with the crew that had arrived earlier, and they resumed their busy schedule of publicity tours. He, as a director, had no qualms about using himself as a promotional hook, striving for media headlines from the very start of the film's promotional period.
In London, he attended two events, gave an interview to the BBC, and also received invitations from some of London's elites, attending a celebrity party.
At this party, Duke met a Russian who inspired him with an idea for further promotion—something related to football.