Two Hundred and Eighty-Three - the Appeal of a Superstar

The seventh-floor office of Twentieth Century Fox suddenly became quiet. Several people looked at each other for a while. After hearing the advance screening of "Batman Begins", it was so quiet that they could hear each other's breathing.

You know, this is just an advance show. The US$7.8 million result of "Die Hard 3" is already very exciting. However, when the competitor's US$15.8 million came out, several people felt like they were eating. As disgusting as a dead fly.

As the most direct competitors, they all understand what this number means. Their side was completely crushed before the film was officially released.

"How could a director's fans be so crazy that they book the entire movie theater?" Bruce Wesley was a little disbelieving, with a skeptical expression on his face. "Isn't it because Warner Bros. is trying to support the box office? Unless those fans are really crazy, how could such a thing happen?!"

As a big star in Hollywood, Bruce Wesley definitely doesn't believe this. If it happened to Tom Cruise, he would probably not show it if he booked an entire theater because the fans liked it. out of doubt.

The mid-1990s were the time when Hollywood superstars had the most appeal. No matter what type of film it was, as long as a superstar joined the film and no mistakes were made in the production, the box office was always guaranteed.

But Wayne Greenberg is a director!

If this kind of behind-the-scenes work was done more than ten years ago, movie fans would hardly care about it. When will a director have the same appeal as a superstar? This is too much to believe.

"No, there will be no water in the data in this survey report." Townsend-Rosman's face was watery and gloomy, which was a bit unnatural.

In the early days of a film's release, it is relatively common for the production team or production company to support the box office. Most of them are for publicity purposes and greater subsequent profits.

But the small-scale investigation companies in these circles all know that the data they provide will generally remove these extra numbers and only provide real and credible data and information.

Compared to the director and star of "Die Hard 3", Townsend Rothman felt very bad. Various phenomena showed that his choice this time may have been wrong. He should have done the same as other large and small companies at the earliest. Avoid this scary superhero.

Even if you lose a few million in upfront investment in the early stage, I'm afraid it will be better than having a movie that could have a box office of over 100 million, but then be squeezed out and have no room for survival.

It's a pity that things have come to this, and he can't express these thoughts. Since he has chosen the wrong schedule, he can only struggle to the end.

This is just his inner thought. There are many people who are confident in "Die Hard 3". Not only the film's creative team, but also many people in the company's senior management are full of confidence in the competition. They feel that at best it will divert movie fans. At least you won't lose.

"Our early-stage reputation is very good. This is audience reputation and the first-hand real sales data in the theater market." John McTiernan said while sitting at his desk. This is one of his main sources of confidence. .

"So, as long as the audience's reputation does not collapse, our film will definitely be a hit."

Bruce Wesley put aside his surprised emotions and nodded lightly. If we only talk about the word-of-mouth in advance, this film is considered to be a rare high among commercial films, and the first-hand word-of-mouth from fans is indeed the best evidence of converting box office. .

Such an excellent reputation among movie fans, coupled with the US$7.8 million box office that fully reflects the quality of the film, is almost the best market performance among all the films he has starred in.

"Don't be happy too early!"

Townsend Roseman, who was sitting in the boss's chair, did not agree with their views, and his expression did not improve at all. After looking at the two of them, he opened the drawer and took out a thick cigar. After lighting it, he realized that this time the cigar did not smell of victory.

When he found that the two people across from him were looking at him in confusion, he was too lazy to read the survey data anymore. He was no longer in the good mood at the beginning, so he simply pushed the second piece of printing paper in front of John McTiernan and asked him to look.

"According to data obtained by the survey company, after the screening of "Batman Begins", a total of more than 4,000 questionnaires were distributed to movie fans, and no less than 4,000 questionnaires were collected.

Fans who chose a score of A or above accounted for 93% of the total questionnaire! When choosing other movie fans, most of them have B or B-scores..."

John McTiernan's voice is getting smaller and smaller. This is not good news. If the other party crushes his own film in terms of reputation from fans and box office figures, "Die Hard 3" is likely to have a box office failure. Big dive.

Hollywood has used countless cases to prove that it is not afraid of different audiences for movies. In that case, both movies will do well at the box office. I am afraid that there will be a crushing film comparison, so that both the media and movie fans will subconsciously choose to ignore the films that are being crushed and only focus on the successful ones.

