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HWI 541
🕑 Added 2025-02-08 16:27:25 +0000 UTCHollywood What If Chapter 541
By Monday morning, the entertainment industry was in a frenzy.
Every news network, news publisher and even internet bloggers were talking about The Dark Knight.
Box office analysts were predicting that the film was on track to make a lot of money. It's first weekend alone screamed success. They won't be surprised if the movie surpasses $700 million.
The fans couldn’t stop talking about Heath Ledger’s legendary performance as the Joker. It was amazing. There was something about his performance that captivated them.
“The best superhero movie of all time! Spiderman who? X-Men? Iron-Man? Nah, these superheroes are nothing!"
“Heath Ledger deserves an Oscar. His performance is outstanding! I don't care if The Dark Knight is a superhero movie. The Academy Awards should let go of their prejudice and let Heath win the Best Supporting Actor Aware!"
“That ending broke me... Batman sacrificed his identity as the protector of Gotham so that the city wouldn't crumble from within."
Headlines flooded the internet. Even film critics rated the movie 10/10... Some of them were paid to rate it high but some of them actually believed that The Dark Knight deserved a perfect rating.
Facebook and online forums were dominated by discussions about the film. They compared Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, and The Dark Knight, and all of them agreed that The Dark Knight was better than any of the two Marvel movies in terms of plot and entertainment.
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Monday, July 21.
Warner Brothers headquarters, Burbank, California.
Executives at Warner Brothers were so happy. They knew the film would be successful since Kazir Grey directed it, but this?
This was beyond expectations!
Marketing teams worked hard to adjust their strategy. They didn’t need to promote the movie too much. Word of mouth was already so strong. The public was doing the job for them. They just have to maintain the level of promotion.
The tragic circumstances surrounding Heath Ledger had already made The Dark Knight a huge event, not just a blockbuster.
The executives of Warner Brothers popped champagne. They knew that the movie had just started screening and they couldn't determine its final box office. However, they were confident that it would reach at least $700 million. Anyone could see that.
But behind the celebration, there were complicated emotions.
Kazir Grey, Christian Bale, and the rest of the cast had mixed feelings. They were proud of the film, but Ledger’s condition didn't become better. The actor was still unconscious for 8 days.
“It doesn’t feel right,” Christian Bale admitted in a quiet moment with Michael Caine and Gary Oldman. They were promoting the movie on a local TV network.
“Yeah,” Gary Oldman nodded solemnly.
"Let's hope Heath will wake up."
Across the country, fans kept returning to theaters.
Some watched The Dark Knight twice. Some three times. Some even watched it the whole day... They spent money on buying tickets. It didn't matter if it was 3D, traditional, or IMAX, they were happily consuming the movie.
People were dissecting every scene. They paid close attention to Ledger’s every mannerism, his voice, his movements. They were like experts in psychology who were studying a specimen.
“I can’t believe this was the same guy from Brokeback Mountain,” one fan said to his friend as they left the theater.
“Heath Ledger is the Joker,” another fan declared and the people around him nodded.
Well, some said that Joaquin Phoenix was also an amazing Joker but Joker 2: The Ugly Musical destroyed that idea. So yeah, Joaquin Phoenix is nothing compared to Heath Ledger.
"This isn’t acting, this is something else. Something legendary.”
The numbers kept climbing as days went by.
By the end of Monday, the updated box office numbers were in.
$182 million in just four days.
The industry was shocked.
Monday was a workday and a schoolday people rarely visit theaters to watch movies around Monday to Thursday. They have jobs, schools, and responsibilities so box office ratings on Monday usually take a nosedive.
However, this Monday was different. Despite being Monday, The Dark Knight grossed $24 million, hence it reached the $182 million mark in four days.
People started asking, could The Dark Knight become the second superhero movie to reach a billion dollars? And from the same director?
Spider-Man grossed $1 billion at the box office. The movie was directed by Kazir Grey
And now, The Dark Knight, which was also directed by Kazir Grey, could possibly reach $1 billion.
Kazir Grey sat in his office, staring at his computer. He was stressed lately. He had already received multiple messages from Warner Brothers congratulating him on the film’s success.
He knew they wanted him to direct another Batman movie. They wanted to stay true to the contract.
But right now, all Kazir could think about was Heath. He sighed.
'Am I gay by thinking of another man?'
Well, it depends.
Anyway, Kazir was depressed because he did his best to change Heath Ledger's fate but the actor still suffered from drug overdose. The only difference was that Heath didn't die but instead in a comatose.
If he died, then everything that Kazir did would be nothing. It showed that his interference with the timeline was not successful.
'Perhaps I can't prevent people's death... But if that's true, then my Dad should have died four years ago.'
He scrolled through news articles. The media was obsessed with Heath Ledger’s performance. While Kazir was proud, he couldn’t shake the feeling that Warner Brothers was still using this situation to their advantage.
He sighed. Hollywood will always be Hollywood. They would use everything to make money. It didn't matter if Heath lived or died, they just needed him to make money for their benefits.
