I was Mistaken as a Monstrous Genius Actor [EN]: Chapter 478

‘Joker’ had landed in Korea.

Early in the morning of May 31st, movie theaters across the country were packed with audiences, even at such an early hour. This was an unprecedented event, and the sheer scale of the crowd drew reporters and news crews to film the scene.

“This is a movie theater in Gangnam. It’s morning, but as you can see, there’s a huge crowd lined up at the entrance. They’re all here to watch ‘Cierrot: Birth of a Villain.’”

Of course, this was something that had been anticipated. Kang Woo-jin’s Best Actor win at the ‘Academy Awards’ [the Oscars], director Ahn Ga-bok’s Best Director award, and even the Best Picture win had all contributed to the hype. This was the first day in about a month that ‘Cierrot: Birth of a Villain,’ which had taken the world by storm, was being released in Korea.

How exciting would it be? How amazing would it be?

Audiences from all over the country flocked to the movie theaters with soaring expectations. Although it was a weekday, all time slots, including breakfast, lunch, and afternoon showings, were completely sold out. The only remaining seats were for late-night screenings.

It was that crazy.

“Wow, look at that guy, he’s really popular.”

“Is it true that the early morning shows are almost completely full?”

“Of course, ‘Cierrot’ swept the Academy Awards and was completely sold out in the U.S. when it was first released. So just be quiet and watch the movie.”

“This is going to be insane, right? Let’s get started already.”

Numerous audience members who had secured seats for the first screenings of ‘Cierrot’ in Korea were buzzing with excitement, eager for the movie to begin. They laughed in disbelief at the sheer number of people packed into the theater.

After a ten-minute wait that felt like an hour…

-Soooo

“Here we go.”

‘Cierrot: Birth of a Villain’ began to play on the large screen. Soon, the audience was immersed in Kang Woo-jin’s portrayal of the ‘Joker.’ The ‘Joker’ appeared with a cigarette dangling from his mouth, red hair, a pale face, and thick, grotesquely torn red lips.

-[“Kkkkkkk! Hahahaha, hahahaha!”]

His twisted yet gleeful laughter echoed throughout the theater.

-[“Hee hee hee, hahahahahahahahaha!”]

At this, everyone in the audience swallowed hard. Although they had expected it, seeing the movie in person was far more unconventional than they had imagined. This was the ‘Joker’ that had already conquered Hollywood, and Korea was quickly falling under its spell as well.

That destructive power was immediately apparent after the first showing of ‘Cierrot’ ended.

[「Cierrot: Birth of a Villain」 / Released on May 31, 2023]

[Rating 9.8]

[Visitor and netizen comments/897 participants]

-The scene in the beginning where the Joker’s face is completed with flour and blood was the best scene of my life…/ b***

-No… Kang Woo-jin’s acting is truly insane… If he does this well, how will any other actor play the Joker later??/t****

-I felt like I had witnessed something that went far beyond acting. I finally understood why Kang Woo-jin won the Best Actor award at the Oscars/1****

-Kang Woo-jin was simply phenomenal/g****

-Oh my gosh, Kang Woo-jin’s acting is so intense… Everyone, please bring 4,248 pairs of underwear. It’s still not enough/ z****

-Fun, catharsis, direction, and message were all masterfully done, and Kang Woo-jin was a monster/4****

-When the Joker gradually awakens and runs towards Nopaku, I even felt a thrill… It’s so amazing/j****

-Watching Kang Woo-jin’s acting as the Joker, I thought I could be like that too/3****

-Just watch it, I can’t even express it in words/c**

-ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ It’s clear why Kang Woo-jin ruined the worldㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ/q****

Audience members who had seen ‘Cierrot’ were busy leaving comments and spreading the word about the amazing experience through online communities. The same was true on social media, and videos related to the ‘clown’ character were trending on YouTube.

Korea was completely captivated by ‘Cierrot: Birth of a Villain’ all day long.

Kang Woo-jin, in LA, was also monitoring the situation and receiving real-time updates. Although he tried to maintain an indifferent facade, he was secretly smiling with satisfaction.

‘Good, good, the reviews are excellent. Oh, I’m curious about the number of viewers? It’s all sold out, so it looks like it’s going to be an all-time high, but I’ll have to check tomorrow.’

Then, the next day, on June 1st, the first-day opening results for ‘Cierrot’ were announced in large headlines across Korea.

『[Breaking News] ‘Cierrot: Birth of a Villain’ exceeds 1 million viewers in just one day!』

‘Cierrot’ achieved the incredible feat of surpassing 1 million viewers on its first day. To be exact, it reached 1.04 million. This easily surpassed the first-day performances of ‘Island of the Missing’ and ‘Daytime Parasite,’ which were currently ranked 1st to 3rd among Korean movies of all time.

However, this was just the beginning.

『‘Cierrot: Birth of a Villain,’ which surpassed 1 million views upon its release in Korea, is now expanding worldwide!』

From this point on, it was released not only in Korea but around the world.

