America Tycoon: The Wolf of Showbiz

Before the film festival wrapped up, the "Infernal Affairs" crew left Toronto to embark on a promotional tour across major cities in the United States, attracting considerable local attention wherever the four key members of the crew went.

During the tour, they also visited Scorsese's farm in Massachusetts and took another photo with that old cow.

The video of the Trio of Scoundrels presenting the cow to the director spread widely online, drawing the attention of many young people.

Scorsese's mob films have the least influence on the youth demographic.

Martin had a decent appeal among this group.

On Thursday afternoon, people wearing the red T-shirts of the Cola Cult were lined up for several hundred meters outside the Bay Theater in Mallory Square, Miami.

Tonight, Martin was here for an autograph signing and ticket sale.

The theater had five screening rooms for "Infernal Affairs," all of which were packed for the advance screenings.

The line of young moviegoers buying tickets continued to grow, prompting the theater manager to decide to free up two additional screening rooms for more showings.

In Los Angeles, Rachel and Phoebe led a large group of Martin's fans, dressed in the red T-shirts of the Cola Cult, through Hollywood Boulevard in a grand procession to the front of TCL Chinese Theatre.

A huge triple-banner poster of "Infernal Affairs" hung above the theater's main entrance.

"Martin has finally become a big star!" Rachel declared.

Phoebe shouted to those behind her, "Form a line, don't be chaotic, we'll be entering the venue soon."

In just over ten minutes, the place had turned into a sea of red, completely overtaken by members of the Cola Cult and Martin's fan group.

Both groups received a small sponsorship from Coca-Cola and the film crew, and had raised some funds to rent out the entire TCL Chinese Theatre for an advance screening of "Infernal Affairs."

Media reporters were, of course, in attendance.

"I've been a fan of Martin's ever since he appeared in 'Zombie Stripper'," Rachel, the leader of Martin's largest fan group, confidently told the camera. She was no longer the green movie fan she once was.

She smiled and said, "Along the way, I've witnessed Martin's growth. He's finally stepped into the spotlight on the Hollywood stage, working with a top-tier director like Scorsese. It's just so exciting..."

Before she could finish, a figure in a red T-shirt jumped in front of the camera and shouted, "I love Martin!"

Another fan darted in front of the camera, raising a Coke to toast with the camera, "The Sect Hierarch is mighty!"

Time was almost up, and without saying more, Rachel led the orderly fan group into the theater.

TCL Chinese Theatre was packed to capacity.

Though the gangster film genre had an impact, with Martin's fans and members of the Cola Cult, especially the latter, not flocking to buy tickets en masse, in every theater across America showing "Infernal Affairs," one could find someone wearing a red T-shirt.

Accordingly, fans of Leonardo and Scorsese also purchased tickets and entered the theaters.

On Thursday's 3000 advance screenings, "Infernal Affairs" earned 5.12 million US Dollars in box office revenue.

For a mob film, this was quite exceptional.

By Friday, the movie expanded to 3290 theaters for its full North American release.

The only other film releasing at the same time was "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning," which was not even in the same league competition-wise.

The production crew, including Martin, continued their autograph signing and promotional tour across America, and the advertising and promotion never stopped.

The budget of 90 million US Dollars for "Infernal Affairs" meant that the film could not afford to have a limited screening followed by gradual building of reputation and then slowly expanding its screening scale. The distribution model was entirely commercial.

On its first day in North America, "Infernal Affairs" made 13.05 million US Dollars, setting a record for the best single-day box office performance in Scorsese's 40-year career.

The four major directors of Hollywood in the 80s—Lucas, Coppola, and Spielberg—had all created miraculous box office records in the commercial realm, with only Scorsese lagging behind.

In a Houston bar, Scorsese bought Martin, Leonardo, and Nicholson drinks as a celebration.

"Toasting!" Scorsese raised his beer glass, clinking it with the three scoundrels.

Nicholson downed his drink in one go and said, "You old timer were nearly ready to retire, and here you are blooming anew at the box office."

Scorsese was in a terrific mood, "With all the attention-grabbing stuff you three have done, Warner initially projected a maximum of 30 million US Dollars for the opening weekend. Now, it seems reaching 40 million US Dollars is possible."

"Now, the opening weekend's box office includes the advance screenings," said Martin, who was becoming increasingly knowledgeable about the North American movie market. "With the strong reputation our movie has, reaching 40 million US Dollars should not be difficult."

Nicholson commented, "These days, the opening weekend box office figures are getting scarier and scarier."

Leonardo chimed in, "If it's a popular adaptation or a sequel, with us guys in it, we might pull off an opening weekend of over a hundred million."

He further analyzed, "Although this movie is adapted, the original work has virtually no influence in North America, so it's not much different than an original film. For an original non-sequel, these numbers mean the box office is extremely successful."

Martin added, "I hope we can earn twice the production costs in the final North American box office."

