Chapter 263: Chapter 263: The Dark Horse
[Chapter 263: The Dark Horse]
Although the reviews for Home Alone 2 were polarized, it did nothing to stop this sequel from raking in a phenomenal box office haul.
During its opening weekend, Home Alone 2 grossed $31 million from over 2,200 theaters in North America. By the end of its first week in theaters, the total box office climbed to over $46 million, easily surpassing the original's opening week earnings of over $27 million. Other Hollywood studios were on edge, fearing that Home Alone 2 might shatter the box office records set by its predecessor.
In second place that week was Warner Bros.' Lethal Weapon 2, which, despite being shown in more than 1,900 theaters, only managed to earn a little over $25 million -- barely half of what Home Alone 2 brought in. Paramount's black comedy Harlem Nights came in third, with $22 million in box office revenue.
While Home Alone 2 pulled in $46 million, what really caught attention during the Thanksgiving weekend was the film that had almost slipped under the radar: Steel Magnolias.
To say it had been overlooked might be a bit of an exaggeration, as this was Julia's first film after the massive success of Pretty Woman, which certainly garnered a fair amount of attention. However, compared to the intense promotion of major films like Home Alone 2, Lethal Weapon 2, and Back to the Future Part II, the campaign for this Southern drama about the ordinary lives of several women fell significantly short.
Despite Steel Magnolias only earning $17 million in its opening week and landing in fourth place, it quickly emerged as the biggest dark horse of the Thanksgiving box office. Averaging an impressive $17,000 per screen -- taking into account that it opened on about 1,000 screens -- these numbers were astonishing. The attendance was startlingly high. Only Home Alone 2 had a higher average at $20,000 per screen. In comparison, Lethal Weapon 2 made around $13,000 per screen, while Harlem Nights just barely crossed the $10,000 threshold -- demonstrating the standard for a hit movie.
As more newly released films flooded the market, the box office for The Others dropped by 41% that week, earning $14.75 million, which was just enough to squeeze it into the top five.
Universal's Back to the Future Part II only earned a little over $13 million. However, this was not due to the film facing a box office failure, but rather because Universal made the strange decision to release it on an awkward date of November 22, just a day before Thanksgiving, instead of on November 17 or November 24.
...
Speaking of Thanksgiving, Eric felt a headache coming on. While he received encouraging box office figures daily, his Beverly Hills villa was in complete chaos. As one of the most important holidays in America -- second only to Christmas -- Thanksgiving was traditionally a time for family reunions.
Drew certainly wouldn't be returning to Culver for the holiday with her mother. As for Aniston, her parents had both remarried after their divorce, resulting in a rather chaotic blended family with half-siblings complicating the mix. Now an adult, she found it awkward to celebrate Thanksgiving with either side of her family. After unintentionally venting her frustrations to Eric, he invited her over for the holiday, thinking she'd decline. To his surprise, she accepted.
Sitting at his desk, Eric felt a sense of his own suffering. If the two girls had contrasting temperaments, it might have created some balance. However, both of them were fiery personalities, which made for an explosive combination. The only bright side was that they hadn't gotten into a fight yet.
After staring at the computer screen for half an hour without typing a single word, Eric shut down his computer and left the office, hearing voices from downstairs.
"Hey, fat girl, how many times have I told you? That pillow is mine! You're not allowed to touch it!"
"You little brat, you dare call me fat one more time? I'll touch it, I'll touch it!"
"..."
After a brief pause, Aniston's horrified and disgusted voice immediately rang out, "Ew, that's so gross! You actually touched the pillow with your spit!"
"If you're so tough, then go on using it!"
"Get away from me! Ugh, don't change the channel, give me back the remote! I'm learning how to make pumpkin pie!"
"Who would dare eat your cooking? That salmon omelet you made yesterday was inedible."
"You ate a ton, so don't pretend you didn't enjoy it."
"I had a stomachache in the middle of the night!"
"You're lying. Neither Eric nor I had any problems!"
Eric hesitated for a moment, sighed, and turned back to his office. He picked up the phone and started dialing random numbers, one after the other.
...
Virginia had gone home to spend the holiday with her parents, and Nicole was in Chicago promoting Sleepless in Seattle. Even Julia wasn't in Los Angeles. Left with nothing to do, Eric dialed the number for Jeffrey's house.
"Hello? This is the Hansen residence." Upon answering, Eric was taken aback when it wasn't Jeffrey's voice on the line; it was a young man's. He quickly realized it had to be Jeffrey's son, Chris Hansen.
"This is Eric Williams. Who am I speaking with?" Although he felt he already knew, Eric asked anyway.
There was a brief pause on the other end before the young man replied, "I'm Chris Hansen, Mr. Williams. Are you looking for my dad? I'll go get him."
Since Eric didn't know Chris, he didn't say much. After a moment, Jeffrey's voice broke through the line. "Eric, it's almost Thanksgiving. What's going on? Just so you know, Chris is finally home for a visit, and he brought his girlfriend, so I'm not dealing with anything except family today. If there's work-related stuff, talk to Robert."
Eric paused for a moment, then laughed, "Nothing much, really. I was just feeling a bit bored at home, so I randomly dialed your number to chat."
Jeffrey raised an eyebrow and asked, "Isn't Drew supposed to be at your place? With that quirky little girl around, how can you be bored?"
"Well, you see, Jenny is over at my house too. So, that makes it a bit different."
Jeffrey knew exactly what Eric meant. He had seen the two girls clawing at each other while they were in the hospital together. After a brief moment of silence, Jeffrey burst out laughing. "Hahaha, Eric! How on earth did you manage to bring those two together again?"
*****
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