[Echoes of You] shattered all expectations, earning a staggering 21 million on its opening day, including Thursday night's paid previews. This colle grew slightly to 23 million on Saturday before settling at 19 million on Sunday, bringing the weekend total to an impressive 63 million.

  That three-day performance was suffit to recover the film's produ costs, excluding marketing and distribution expenses. Warner Bros. had spent 50 million on global promotion, pushing the bined produ and marketing budget to 75 million. The budget had signifitly exceeded the initially promised 30 millioo a unique marketing strategy suggested by Troy Armitage—a strategy implemented in every try where the film was released.

  (Break)

  Bobby was tired of his job. After the exhausting day he'd had, all he wanted was to go home and rex. People could be such assholes sometimes, especially rich ts who think they own you just because they are paying you top dolr. He shook off the errant thought and tinued walking out of the mall—the same one where his t's business was located.

  "Hey, Bobby!" A female voice called out from across the courtyard, stopping him in his tracks. He turned back, surprised to see someone he hadn't expected to run into again.

  "Amy?" he asked, geonishment c his tone. Seeing his ex-girlfriend from their undergrad days made him smile. He crossed the courtyard quickly, reag her and giving her a light hug. She looked just as he remembered, though there was one major differenot that he cared—they'd parted on amicable terms, so there was no bad blood between them.

  "What are you doing here?" Bobby asked, excitement evident as he pulled back from the hug.

  "Well, I'm shopping for this little guy here," she said, gesturing to her very obvious baby bump.

  "Wow," Bobby said, his disbelief evident. "gratutions!"

  "Thanks!" Amy replied with a smile.

  "I hought I'd see you settle down."

  Amy shrugged. "I didher, but Patrick is such a g man."

  For a moment, her spoke. Then Amy broke the silence. "It's funny that her of us became actors. Heck, our only cim to fame was a short film no one even remembers now."

  Bobby chuckled at the mention of the short film, [Sex Education], which was eventually remade into a feature-length TV movie. "Those were the days. I really thought we'd rule Hollywood together. After all, Troy's doing just that now. Instead, you became an atant, and I became a wyer."

  "Aah, Troy," Amy said with a fond shake of her head. "He was such a cute little boy back then, but he's huge now. I doubt he even remembers us."

  Before they could tinue, loud music suddenly bred through the mall.

  "Isn't that the musi the song 'We Found Love' on Troy's album?" Amy asked rhetorically as the addictive openis echoed through the space. In the mall's atrium, a girl began dang with perfectly chraphed moves. Then, a man joined her, and they daogether. An older man and woman followed, joining the duo with equally synized steps. As the moments passed, more and more people joihe impromptu dance group, all moving fwlessly to the music.

  "Holy shit!" Bobby excimed in realization. "It's a fsh mob! I've always wao see ohis is so cool!"

  Amy shook her head at his childish glee but refrained from enting as they tinued watg the live group dahe performers had created a medley of songs from the movie [Echoes of You]. 'We Found Love' transitioned seamlessly into 'Sugar,' which flowed into 'Blinding Lights' and 'What Makes You Beautiful,' before culminating in the most youth-oriented song of the album: 'Bad Guy.' The daself was a little generic but undeniably eaining, keeping the mall-goers thhly captivated.

  When 'Bad Guy' ehe group struck a dramatic, ematic pose, prompting loud appuse to echh the atrium. Before the crowd could disperse, two dancers from the front brought forth a rge bahat read: "Liked our dance? Go watch [Echoes of You] iers. It's eveer."

  Bobby chuckled, turning to Amy. "That is a genius marketing idea."

  "It is," Amy agreed. "I haven't seen the movie, but now I'm thinking maybe I should go with Patrick. Those songs were amazing."

  "I saw it," Bobby fessed. "The plot's a bit clichéd, but the songs are incredible. Worth every penny. I might even go again for a sed viewing."

  (Break)

  This wasn't an isoted i. In every major city worldwide where the film was showing in multiple theaters, random fsh mobs appeared in malls, train stations, airports, and any open spaces that permitted them. The rgest fsh mob was orchestrated in New York's Times Square.

  Fsh mobs were a retively ret phenomenon, the first being anized in New York in 2003, so until now, no one had thought to use them as a promotional tool for a musical film. To top it off, some spectators recorded the performances on their camcorders and uploaded them to YouTube, which had quickly bee the world's rgest video streaming ptform sis unch.

