Chapter 352: Chapter 352: “Paranormal Activity 3” Battles “Sin City”!

“One thing is for sure, ‘Paranormal Activity 3’ isn’t as good as ‘Paranormal Activity 1’, but it’s still too scary! By the end of the movie, I found it so hard to even close my teeth, my jaw was injured! The purest horror and fear! During the climax, that chill spread from my spine to my whole body…”

This unique home camcorder faux-documentary horror film was shown in 3,120 North American Cinemas. Different audiences came and went, but the same screams kept ringing out, HOLY COW! This April Fool’s Day, countless daring new generation kids got exactly what they wished for—they were chilled to the bone and even frightened to tears!

“Ahhhh!!” Little Fox, just over 10 years old, was one of them. He hadn’t seen ‘Paranormal Activity 1’, and even though he was accompanied by his brother, he ended up losing control completely, jumping out of his seat and running blindly after falling to the floor: “NO—ahhh—”

“Waaaah!” Right in the middle of the cinema, little Fox burst into tears. He liked ‘The Big Bang Theory’! Ever since he saw the first episode of ‘Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?’, he loved that amazing Wang Yang. That guy was so funny, how could it be! Little Fox’s brother stood beside him, laughing joyously and hurried to take out his DV, smugly starting to film to upload to YOUTUBE for a nostalgic event. In ’98, he was one of the victims, almost wetting his pants from ‘Paranormal Activity 1’, and now if he didn’t take it out on his dear little brother, would he even be a brother?

Countless kids, scared into fits of anger and tears, cursed and yelled, and some equally distressed older youths laughed maliciously, “Kid, YOU-ARE-TOO-YOUNG!”

“This is the magic of Wang Yang!” If we go back to the summer of 1998, ‘Paranormal Activity 3’ would really be nothing special; after many years, that once famous and then abandoned prodigy, at the tearful begging of Lionsgate, once again personally produced a psychological horror film, it turns out, it was not a joke…

However, the scores from IMDB weren’t high, at just a decent 7.2 for commercial films and expected to drop progressively; after a batch of fresh reviews, Rotten Tomatoes critics gave a Freshness of only 55%, with top critics at a rotten 50%! After ‘The Devil Wears Prada’, Wang Yang’s Producer filmography once again harvested a green rotten rating for the second time in his career, also his first back-to-back losses, suggesting the office building rule seemed to be taking effect.

No matter how much the audience screamed, many film critics had their own unique insights. First-time director Kevin Grout was fine; lead actress Chloe Moretz was highly praised; Wang Yang became the target of criticism again, nearly relegated to the rank of M. Night Shyamalan.

Years ago, critic Roger Ebert, who highly praised ‘Paranormal Activity 1’, was quick to watch the film and express his disappointed sarcasm in ‘Chicago Sun-Times’: “It’s baffling that some people still haven’t had their fill of these films! The first one was very pretty and novel; now there’s only wear and tear.” Stephen Whitty of ‘The Newark Star-Ledger’ wrote, “If you haven’t seen ‘Paranormal Activity’, why would you watch this movie? If you have seen ‘Paranormal Activity’, why would you watch this movie?”

“Nothing good to be scared of, this movie is just the same old BS. You can see people sleeping in rooms or sitting around doing nothing, then doors and windows will make a very loud bang sooner or later, almost every three minutes, to wake up the sleeping audience. I totally guessed director Kevin Grout’s plan: he just wants to be more ‘Wang Yang’; maybe it was Wang Yang who directed him to do this. ‘Paranormal Activity 3’ is a ridiculous, superfluous product.” — Jeffrey Westhoff, ‘The Northwest Herald’…

Wang Yang had a terrible look back at his own 18-year-old self, and Kevin Grout became the scapegoat! ‘The New York Times’, ‘New York Post’, ‘Los Angeles Times’, ‘Orlando Sentinel’, ‘Salon’ magazine’s official website, and other media outlets all pointed their fingers directly at Wang Yang, having made another messy ordeal!

