**Tuesday, May 14, 2002**
On one side, Anson, who had just stirred up a movie-watching frenzy across North Arica with "Spider-Man," was at ho ssing around with music with a group of friends, seemingly lost in another world.
On the other side, "Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones" made its dazzling debut. Without a doubt, this was the biggest event of 2002 in the North Arican film market. No one had forgotten the grand spectacle three years earlier when "Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom nace" was released.
Back then, the film also premiered during the third week of May, the weekend before morial Day. It raked in $64 million over its opening weekend and eventually grossed $430 million in North Arica and $924 million worldwide. This impressive performance earned the movie the second spot on the all-ti box office charts in both North Arica and globally, trailing only behind "Titanic."
Sixteen years after the original "Star Wars" series concluded, the franchise proved it still commanded the top spot in North Arican pop culture.
Now, with the release of the second installnt of the prequel trilogy, the excitent was palpable from the trailers alone. Fans were eager to see Anakin Skywalker's transformation into the fearso Darth Vader. The entire North Arican market was whipped into a frenzy, eager for the film's release. No one wanted to miss out on this event.
And indeed, the hype was justified. The franchise lived up to its reputation as a major draw.
From television to radio to newspapers and magazines, the promotion was everywhere. Even the history-making "Spider-Man" had to step aside to make way for "Star Wars: Episode II."
The film's premiere was a star-studded event, with half of Hollywood turning out. Just when people were marveling at the presence of both Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise at the "Spider-Man" premiere, the spectacle of the "Star Wars: Episode II" premiere, rivaling that of the Golden Globe Awards, left them speechless, jaws dropped in awe.
The overwhelming montum of the film swept across the entire North Arican continent like a hurricane.
Almost imdiately, news headlines couldn't contain their excitent—
Stories like "Star Wars: Episode II" to Face Off Against "Spider-Man," "A Titanic Clash Hits North Arica," and "A Cosmic Battle Between Mars and Earth Ignites North Arican Box Office Fever" flooded the dia.
All of this excitent was sparked by the premiere alone, which sent the dia into a frenzy.
Amid all the buzz, the critical consensus for "Star Wars: Episode II" was quickly released:
**A score of 54.**
Audience: ...
Wait, was there a mistake?
Nope, there wasn't.
Out of 39 professional dia outlets, the film scored a 54.
A bucket of cold water was thrown over the hype.
First of all, 39 dia outlets was significantly less than the 50 that reviewed "Spider-Man." How could that be?
Wasn't the premiere supposed to be grand enough to crush "Spider-Man"? Didn't 20th Century Fox pour all its resources into this? Weren't both movies supposed to save the industry together, with equal coverage from all the dia?
What the hell?
Secondly, 54 points?
... Damn, 54 points!
Of course, it might not be all that bad.
Out of the 39 outlets, 16 gave positive reviews, with the **Chicago Tribune** giving it a perfect score of 100—wait, was that Roger Ebert?
No, Roger Ebert was with the **Chicago Sun-Tis**, my mistake.
But the point is, the average score from those 16 positive reviews wasn't enough to offset the impact of the 18 mixed reviews and 5 negative ones, which severely dragged down the overall dia score.
Among the criticisms, Hayden Christensen was the primary target.
Even before the film's release, Anakin Skywalker had already attracted a lot of attention. Every move by the production team sparked widespread discussion. But the higher the expectations, the greater the disappointnt, and all the criticism and bla fell on Hayden.
His stiff, lifeless, expressionless performance beca the main target of both audiences and critics.
Of course, the film's problems went beyond that. The lengthy runti, lack of excitent, ineffective storytelling, and bland direction all exposed the thin characters and shallow plot. The over-two-hour runti certainly didn't help. The film's issues went far beyond Hayden's performance—
But blaming the lead actor is always the easiest and most effective approach.
Director George Lucas also ca under heavy fire, with the criticism of both him and Hayden sharply contrasting with the buzz of the premiere.
Amid all the troubles and disaster, the only silver lining was that the "Star Wars" franchise had the most loyal, die-hard, and passionate fans in North Arica. These fans would endlessly forgive the film's flaws. Even if it was garbage, they could sculpt a rose out of it. They would never give up on George Lucas.
For reference, three years ago, "Star Wars: Episode I" received an even worse dia score of 51, yet that didn't stop it from becoming a box office hit.
And now?
Those crazy fans were still in high spirits: Look, the second film scored three points higher than the first! A whole three points—this was a significant improvent.
Maybe 20th Century Fox could still hold out hope that the combined effects of "Spider-Man" and "Star Wars" would create box office magic—
**$100 million on opening weekend?**
Why not!
Dreams are worth having, just in case they co true.
**Thursday, May 13**
"Star Wars: Episode II" took an unconventional route, choosing not to release on Friday, but instead launching a day early on Thursday. If it managed to rake in part of its box office early on Thursday and still gross $100 million over the weekend, it would undoubtedly make history from another angle—
Breaking "Spider-Man's" $130 million weekend record head-on might be tough, so 20th Century Fox sought another way to make its mark.
Bright and early, the line of fans already stretched out the door of the theater. The die-hard fans were well aware that "Spider-Man" was making history, so how could they lose?
Early screenings were sold out.
Everything was going just as the dia predicted—the clash between "Spider-Man" and "Star Wars: Episode II" was indeed drawing audiences back to theaters.
Then, the fervent fans, queuing up to buy tickets and determined to defeat "Spider-Man," noticed so commotion at the AMC Century City theater—
Wait a second, was that... **Anson Wood?**
No way, why was Anson here on the opening day of "Star Wars: Episode II"? Was he here to convince people to buy more tickets to see "Spider-Man"?
Wasn't he worried about getting mobbed?
Jesse Herold, a Fox TV reporter, had been on-site at the AMC Century City two weeks ago to report on the opening of this sumr's movie season. Now, he was back to push the sumr box office hype to new heights.
Along with Jesse was the ever-loyal Alexander Porter.
Although many teams had volunteered to cover the event, Jesse turned them all down. After all, if you've gone through hardships together, you should enjoy the success together too.
Amid the bustling crowd, Jesse quickly caught sight of the commotion. After wrapping up an interview, he keenly looked in the direction of the disturbance.
What he saw nearly made his eyes pop out—
What on earth?
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