Across America, Starting with the Boxing Champion

Chapter 428 did well at the box office (3/10)

 After simple promotion, "Mr. Tree" was screened in four theaters in the United States in early June.

 The screening is equivalent to testing the water, showing it on a small scale, and judging the market trend based on the results of the screening.

 If the screening results are good, the number of films can be increased next week. If the screening results are poor, the distributor will consider ending the screening early in order to reduce losses.

Of course, sometimes the screening results are average, and theaters are optimistic about the movie, so they can extend the screening time.

For example, "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" had average results during the screening period, but theaters felt it had great potential and insisted on screening it. Later, the film cost 5 million and grossed 370 million in global box office, becoming a dark horse at the box office in 2002.

 "Mr. Tree" grossed US$230,000 at the box office in its first week, with an average attendance rate of 82%.

Judging from the ranking of attendance, the top three literary and artistic films in the same period had a slightly higher attendance than the box office champion "Cars 2".

 Just considering that the box office in the first week mainly relied on the popularity of Link's new song MV, this data is very watery, and the theaters lack confidence.

 The show was only expanded to 26 theaters in the second week.

 This week, many "Mr. Tree" editing videos and movie commentary have appeared on YouTube and other video websites.

 There is also a video blogger who edited a video of a big-name Hollywood actor smoking in a movie.

There are powerful actors such as Marlon Brando, Clark Gable, Harry Fordson, Gregory Peck, Brad Pitt, etc., but there is only one foreign actor in the video of these people smoking, and that is "Mr. Tree" 》The male protagonist.

Although Mr. Shu’s smoking action is also cool, when placed among a group of big-name Hollywood actors, it is very eye-catching, even an eyesore, and it makes people remember him at once.

 This video has been viewed more than 2 million times in five days.

 In addition to the video commentary, some film reviews of "Mr. Tree" also appeared in newspapers this week.

Most film critics use the theme of magical realism to describe the type of this exotic film, saying that it is a film that is not easy to understand. If you can understand the plot, it is also a worthwhile film for viewers who like niche literary films. movies to watch.

"Movie Variety" commented that it is a "textbook-level" movie for understanding Chinese local culture.

 The "Los Angeles Times" said it is one of the best foreign films this year and is expected to be nominated for the best foreign language film at this year's Academy Awards.

 The "Chicago Tribune" called this movie a Chinese version of "Joker".

 “Isn’t this a bit exaggerated?”

Link saw the propaganda in the newspaper and was a little amused.

　　The original task he gave to the publicity and distribution department was to use the media to exaggerate the film and arouse the curiosity of the audience. As a result, the publicity department directly touted the film to Oscar level.

　　Although "Mr. Tree" is not bad, it is not at the Oscar level for best foreign language film.

"Chairman, this is the basic operation of promoting a movie. If you want to praise a movie, you must praise it to the extreme, so that people will be curious and go to the movie, and also make opponents go to the movie to criticize. Only then will the movie be popular. Attention."

 Said Lionsgate Operating Officer Brian Goldsmith.

Link nodded and asked the publicity department to proceed as planned. Although this kind of publicity is suspected of being embarrassing, as long as it can hype the movie and earn more box office, it doesn't matter if it is embarrassing.

 After handing over the company's affairs to Ivaca and other executives, he continued to train at the Muscle Beach Club to prepare for the next boxing match.

In its second week of release, "Mr. Tree" received a box office of RMB 840,000 in 26 theaters, with a total box office of RMB 1.07 million.

 In the U.S. film market, more than 700 films are publicly screened every year. Last year, there were 774 films. Only more than 400 films had a box office of 1 million.

 "Mr. Tree" sold 1.07 million US dollars in two weeks, which is better than most foreign language films.

 Given the good box office performance last week, the number of theaters showing "Mr. Tree" expanded to 204 in the third week.

This week, many veteran actors have come forward to praise the acting skills of the male protagonist of "Mr. Tree".

For example, Cliff Robertson, the winner of the 41st Oscar, and William Holt, the winner of the 58th Oscar, when interviewed by the reporter of "The Hollywood Reporter", they praised Stan Wang, who played Mr. Tree in the movie, for his superb acting skills. A 'genius' actor.

His acting skills are better than 99% of the male actors currently on the screen, and he is expected to be nominated for the Oscar for Best Actor this year.

Although some people later broke the news that Cliff Robertson would only stand up for Lions Gate and publicly praise Stan King when he recently accepted a role at Lions Gate Pictures. When this news was first reported, it caused quite a stir in the American film industry. sensation.

Many people walked into the cinema to watch this niche Chinese movie out of curiosity.

Some people praise it, some people criticize it.

 The comprehensive media review score is 82 points, and the Rotten Tomatoes website score is 76% fresh, with 42 people supporting and 18 people opposing; Yahoo film critics scored B+.

 Word of mouth tends to be polarized.