“Wang Yang’s April Fool’s joke should have been uploaded to his YOUTUBE instead of being released on the big screen,” famed blogger and film critic Alan Dale smashed the film with a rotten tomato. Indeed, a field day for the detractors of Yang! More than half of the critics and a segment of the audience unleashed a new round of barrage on Wang Yang, Jason-C gave it half a star: “Looking back now, it seems the Best Director Oscar has indeed ruined Wang Yang. He is becoming purely commercial, and ‘Paranormal Activity 3’ is the best proof.” Twyzted-K gave it one star: “How bored do you have to be to sit through this movie? WANG’s another disappointing release, I’ve lost all hope for ‘Firefly’.” …

According to the official statement from Lionsgate & Flame, scheduling ‘Paranormal Activity 3’ to be released on April Fool’s Day, April 1st, was to commemorate the prank-like viral marketing of ‘Paranormal Activity 1,’ and at the same time, encourage fans to shoot funny short films for a new century’s horror carnival!

Of course, this is based on the premise of popularity. Can ‘Paranormal Activity 3’ recreate its former glory? On the right side of the 55%/50% freshness rating is a high 85% audience approval. Excluding those who gave poor reviews due to “repetition and dullness,” the rest are praising and expressing satisfaction to varying degrees.

“Although it hasn’t completely broken the format of the previous films, ‘Paranormal Activity 3’ skillfully delivers a distinct kind of panic,” praised Frank Scheck from the Hollywood Reporter; Rotten Tomatoes user Jun-K gave it four stars: “Better than the second but can’t beat the first. It has richer stories and characters, a strange atmospheric feel; it may not win new fans, but followers of the series will love it.” Sebastian-N gave it five stars: “I really liked ‘Paranormal Activity 3,’ Chloe Moretz is my newest favorite character, just like that.”

“‘Paranormal Activity 3’ isn’t interested in art, it just wants to give you the utmost fear with the least safety through a camera, and it succeeded,” — TY Bur from The Boston Globe; “Magical Yang and his crew have remade ‘Paranormal Activity,’ but you don’t know how far they go to keep you on edge at all times! Some think it’s enough, but I think they can continue to push the envelope with this camera angle discovery,” — Peter Howell from the Toronto Star…

In contrast to the mixed post-Best Director era criticism of “Paranormal Activity 3”; the two new films released in the same period had different fates. “Hooray Beauty Salon” with 38%/50% freshness and 69% audience approval did not become a dark horse; however, “Sin City,” highly anticipated by many fans, received widespread acclaim from both critics and audiences, boasting the highest freshness rating of the week at 78%/76% and the second-highest audience approval at 75%, nearly universal praise without disappointing its supporters!

It possesses a superbly faithful black-and-white comic style, impressively stark scenes, shockingly thrilling dark content, low-cost but outstanding special effects, impeccable performances… In every way, it’s the kind of movie that you absolutely adore if you love it, it has everything, even more classic than ‘Forrest Gump,’ ‘The Shawshank Redemption,’ with some fans already clamoring that it will sweep next year’s 78th Oscars; a cult film that, if not liked, is considered nothing, a classic that will shake up the history of cult cinema.

“In the end, I have to say I nearly hate how much I love ‘Sin City,'” — Andrew Sarris from New York Observer; “It’s a visualized noir fantasy on paper, tough and extreme, yes, and brilliant,” — Roger Ebert from the Chicago Sun-Times.

“‘Sin City’ is the first great film from Hollywood this year that is worthy of praise and surprisingly delightful,” — TY Bur from The Boston Globe; “Robert Rodriguez is a wild and genius man,” — Richard Roeper from ‘Ebert & Roepe’; “‘Sin City’ is a hard, cold, ruthless thrashing, a bold and unparalleled vision, something Hollywood seems to have given up,” — Stephen Whitty from Newark Star-Ledger; “‘Sin City’ has a lot to tell, but most importantly, it’s fun! It might not be for everyone, but anyway, everyone should watch it at least once,” — Lou Lumenick from The New York Times…

For fans following the ‘Paranormal Activity 3’ VS ‘Sin City’ showdown, the scene is like, Magical Yang wielding rusty scrap metal against the steel sword of the latter. There is no doubt ‘Paranormal Activity 3’ falls short of ‘Sin City’s’ artistic flair. The comic is so formidable in itself, and faithfully adapted content couldn’t possibly be dreadful. From the start, it was all about who would win the box office, the champion of the opening weekend, the first week’s leader, and now… Magical Yang’s attempted snipe turned into mockery?