  Thanks to Troy's ownership of the ptform, those videos were pushed to the top of YouTube's algorithm. This step signifitly boosted the film's visibility. Within the first week of release, nearly everyone seemed to know about the little film called [Echoes of You] which was receiving rave reviews about its ag, musid dire. The word-of-mouth was also super strong. People loved the movie, not just teenagers, but everyone who walked in found something or the other enjoy. Something they told their friends and family about. bined with the buzz from its Golden Globe nominations, the movie's sed-week colles saw only a minimal drop of 5%—a rarity for most films, especially musicals.

  In its sed week, the film earned 59.5 million, followed by 55 million ihird week, before dipping to 23 million in the fourth week. Warner Bros. tributed to this sistency by releasing a sed version of the movie—a sing-along version—several weeks after the inal release. This versioured the song lyrics dispyed on-s as captioig audiences for repeat viewings.

  By the end of its theatrical run, [Echoes of You] had amassed a staggering 303 million in North America alone. In its home try, the UK, the film earned an impressive 85 million, while Japan became the sed-rgest market with 93 million. Other major markets included Russia, South Korea, Mexico, Germany, Fraaly, Spain, Brazil, and Australia, with each market bringing in upwards of 10 million.

  All in all, outside of North America, [Echoes of You] grossed 429 million, bringing its worldwide total to a staggering 732 million—29 times its inal budget of 25 million. Among movies released in 2005, it rahird in worldwide colles, behind [Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith] and [The icles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe], making it the highest-grossing live-ausical ever and the sed-highest-grossing musical overall, following [The Lion King].

  In terms of profitability, after ating for the theaters' cut, films typically receive around 50% of box office revenue from the U.S. and approximately 40% from iional markets. This left the producers with 323 million in gross profits. From this amount, Warner Bros. took a 10% cut for distribution, amounting to 73 million. After dedug 75 million for produ and marketing expehe profit stood at 175 million.

  Stephen Daldry, the director, received 2% of the profits as part of his deal, earning 3.5 million. Evan, the writer, received 5%, amounting to 8.75 million. This left Troy with araordinary 162.7 million for himself, making him the highest-paid actor for a single movie by a siderable margin. And this figure didn't even at for future revenues from TV broadcast rights and home video sales.

  (Break)

  I stepped out of the limousine fidently, a heavily embroidered off-white suit paired with dress shoes from my sub-brand colboration with Crocs. A reporter stood eagerly in the middle of the red carpet, waiting to interview me. I was about to walk over to her when I noticed a group of fans to the side, shouting my name as if their lives depended on it.

  Smiling, I turoward them. The ensified dramatically as I approached, almost as if someone in the crowd was having a heart attack. All eyes turo the group of girls who were practically screaming as I got closer. One girl, somehow jumped over the barrier and stood in front of me.

  "Oh my God! I 't believe you're here!"she excimed excitedly. She was on the shorter side, practically boung with excitement.

  "I am," I replied with a grin before stepping forward to give her a quick hug. But then, something embarrassing happehe girl went limp in my arms.

  Armed, I gently separated from her, cheg to see if she was okay. Her eyes were half-open as she mumbled, "What? It's obvious I'd faint. You're, like, the hottest guy I've ever touched."

  I chuckled, helpiand upright. "You're a little psycho, you know that?"

  She shrugged nontly. "Everything's fair in love and war. And you're the love of my life."

  Before she could tto me again, the security team at the Globes stepped ily preventing her from getting clain.

  Shaking my head in amusement, I moved on to greet the rest of the fans. There were around 30 to 40 people—about 70% girls. The few minutes passed in a blur of handshakes and autographs on posters, CDs, and even vinyl records. It was my first time signing records for obvious reasons, and it felt surreal.

  "I love you, Troy!" "Marry me!" "You and Rihanna look so hot together!" "Loved your movie!"

  ents like these were typical from fans, and tonight was no exception.

  After a few minutes, I had ied with enough fans to walk away without feeling guilty. Turning back toward the reporter I had spotted earlier, I noticed she had moved on to interview other stars. At the moment, she eaking with her thaunning Scarlett Johansson.

  Not in the mood for yet another interview after weeks of relentless press, I decided to bypass the red carpet media frenzy. I simply walked behind Scarlett, waved politely at the reporters calling my name, and made my way ihe venue.

  Onside the hotel, I spotted my family, who had already arrived. Since Dad, Evan, and I were all nominated, Mum had decided to join us for the ceremony.

