Chapter 178: Striking the Competition
The sun had just crested the eastern sky when the motorcade carrying the main cast and crew of Saving Private Ryan departed from the Hilton Grand Hotel in Washington D.C. They rolled down the broad avenues, passing the Lincoln Memorial and crossing the Aton Bridge over the Potomac River, heading straight for Arlington National Cemetery on Arlington Ridge.
Since today was Memorial Day, Arlington National Cemetery was hosting a special event organized by the Federal Government. Traffic was exceptionally heavy, and during one of the gridlocks, Tom Hanks switched over to Duke's car.
"We've been flying all over the place these past few days, so I haven't had a chance to congratulate you yet."
Tom Hanks smiled, his honest face radiating what appeared to be genuine sincerity. "Congratulations, Duke! Saving Private Ryan just set the best opening weekend box office record of the year!"
"Thank you," Duke replied with a faint smile. "You deserve a share of the credit for that, Tom."
Tom Hanks exchanged a few pleasantries, chatting casually while observing the young director's reaction. Duke remained utterly calm and unfazed. To him, the massive opening weekend of Saving Private Ryan seemed like the most ordinary thing in the world—a monumental achievement that barely warranted a glimmer of excitement or pride.
'He definitely has the right to be this calm!' Tom Hanks sighed inwardly.
When he saw the fresh box office numbers that morning, even he couldn't help but pump his fist. $20.54 million on Friday, $21.14 million on Saturday, and $17.56 million on Sunday meant a three-day opening weekend total of $59.24 million! It was the best opening performance since Independence Day last year!
Even across the entire history of cinema, $59.24 million ranked second for all-time opening weekends. And the record holder for first place was directed and produced by the very same young man sitting right next to him!