Because the box office report for April Fool’s Day came out. ‘Sin City,’ in 3,230 theaters, brought in $11.82 million in ticket sales, an average of $3,659 per cinema; while ‘Paranormal Activity 3,’ in 3,120 theaters, took in $10.52 million, averaging $3,371 per cinema.

Although ‘Paranormal Activity 3’ easily recouped its $5 million production budget and can be called a commercial miracle with a higher audience approval, this box office battle… in the first round, ‘Paranormal Activity 3’ lost, both in total and in average revenue.

“`

In a non-blockbuster clash like this during the April schedule, losing the first day often means losing the first week, and that’s the whole ballgame.

“Impossible!” “Magical Yang is finished!” The two fan factions embroiled in a flame war had a new battleground, and this time the supporters of “Sin City” naturally went on the offensive, while the “Paranormal Activity 3” fans were beaten back. Donegal said, “This result is normal, it’s just that some people overestimated Wang Yang. Even ‘Firefly,’ which he directed himself, had a high chance of being a flop, let alone ‘Paranormal Activity 3,’ which is purely about milking the audience for money.” Widhi predicted, “Jessica Alba made a wrong choice; she missed out on a classic movie that will be remembered in film history for another children’s drama.” Manish said, “Some people can finally see the truth, and that is Wang Yang has played out a foolish comedy.”…

“Hahaha! Did they really think ‘Sin City’ is ‘Idle Hands’? Tell those saying Wang Yang could take care of anyone to shut up; he doesn’t have that ability. ‘Paranormal Activity 3’ can hardly handle even ‘Idle Hands’!” PierreG’s words were full of fire, and he gained the support of many in the same camp: “Neither ‘High School Musical’ nor ‘Firefly’ can compete with ‘Sin City.'” “If that 200 million dollars had been given to ‘Sin City,’ I can’t imagine how great the movie would have been.”…

Is it over just like that? Could “Paranormal Activity 3” be a rotten movie that has neither critical acclaim nor “audience attendance”? And will the second sci-fi movie “Firefly” also become worthless?

The fans of Magical Yang were undergoing ridicule and mockery; the top executives of Lionsgate, who had been looking forward to “Paranormal Activity 3” kicking off another “Paranormal frenzy,” couldn’t help feeling bewildered. Was Magical Yang’s power only this much? What a disappointment! Think about how Wang Yang casually said, “Box office champion? We hope it’s us; nobody dislikes being the champion.” What a joke this April Fools’ Day turned out to be! The first-round defeat of “Paranormal Activity 3” left them somewhat breathless.

Luis-C replied to Donegal, “It seems like ‘Sin City’ is a movie that’s free to watch? Many, many people are happy to see the emergence of ‘Paranormal Activity 3,’ and we really enjoyed the fun of fear, having a pleasant evening. Why are some people so dissatisfied?” Niklas-S said, “Well, maybe not that many people like it, but I have to say, ‘Paranormal Activity 3’ is really scary, at least for me.” Keith-C said, “Isn’t it too early to draw conclusions now? Don’t forget ‘Paranormal Activity’ only had 25 theaters in its first week; comebacks have always been Magical Yang’s specialty.”…

“Impossible, Magical Yang can’t lose!” Evelyn was still full of confidence in the box office battle, remembering how stupidly frightened she was last night! She almost had to be taken to the hospital by ambulance again. Was it only her who found it terrifying? Obviously not, judging from the reactions in the theater. With its scary and thrilling content, as well as the popularity of the previous films and Magical Yang, how could “Paranormal Activity 3” lose? Maybe the first-day lag was just because… “Paranormal Activity 2” was too boring, and it’s been too long since “Paranormal Activity 1.” But there are still two days left in the weekend!

“Going to see ‘Paranormal Activity 3’ at the midnight show tonight, almost forgot the story of the first part… Just kidding, how could I forget!” A young man around 25 or 26 in Los Angeles laughed and chatted on his cell phone with his girlfriend; “Heard ‘Paranormal Activity 3’ is scary, I think it’s ultimately a Magical Yang production, so it shouldn’t be one of those trash cash grab movies, let’s check it out?” A girl in her twenties in Chicago discussed with her bestie; “Let’s see it tonight, I do quite miss this kind of mockumentary horror.” In a beautiful college environment in Boston, a young couple walked past, laughing and talking on the tree-lined path.

