The moment Thomas Lee saw the giant wolf rushing out of the picture, he took a breath suddenly.

But soon, the giant wolf disappeared, everything returned to normal, and the colorful advertisements brought Times Square back to that busy street.

"Special effects..."

Thomas Lee remembered that this should be the application of screen special effects, augmented reality, and naked-eye 3D, which enables people to see three-dimensional effects on a flat screen.

However, this kind of application is still relatively rare, and requires a certain degree of coordination. Like just now, the best playback effect will be achieved after attracting everyone's attention.

I didn't expect Lu Ban to actually spend a fortune...

Thomas Lee couldn't believe it.

However, he did not speak too confidently. He was very clear that whether "Tides of Devil May Cry" could really reach a box office of 2 billion US dollars would largely depend on the North American evaluation after the release of "The Wailing" and "In the Mouth of Madness".

Of course, Thomas Lee and AMC Theaters did not take any measures such as suppressing Lu Ban, prohibiting his films from being screened or released at unpopular time periods. No theater would sit back and wait to make money.

Time quickly came to September, and "The Wailing" was officially released in North America.

Although the film had already been leaked on the Internet and other channels before, many people were still waiting to go to the cinema to watch it.

The box office of "The Wailing" in North America was pretty good, reaching nearly three million US dollars on the first day. Although it cannot be compared with those blockbusters, as a niche horror thriller and a foreign film, its performance in North America is already extremely terrifying.

In the end, "The Wailing" grossed 40 million U.S. dollars in North America after one month of release. Moreover, in the first week after its release, the box office of "The Wailing" continued to grow, with each day being higher than the previous day.

This was due to the spread of word-of-mouth and its popularity among young people. Young people who liked fresh and exciting things flocked to movies of this type. Soon, Lu Ban's name became a household name in high schools and college campuses. Many people even began to look for online movies and videos he had shot before.

In October, along with the long holiday in China, "In the Mouth of Madness" was released in North America. With the previous preparation, the film's first-day box office exceeded 5 million US dollars, and reached a record-breaking box office of 98 million US dollars during its one-month release period.

This is a box office record for domestic horror thriller films abroad, and it also makes it one of the top three domestic films at the overseas box office.

In famous overseas film forums, discussions about Lu Ban and these two films, as well as "The Devil's Tide" promoted in Times Square, have become increasingly heated.

[This is a real horror movie, brother. I’m not afraid of you laughing at me. After watching “The Wailing”, I didn’t dare to turn off the lights to sleep for several nights. This thing is too exciting! ]

[I am very grateful to Director Lu Ban. After watching "In the Mouth of a Madman", I went to the library to borrow a copy of "A Brief History of Time" and finished reading it. Before that, I fell asleep after staring at the textbook for three minutes! ]

[Have you seen the trailer for "The Tides of Devil", this movie seems to be completely different from the previous two movies. I am looking forward to this movie more and more. How can I fast forward to Christmas? I can't wait any longer! ]

[It's a strange feeling. The Chinese movies I've seen before were about people who knew kung fu and flew around in ancient clothes, but these two movies give me a very modern feeling. I didn't expect that this country could make such interesting modern movies. I think I can go find some other movies to watch.]

[First of all, I have seen the two films directed by Lu Ban. Secondly, as a pure passerby, I am not optimistic about the performance of "The Devil's Tide" because he is a director who specializes in horror and thriller films, and the new film is obviously a war film. I doubt whether he can present such a large-scale story.]

[You are exaggerating. Although I didn't go to the cinema to watch these two movies, based on the trailer of "Magic Tides", I don't think this movie will be that great. Are you all paid Internet trolls by the cinema? Please provide me with your contact information so that we can make money together! ]

As an insider, Thomas Lee had begun to waver after seeing the miraculous performances of Lu Ban's two films.

Could it be that Lu Ban’s “Magic Tide” can really reach a box office of 2 billion US dollars?

Just when he was feeling a little uneasy, a piece of news suddenly came from the media.

"Fast and Furious 11" will be postponed from its original Thanksgiving schedule to the Christmas schedule, where it will face off against "The Untamed".

"Fast and Furious 11" is an action crime film, famous for its city racing scenes and hot action scenes. With the popularity of the previous films, the production cost has become higher and higher. The latest one even drove directly into the universe.

Although the protagonist's motivation has always been for his family, and his family members have died and resurrected, and resurrected and died again, which has caused people to complain, and his increasingly outrageous driving skills have also been criticized, but this kind of popcorn blockbuster is actually the mainstream in the European and American markets. As long as the audience enjoys watching it in the cinema, they don't need to care too much about logic.

When Thomas Lee saw this news, his first reaction was that "Fast and Furious 11" was going to collide with "The Devil Wears Prada"!!!

There is no doubt about the box office appeal of "Failed 11". After all, the series once grossed over $1 billion. Even if the box office has been much lower in the future, $500 million is still a sure thing. What's more, this movie is the finale of the series, announcing the official end of this series that has lasted for more than a decade. It is reasonable and emotional to pay special attention to it.

Moreover, there are works by some well-known directors in this year's Christmas schedule. The postponement of "Speed ​​​​11" has made the already tight schedule even tighter.

According to what Thomas Lee knows, the first-day screening rate provided by the company for "Unforgiven" is 10%, which is quite good for an imported movie. However, the first-day screening rate of "Fast and Furious 11" originally exceeded 30% during the Thanksgiving period. Now that it is postponed to Christmas, I am afraid that the screening rate of "Unforgiven" will be compressed to the extreme.

Even though his boss, Lake, has seen the movie and thinks "Tides of Unholy" has great potential, theater executives also value the box office appeal of well-known sequels. On one hand, there is a guaranteed profit, and on the other hand, there is the unknown. Shareholders who value their money more than their lives will definitely prefer a more conservative strategy.

At the same time, there were rumors online that the delay of "Failed 11" was just to snipe "Tides of Destiny". Both films represent the level of film production in their respective countries, and they want to have a fierce battle during Christmas, a holiday for family reunions.

On the Internet, fans held different opinions and the debate continued. Lu Ban, who was at the center of public opinion, happened to attend the Yannan University Student Film Festival in November.