Meanwhile, Kang Woo-jin was focused on the final stages of filming ‘John Persona.’ ‘Cierrot: Birth of a Villain’ began to be released in movie theaters around the world as predicted. It was said that the ‘Joker’ was being seen in about 40 countries, including Korea, where it had started, as well as the United States, Japan, France, and the United Kingdom.

Media outlets from overseas were going wild.

‘Cierrot: Birth of a Villain’ had already generated considerable buzz due to its controversial themes and topicality, and because it had been a sensation at the ‘Academy Awards,’ the reservation rates for ‘Cierrot’ were incredibly high in every country.

『CNM/’Cierrot: Birth of a Villain’ screenings begin, selling out to overwhelming audiences! Will previous records be broken?』

The world, including Hollywood, was focused on the performance of ‘Cierrot.’ With this unprecedented trend and level of interest, it was poised to easily break box office records that had remained untouched until now. Naturally, ‘Columbia Studio’ and Kang Woo-jin also had high expectations. And it didn’t take long for ‘Cierrot’ to announce its overwhelming success.

‘Cierrot’ was released for just 5 days.

『LA TIME/Amazing record! ‘Cierrot: Birth of a Villain’ exceeds $1 billion worldwide on the 5th day of release!』

『BBX/’Joker’ is a global phenomenon! ‘Cierrot: Birth of a Villain’ becomes a box office sensation, exceeding $1 billion』

『ABY/Earned $1 billion in just 5 days of release and has already ranked 15th in box office hits of all time! ‘Cierrot: Birth of a Villain’ box office success is astounding』

It showed tremendous power, exceeding $1 billion. This was a higher figure than predicted by various media outlets before release, and considering it had only been 5 days since its release, it was already an absurd achievement. It even ranked in the top 10 among Hollywood’s all-time box office hits in just 5 days.

It was happening at an incredible speed.

Kang Woo-jin couldn’t help but be shocked when he heard these results. To the point where his carefully maintained image was slightly broken.

‘1 billion dollars???!! How much is 1 billion dollars? Huh?!! Is that a group of 1000 million?! 1 trillion won?!’

It was an amount he had never seen before in his life. For reference, the total production cost of ‘Cierrot: Birth of a Villain’ was approximately a little over $200 million. Even after recouping the production costs, the profits were already overflowing. Even though it was structured to make the most money in the beginning, reaching $1 billion in the first 5 days was an all-time record.

Subsequently, ‘Cierrot’ surpassed $1.3 billion on the 7th day.

『‘Cierrot: Birth of a Villain’ surpasses $1.3 billion, ranks 10th in global box office!』

It surpassed $1.5 billion on the 8th day and a whopping $1.6 billion on the 10th, ranking 6th in the world’s all-time box office hits. The money was over 2 trillion won, and Kang Woo-jin, who had no sense of reality, wondered if there was something to it as the box office success soared day by day.

‘……Two trillion?’

It had already been 10 days since its release in Korea.

『Clierrot: Birth of a Villain’ surpasses 1 million viewers within 10 days of its release…the fastest in history!』

The number of viewers had reached 10 million.

While ‘Clierrot’ was turning the world upside down, the next projects were also being prepared as if that wasn’t the end. For ‘The Beast and the Beauty’, teams including Kang Woo-jin and Miley Kara gathered for the first test screening. Woojin’s curiosity piqued as he saw the image of ‘The Beast’ on the medium-sized screen.

‘Whoa, the CG [Computer Graphics] is insane!’

The promotional materials were plastered everywhere, featuring only ‘Beast’ and ‘Beautiful Bella’. Even viewing it as an audience member with fond memories of the original film, rather than as an actor who played ‘The Beast’, the live-action version of ‘The Beast and the Beauty’ was quite impressive.

After the test screening ended, there was loud applause.

– clap clap clap clap

The quality of ‘The Beast and the Beauty’ was deemed amazing, and it was seen as high praise for ‘Clierrot’, which had recently achieved crazy box office success. Miley Cara also showed affection for her boyfriend, whom she hadn’t seen much of due to their recent busy schedules.

“Congratulations, sincerely. I think ‘Clierrot’ will continue to do well for a while. Why don’t you buy me something delicious?”

‘Delicious food’ was just an excuse for a date. Kang Woo-jin responded, as if asking, “Is that such a big deal when there’s over 3 trillion won [approximately 2.2 billion USD]?”

“Let’s go to Korea. Have you been to Jeju Island? Once your schedule clears up, I’ll cook you something delicious at the villa I bought.”

“Are you trying out your private jet?”

“Yup.”

Then, as mid-June passed, ‘Clierrot’ entered its 20th day of release, and its box office performance was still impressive.

『LA TIMES/Finally surpassed 2 billion dollars. ‘Clierrot: Birth of a Villain’ is breaking various records!』

It exceeded 2 billion dollars.

It was a ridiculous success considering it was less than a month old. Soon, the world was listing the various records that ‘Clierrot’ had achieved to date.