 Professional media generally have high evaluations of the movie and think it is a good movie that is suitable for watching calmly and slowly.

Ordinary viewers commented that they could not understand or understand the film, and that the film was not suitable for viewing in theaters.

 Both sides hold their own opinions.

However, what Link didn't expect was that Joaquin Phoenix was bored and went to watch "Mr. Tree". After watching it, he boasted to the media and praised Stan Wang's acting skills. level, and said that King Stan’s performance inspired him a lot.

Seeing the news, Link called Brian Goldsmith and asked him if he had asked Joaquin to help with the platform.

 Brian said no, and said that not only Joaquin, but actors such as actor William Holt and Michael Keaton also spoke publicly for "Mr. Tree" without being contacted by their public relations.

Link asked Brian what the reason was. These people wanted to make good friends with Lionsgate Films in this way?

Bryan Goldsmith said not necessarily and told him a piece of news.

There are currently many film critics in the media praising "Mr. Tree". Some of them are people hired by the company, but a large part of them are not the result of the company's public relations. They are film critics who felt good about the movie and took the initiative to publish it. Positive review.

 “So this movie is not bad?”

Link was a little surprised.

"Yes, from an artistic point of view, this movie is considered to be top-notch in the world. The only problem is that the Chinese background and the theme are too profound, which makes many people unable to understand it. Those who can understand it will find it good. , believes that the movie explores human nature and society, involves profound themes, and is a niche masterpiece. "

Brian said.

Link nodded. He seemed to be a little underestimating the movie and the audience's level of appreciation.

At the time of its release, he was worried that the language of the film was not clear and the story was not easy to understand, so he did not have high expectations for the film.

It’s just that art has no national boundaries. Good works of art will break through all kinds of barriers and arouse people’s resonance. For example, Asian movies such as "The Kite Runner", "Little Shoes", "Rashomon" and "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" won 100 awards when they were released in the United States. Lots of compliments.

In its third week of release, "Mr. Tree" took in a box office of US$2.337 million in North America, ranking 15th in the box office rankings during the same period, with a cumulative box office of US$3.41 million, far exceeding expectations.

Link's original goal was 1.5 million, which was 10 times the copyright fee.

 Excluding his public relations expenses, the company invested about US$1.8 million in copyright fees, production fees, publicity and distribution expenses for this film, and it has already been paid back.

 “Damn it, how can this kind of movie have more than two million box office weeks?”

 Harvey said with a stern face.

 Weinstein Pictures also released a Chinese film this week, "Martial Arts" directed by Peter Chan, which was shortlisted for the non-competition "Midnight" section of the Cannes Film Festival not long ago.

 Harvey paid $650,000 to obtain the North American distribution rights for the film.

 He ​​has released Chinese action movies such as "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon", "The Promise", "Kung Fu" and "Shaolin Football" in 2003. He has a certain understanding of this type of movies and feels that "Martial Arts" will also have certain box office potential.

 The results were very unsatisfactory.

 “Martial Arts” was screened in 8 theaters over three days over the weekend, with a box office of US$107,000, far lower than expected.

The attendance and average daily box office data are not as good as those of "Mr. Tree" that Link bought randomly.

 Harvey was very unhappy with this.

  It is also a Chinese-themed movie. The potential of the Chinese kung fu movie "Martial Arts" is obviously greater than that of the local-themed "Mr. Tree", but this is not the case at the box office.

 “David, what can you do to increase the box office of “Martial Arts”?”

Harvey put down the newspaper and looked at David Glasser, the company's chief operating officer. “Chairman, I suggest additional publicity funds.”

David Glasser thought for a while and said.

If you want a movie to do well at the box office, it requires both word-of-mouth and publicity. "Martial Arts" is a foreign film, and the quality is not particularly high. It is difficult to accumulate a high reputation and form a person-to-person communication effect, so you need to spend money to make it. Promote, spread the word.

Just like Lionsgate, the film "Mr. Tree" was very niche. When it was released, no one liked the film.

 However, with the continuous promotion and operation of Link and Lionsgate Pictures, it actually sold 3.39 million US dollars in box office within three weeks, more than three times the budget.

"Complete Movies" analyzed three reasons why this movie was so successful.

 The first one is Link.

Link is famous and attracted the first wave of movie fans to watch the movie, giving the movie a good screening score.

The second is publicity. Lionsgate has a good publicity strategy and is willing to spend money. When the market prospects are uncertain, Lionsgate spends more than one million on publicity. This is undoubtedly a big gamble. Gate Pictures won the bet.

 Second, the film is of good quality and can withstand praise.

 If "Martial Arts" wants to imitate "Mr. Tree", it must first keep up with the promotion and be willing to spend money to increase the popularity of the movie.

 "Mr. Tree" was promoted by Link's new song, which attracted a lot of attention.

　　　"Martial Arts" does not have top-notch sales, so it needs to pay film critics to hype it up and find ways to lure audiences into theaters.