“You like Magical Yang too? Wow, great taste! Haha, of course, I’ve seen ‘Paranormal Activity,’ but not in the theater, I wonder what the big screen experience is like. In ’98 I was too young; it’s not that I was scared, I was only 9 years old! I barely knew about it, but regardless, I can’t miss ‘Paranormal Activity 3’!” In Vancouver, a young high school boy tried to get the girl he fancied to go out with him; “Didn’t the newspapers say the movie is terrible?” “You listen to those film critics? Then you’ll miss out on a lot of great movies.”…

As dusk fell on the Northern Hemisphere, the street lamps on both sides cast their dim yellow light, and a Hummer drove past at a steady pace.

“No, I’m off to the cinema to see ‘Sin City.'” Turning down “Robert Downey Jr.’s” offer for a “date,” and in response to his question, Wang Yang, driving, laughed as he said, “You saw the box office report? What, I’m not worried. Give me one reason? Please! Not to mention I didn’t really have the intention to PK in the first place, I believe ‘Paranormal Activity 3’ will get the weekly championship. There are plenty of business analysis reasons… Anyway, that’s that, yes, I’m adding to the enemy’s box office.”

“`

Turning the steering wheel, he laughed and said, “I really like the comics for ‘Sin City’, anything that’s about a surreal city, some sort of MAN, I love it! And I love Nancy; I want to see how Scarlett Johansson does, oh and Alexis Bledel too.” Joshua, sitting in the passenger seat, clasped his chest and, with a blissful expression, exclaimed, “She was fantastic! This was truly a breakthrough performance for Alie!! Becky, Becky, Becky!”

This was Joshua’s second consecutive night watching ‘Sin City.’ One reason was his former dream girl, Scarlett Johansson, and the other was his beloved girlfriend. This movie made him feel very happy!

“OK, bye!” Wang Yang ended the call, glanced at the excited Joshua, and continued to pay attention to the road ahead. He smiled and said, “Guys’ night! How about it? After the movie, shall we hit the bar and have some fun?” Joshua bumped fists with him and nodded, “Drinking only, no picking up chicks!” He suddenly pulled a strange face, “Dude, you must be really frustrated lately, right? I’ve heard you can’t have sex during the first three months of pregnancy.” Wang Yang shrugged, stepped on the gas to speed up, and replied, “Why would that be? You don’t think sex is just about missionary? My God! I’m glad she isn’t like that, she’s the sort of woman who always…brings surprises.”

Joshua, furious, pressed the horn, and the car blared its shrill “beep beep,” his face a picture of disbelief, “HEY, that’s my sister! My God!”

“Seems like you were the one who asked me, right?” Wang Yang glanced at him and shook his head in annoyance, “Besides, what are you freaking out about? I’m not planning to tell you the details.” Joshua looked in the rearview mirror, pulling faces at himself, feeling quite pleased, “Plus, I’m a very, very atmospheric guy, extremely romantic and passionate, not some conservative Catholic dude, I’m a man who should be living in ‘Sin City.'” Wang Yang asked, “Then why did you decide to remove the Jesus tattoo?” Joshua fell silent for a moment before answering in a deep voice, “Because this is the City of Angels.”…

That night, the two contributed to two movie tickets for ‘Sin City.’ While queuing to buy tickets, they noticed that ‘Sin City’ was indeed doing well at the box office. However, ‘Paranormal Activity 3’ was not far behind, with at least five or six out of every ten young people walking into the cinema for it. Joshua also understood why Wang Yang was not worried. Did some people think ‘Paranormal Activity 3′ was just an April Fools’ Day joke? Then they must also believe its box office results on the second and third day were April Fools’ Day jokes.

The box office results for Saturday, April 2, came in, and ‘Sin City’ continued to collect $10.2 million, averaging $3,160 per cinema, bringing the two-day total to $22.028 million; ‘Paranormal Activity 3’ displayed a surprising upward trend, with $17.2 million in a single day, averaging $5,512 per cinema, pushing the total to $27.72 million! This gave it enough power to topple ‘Sin City’ and lead the North American weekly box office charts for April 1-7.

“North American Saturday box office, ‘Paranormal Activity 3’ fiercely dominates with a stunning collection of tickets” — Yahoo Entertainment

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