『ABY/Records achieved by ‘Clierrot: Birth of a Villain’ exceeding 2 billion dollars』

-[‘Clierrot: Birth of a Villain’, which swept the Academy Awards, is causing a box office sensation around the world. The world fell in love with Kang Woo-jin’s ‘Joker’, and it is no exaggeration to say that ‘Columbia Studios’ ‘Cinematic Universe’ achieved tremendous success.]

[Currently, ‘Clierrot: Birth of a Villain’ has achieved more than one or two records. 3rd place in world box office history to date, 1st place in world box office history for 2023, exceeded 1 billion dollars in the shortest period, exceeded 2 billion dollars in the shortest period, 1st place in world box office opening history… … … … … … ]

These records were enough to become legendary, and Kang Woo-jin established himself as a formidable ‘world star’ in name and reality.

‘The Beast and the Beauty’, which had just completed its test screenings, had to be released with aggressive marketing and promotions. The release date had to be confirmed, but it had no choice but to be slightly delayed. The ‘clown’s’ influence was just too great.

However, the movie ‘Guest’, which had started filming, accelerated without delay.

“Kang Woo-jin! Please take care of me!”

“Yes, thank you.”

The filming of Kang Woo-jin’s special appearance also proceeded without any problems. Well, the appearance of the star caused an uproar among the 100 or so staff members throughout the filming.

Meanwhile, ‘Columbia Studio’, celebrating the legendary success of ‘Clierrot’, hastened the production of ‘Bat: Birth of a Hero’, which was essentially the second story of ‘Joker’. The prelude to the ‘Cinematic Universe’ that people had risked their lives for was a huge hit, so it was a natural progression.

Yet.

-[“The following is the story of a movie that is currently shaking Hollywood and the world. As you all know, ‘Clierrot: Birth of a Villain’ has surpassed $2.4 billion. This is a result achieved in just 35 days of release.”]

‘Clierrot’ earned more than 2.4 billion dollars in revenue, exceeding 3 trillion won, and after 40 days, it exceeded 2.5 billion dollars.

『BBX/’Clierrot: Birth of a Villain’, which exceeded 2.5 billion dollars, eventually took the second place in the all-time box office hit』

It ranked second in world box office history.

At this moment, Kang Woo-jin was feeling it intensely.

‘Three trillion… … … … … … Fuck, 3 trillion??!’

The fact that it was a hit not only in Korea but all over the world meant the power of ‘EX+++ level’ measured by Aspace [a fictional system]. However, up to this point, it was only a box office success related to the theatrical release. ‘Columbia Studios’ said that it would be sold to numerous platforms even after its theatrical run. In other words, they were only halfway there.

‘Wow, shit, seriously, the ‘EX+++ level’ was no joke!!’

Kang Woo-jin’s bank account was already exploding due to the legendary success of ‘Clierrot’, and it was said that the figures would continue to pile up every second.

Second week of July.

It had already been more than a month and two weeks since the release of ‘Clierrot’, and the ranking of Korea’s all-time movies had already changed.

[Korea’s all-time box office]

[All-time movie rankings (combined)]

-One. Clierrot: Birth of a Villain / Cumulative audience number: 22,108,419 people.

-2. Leeches/ Cumulative audience: 20,483,558

-3. Island of the Missing/ Cumulative number of viewers: 20,321,451

-4. Stranger’s Bizarre Sacrifice / Cumulative number of viewers: 16,833,712 people

-5. Naval Battle/Cumulative audience: 16,715,955

-6. Force Majeure/Cumulative audience: 15,557,118

Kang Woo-jin’s movies occupied the 1st to 4th spots. Even at that moment, the number of viewers for ‘Clierrot’ was rising. Of course, the situation was similar in Japan and nearby Asian countries. Thanks to this, the world gave Woo Jin the title of dominating the Earth.

『LA TIMES/Kang Woo-jin, a monster actor who did something unique in the whole world!』

Of course, this was something that the global public recognized.

-You have to be at the level of Kang Woo-jin to be called a true world star.

-I admit it, but wouldn’t the hurdle be too high for someone as influential as Kang Woo-jin?

-Oh my god! In just a little while, Clierrot will become the number one box office hit in the world!!

-That’s amazing… To be honest, I didn’t really acknowledge Kang Woo-jin when he first appeared in Hollywood…

-Now it’s crazy to call him names.

-Oh, I’m suddenly craving Joker. I have to go see Clierrot again.

-Guys, should I tell you something really scary? Kang Woo-jin is left with big films like Beast and Beauty and John Persona after Clierrot.

-Not only this year, but also next year, and maybe even the year after, it will be Kang Woo-jin’s year.

At the end of July, on a very hot day, ‘Clierrot: Birth of a Villain’ once again shocked the world. The same went for Kang Woo-jin, who saw the results.

‘… … … … … … Is this $2.7 billion?? Wow, what on earth is this?!’

In the end, ‘Clierrot’ achieved $2.7 billion, breaking a record that had been maintained for over a decade. The legendary movie that had been in first place for a long time was lowered to second place, with ‘Clierrot: Birth of a Villain’ taking the top spot.

‘1st!! #1 in the world, for real??!!’

It became the ‘#1 box-office film of all time’.