This is a winner-takes-all game, and this has been the market rule for many years.

"You see." Townsend-Rosman exhaled a large mouthful of bitter smoke as he thought of ways to take advantage of it. "The situation is not as good as you think. If the reputation of our film drops too fast tomorrow and the day after tomorrow, it is not impossible that the box office will not exceed 40 million US dollars in the first weekend! Maybe the North American box office will not exceed 100 million US dollars!

Look at the end of the investigation report, yes, that's right there. Almost 95% of the fans who watched "Batman Begins" are young people who are the main force in movie consumption. This is definitely not good news for us! "

This situation is not impossible to happen. His words were like a bucket of ice water, pouring on John McTiernan's head instantly.

The production cost of "Die Hard 3" is as high as 90 million US dollars. If you want to recover the cost through box office, the total global box office figures must be at least three times higher than the production cost.

The North American theater market, which has the highest box office share, can be said to be the top priority. This is the basic market. If the North American box office figures are not high enough, the film will not perform well overseas.

Since entering the 1990s, it seems that Hollywood films have conquered overseas territories, but there is a pattern for blockbuster films with high box office, that is, only North America succeeds first and has enough influence, then it will be successful in other overseas countries and regions. Success follows closely.

So far, even excluding "Joker" and "Jurassic Park", which have the highest box office in the world, other films that have performed well have not escaped this pattern.

There has never been an example of a movie that did not have a high box office in North America but was a super hit overseas, not even once.

As the director and producer of the film, it can be said that if the film really fails to meet expectations, there is no way to shirk responsibility. Even though the loss is not your own money, the production company seems to have no choice but to admit defeat.

But if you want to continue directing films or being a producer and initiating projects, all production companies will seriously consider it. This is a highly commercial industry, and no one wants to cooperate with someone who loses money.

Townsend Rothman put the cigar into the ashtray, shook his head, stood up and took off his coat. After putting it on, he glanced at the time and said, "That's it for today. You guys take care of the film promotion plan first. I'll take care of the rest." Think of something else."

Now that he has made a selective error, he is not ready to stand and wait for death. No matter what method is used, he still needs to have the necessary means of competition. Warner Bros. probably will not relax against them after they are one position ahead. of blow.

When the lights on the seventh floor of Twentieth Century Fox went out, and the three people went home to rest with different moods, the Warner Bros. Building not far from them also turned off the lights amid hearty laughter.

The same two survey data produced completely opposite feelings in the eyes of competitors.

This kind of thing happens almost every Thursday and Friday as soon as the summer season begins. The films released during this period are all big productions. Even the top management of the production company can't do anything without getting first-hand statistical data. Have a good sleep.

The cost of a large-scale summer production can easily reach tens of millions or hundreds of millions in investment. Even if there are six giants of media groups behind them, if a film suffers serious losses, it will be in a state of strain.

Large investment and large production are indeed the most profitable projects in the summer, and the revenue and profits generated are also very amazing. Even laymen know these things, but what they don't know is that behind every successful Hollywood blockbuster, there must be All have at least one sad case of falling on the road.

On the same weekend when the summer season has just begun, two high-profile films are released on a large scale. This is not uncommon in the crowded North American summer season, especially for movie fans, this is their holiday movie binge. Correct opening method.

Most of these young movie fans will save money for movie tickets in advance, and then use their accumulated pocket money to choose movies that they are interested in to contribute to the box office based on their own preferences or those of their friends.

In terms of movie selection during this time period, the main force of movie consumption is almost not affected by film critics. The common characteristic of these young people is rebellion and contempt for authoritative speech.

What can really influence their movie-watching choices are recommendations from relatives and friends, as well as promotional advertisements that can be seen everywhere.

Through the film's advertising and promotion, celebrity actors who are loved by fans, the type of film, etc. can all affect the public's choice. Directors such as Wayne who have established their own brands are also important factors affecting the choice of movie fans.

To put it bluntly, this is the role of appeal, because ordinary people today do not have many information channels, and the mystery of Hollywood has not yet been unveiled, which creates the necessary conditions for the appeal of stars or directors to become popular. condition.