As a director of Scorsese's caliber with a profit-sharing clause in his contract, he couldn't help but say, "If that's the case, I can rest easy with having a seventh child."

Nicholson, knowing his old friend well, said, "In vitro fertilization technology has come a long way."

Martin Scorsese mused with emotion, "The more resolute and carefree you are when you're young, the harder you have to work when you're old."

"That's why I've never considered getting married," said Leonardo quite naturally.

Martin wholeheartedly agreed, "After all, so many beautiful women like us, we have to be responsible for them, we can't let them bear the stigma of destroying marriages."

Both Scorsese and Nicholson were shocked by his shameless brazenness.

"What have you been through to become like this?" Leonardo asked.

"The same as you," Martin replied nonchalantly, "just that I've walked through the canyons and abysses a bit more."

The core creative team moved from Texas to Louisiana, with "Infernal Affairs" pulling in another 14.89 million US dollars in North America on Saturday.

Scorsese's personal record for the highest one-day box office had only been held for one day before it was broken.

"Infernal Affairs" maintained the top spot on the North American box office chart for two consecutive days, with "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" nowhere in sight.

As expected by everyone, by the end of Sunday, "Infernal Affairs" sat at the top of the North American box office with a gross of 42.82 million US dollars.

Even the "Texas" film, despite its massive IP influence, was completely crushed, not even reaching 20 million US dollars.

Accordingly, Scorsese achieved the best opening box office of his career.

In terms of acclaim, "Infernal Affairs" surged in popularity in North America, its reputation remarkably stout.

Its Rotten Tomatoes freshness rating held at 93%, average MTC score at 87, and IMDB rating at 8.6, all assurances for a stable box office trend.

Most importantly, "Infernal Affairs" earned an average grade of A from the cinemascore live audience rating, with an expected North American box office landing around 180 million US dollars.

Many North American media outlets praised the film, considering it to be one of Martin Scorsese's representative works, much like "Taxi Driver," "Raging Bull," and "Goodfellas."

This big-budget, heavily promoted movie was already certain to succeed.

Both the production and distribution companies saw hope in recouping costs merely from the box office, hastening the film's international release, securing screenings across Asia, Europe, and Latin America this week.

Throughout the week, the core creative team continued their promotional tour across America, incredibly busy.

With the film's blockbuster sales and outstanding reviews, they were the most direct beneficiaries.

Even Nicholson, semi-retired as he was, could add a hefty sum to his retirement funds.

How can one be a qualified scoundrel without money?

People bustling every day for a living don't have the time or energy for mischief.

When Martin was in Chicago, he received a call from Thomas.

"I have good news for you, Ali specially convened a meeting for you on Monday to discuss award campaigning," said Thomas, his voice brimming with satisfaction. "The company allocated two more people, along with me and Natasha, to form a PR team, with all expenses taken care of by the company."

"How's the PR push going in the Los Angeles critic circles?" Martin asked.

Thomas replied, "Los Angeles critics, led by Kenneth Turan and Todd McCarthy, have highly praised your performance in 'Infernal Affairs,' each penning articles in their columns."

He didn't forget to take credit, "Of course, our targeted PR efforts also had an effect."

Martin reminded him, "Don't forget about setting up the exclusive interviews."

"I've got it all set with Gillian Flynn, your neighbor, for Entertainment Weekly," Thomas quickly said. "Interviews with Hollywood Reporter and Vanity Fair are in progress, no big issues."

In the awards season, maximizing exposure is the foundation for campaigning.

Thomas also reminded Martin, "Get your famous friends involved as much as possible."

"I've contacted them already. Let's wait a little longer; it won't be too late for them to speak out in December," Martin said.

The call ended soon, and Martin continued with the roadshow.

Massive promotion and strong positive reviews kept "Infernal Affairs" on a very steady box office trend, with North American numbers only dropping by 40% over the next weekend, reaching 86.78 million US dollars.

The film also achieved consecutive top spots in the North American box office.

Breaking 100 million in North America was within reach.

Similarly, a film that was a big hit in North America wouldn't perform poorly overseas; "Infernal Affairs" took in 32.78 million US dollars overseas in its first week.

However, box office revenue mostly came from Latin America and Europe. During the same period in the East Asia and Southeast Asia markets, where "Infernal Affairs" had the greatest impact, the movie experienced a Waterloo in terms of box office and reputation.
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This was the region where "Infernal Affairs" had the most influence.

With this high-quality film that better suited local tastes leading the way, "Infernal Affairs" inevitably came off as an inferior sequel, vulgar and offensive.

Plagued with negative reviews, just as "Infernal Affairs" had no market in North America, "Infernal Affairs" had a paltry box office in East Asia.

Even in South Korea, a backyard for Hollywood movies, the first-week box office didn't reach one million US dollars.

The performance in other markets was even more dismal.