  "That was so harrowing," Evan said the moment he saw me. "I don't know how you do this red carpet thing all the time. I felt like every pair of eyes in the world was on me."

  He looked sharp in a bck designer suit. We had both goo the same high-end tailor in London to have our suits ade for the occasion. This time, I had chosen to wearing a brand and opted instead for one of the best bespoke tailors in London, whose craftsmanship truly spoke for itself.

  "You get used to it," I said with a shrug. "There's no way around it. Or, you could pull a Woody Allen and just not show up at all."

  While I joked about it, the reality was that filmmakers today couldn't afford to be as reclusive as Woody Allen or, worse, Terrence Malick. Directors were now a signifit part of a film's brand and heavily involved in promotions. Stephen Daldry and Stephen Chbosky, for instance, had both participated in numerous promotios for their respective films during their releases and throughout award season.

  "Don't worry too much about it," Dad said reassuringly. "Like Troy said, you'll get used to it over time. Now, why don't we all head in?"

  "You go ahead," I replied. "I o use the restroom."

  "Alright," Dad said as the three of them headed into the ballroom.

  I made my way to the restroom, grateful for a moment of solitude.

  Being a superstar had its challenges. For instance, I'd pletely fotten to take care of myself before leaving home. Traffic to the venue had been horrendous tonight due to the Globes, and it took nearly an hour to get here. Most big stars book a hotel room nearby to avoid such deys, but Mum had insisted we'd be fiing ready at home. It was only luck that we had still made it on time.

  The bathroom was a bit crowded, as many attendees opted to take care of business before the ceremony to avoid interruptions ter. It was better than the Oscars in ard—there were fillers here at the Golden Globes, and even if you left your seat for a moment, you could return anytime without waiting for an ad break.

  I reized a few familiar faces: Paul Giamatti, Jeff Daniels, and Hugh Laurie. There were others I didn't know, but thankfully, no oreated me like a big deal. These guys were used to being around celebrities, which I appreciated.

  I headed to the only free urinal and the man to my left. "Hey, Captain Sparrow."

  "Hi, Harry," Johnny Depp replied casually, as if greeting me in a restroom was the most normal thing in the world.

  We finished our respective business and moved to the sinks to wash our hands.

  "I loved your film, by the way," Johnny said offhandedly as we thered up. "The Perks one. If you get nominated for an Oscar, I'll definitely vote for you."

  I chuckled. "Thank you. Though, shouldn't you save your vote for yourself?"

  He fshed his signature charming smile. "No ce I'm getting nomihis year. Holy, I didn't even deserve this nomination. The fug Globes hand them out like dy once you're a big enough star with the right studio bag you."

  It was an iing take—and irely wrong. From what I'd learned about the Golden Globes, they were far menerous with nominating popur films than the Oscars. No way would my three films rack up the same reition at the Academy Awards.

  As we left the restroom, I ran into a familiar face from [Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets].

  "Troy!" Keh Branagh greeted me warmly, pullio a hug.

  "Ken!" I grinned. "It's so good to see you!"

  The st time I'd seen him, I was still a tiny kid who had to stand on a stool just to reach Jamie's height during filming.

  Keh shook hands with John.

  "Keh," Johnny said with a small nod. "Excuse me, Troy, my girlfriend's waiting for me."

  "Of course," I replied, and Johned.

  I wish I could have brought Rihanna along for this. Unfortunately, her new found fame because of the movie meant that she had blown up through the roof, because of which she had sold out multiple certs across the States. Currently she was on a tour with her manager.

  "You know, I'm still a bit miffed you didn't call me back for the fifth movie," Ken teased, bringing me back to the reality. "I read the book. There was a se with me in it."

  "I wao," I said sincerely. "But it wasn't up to me. The book was already so damn long. If you're upset, take it up with Dad. Maybe they still reshoot it to include you."

  "Steve's here too?" he asked, intrigued.

  "Of course. He's nominated as well as the producer of [Echoes]."

  "I've got to talk to him about another project," he murmured, half to himself. "This might be the perfect opportunity. Anyway, let's grab our seats before it's too te."

  He gestured toward the hall and stepped forward, but before I could follow, someone collided into me from behind.

  Years of martial arts training allowed me to maintain my bance gracefully.

  "I'm so sorry!" a woman said in an apologetic voice. "I didn't see—" She froze as her green eyes locked onto mine.

  It was her than Scarlett Johansson, the same person I'd avoided outside alongside the reporters.

  ___________________________________

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