 “Throw money?”

 Harvey frowned. He could also think of this method, but the prerequisite for throwing money was having money. The company's current financial situation was not suitable for this method.

 “I give you one million to use for publicity, how much can you get back?”

"this"

David Glasser shrugged, "Investing in a movie is like betting in a casino. No one can tell whether it will make money until the end. I don't think Lionsgate had much certainty before releasing "Mr. Tree". They're taking a risk by recouping their investment."

 Harvey thought about it seriously, should he take a gamble? If you win, you can recover your costs, if you lose, you will lose more.

 “What’s the opinion from the marketing department?”

“They believe that the film’s prospects are average, and even if they increase publicity, it will not have much box office. They suggest that the screening be ended early and released on DVD, which may allow them to recover part of the cost.”

David Glasser said.

 Harvey thought about it with a sullen face. He had no other good solution but to accept the marketing department's suggestion.

If he had just entered the industry, he might have taken a risk, but not now.

Having been in Hollywood for decades, he has seen too many film companies go bankrupt due to gambling mistakes. He knows how risky it is to do so. To be on the safe side, it is better not to follow suit.

Although I know that this is the right thing to do, I feel very unhappy when I think that Link and Lions Gate Pictures made the right bet this time and made millions of dollars more.

Harvey thought about finding someone to ban this movie, like he did with "Bridesmaids", but "Mr. Tree" is already a niche movie and not well-known. Banning it is also increasing its exposure, which is undoubtedly helping Link. movie promotion.

He would never do such a stupid thing.

After thinking about it for a while, I couldn’t think of any good way to deal with Link.

 Harvey pulled off his tie and asked David Glasser to go to work. He picked up the phone and called Bob, asking him to find a way to trick Link. He didn't want to see Link for a moment now.

Bob comforted him by saying that the good box office performance of "Mr. Tree" shows that Link has a good vision. The "Master" may be a big hit and the company can make money, which is not a bad thing.

 And for the sake of face, Link spent more than one million to promote this movie, which shows that Link has a great gambling habit and can make a fuss about this in the future to trick him.

 Harvey thought about it for a while and felt it made sense.

 Accepting Bob's opinion means having to endure Link for a long time, which makes him very uncomfortable.

Bob continued to persuade him that he was a top producer and was good at making movies. He should use this expertise to produce more blockbuster movies. As long as the company's movies were blockbusters, there was no need to envy Link.

Bob also reminded him that during this period he was too focused on Link's affairs and wasted a lot of time and energy, which was not good. He hoped that he could spend more time on film production.

 Harvey snorted and hung up the phone with a dark face.

After sitting in the office for a while, I felt that Bob was right. To deal with Link, we should start with movies. He cursed Damn Link, called the female secretary and the driver, and said he would go to the studio to check it out. .

 Originally, he would never go to the set in such hot weather.

Because of Link, he has to endure all this now.

  —

“Link, in order to promote the movie, you wrote a number one single. This is amazing.”

On the beach, Casey Affleck said while drinking beer.

"Yes, Link, sometimes I feel like you are an alien. You are much stronger than ordinary humans."

Paul Walker patted Link on the shoulder, a bit harshly, not sure if he was jealous.

Link smiled softly. In order to promote "Mr. Tree" a few days ago, he copied a 2020 hit song "Blinding Lights". The lyrics are somewhat close to the plot of Mr. Tree. The MV for this song was first released on YouTube. The number of views exceeded 30 million times in one week.

By the second week, the recorded version of this song was officially available on paid/free music platforms such as iTunes, Amazon Music Mall, Spotify, etc., and on the premise of free resources, it still sold 1.45 million copies on major platforms in the first week, becoming "Billboard "The singles chart champion song.

 This song became a hit, which also increased the exposure of "Mr. Tree" and contributed some box office to the movie.

"This song is from the second album. It was not written for the movie. Because the style is different, it was not included in the second or third album. This time to promote the movie, there is a lack of a gimmick, so I put this song out. , but the effect is very average.”

Link said.

The quality of this song is good, but the style of the song is more pop, mixed with soul music, and has a strong sense of rhythm. It is actually not in tune with the MV of the rural movie "Mr. Tree".

 Some people joked that the video was about dressing a country bumpkin in top-notch fashion. Although it was eye-catching, it was not very coordinated.

After the official release of "Blinding Lights", fans have asked him to remake the MV. It would be cooler to change it to a modern background.

It’s just that Link has been busy recently and has no time to shoot the MV. The new MV script is still being designed.

 “Hey, Joaquin, why do you have time to come over, the movie is finished?”

 Cassie stood up from the beach with a pat on her butt.

This is the beach at Casey Affleck's Malibu villa. Link was invited to hang out. James Franco, Tobey Maguire, Summer Phoenix, Zach Efe were also present. Long et al.

Seeing Joaquin Phoenix coming, he waved and said hello.

“I heard that you guys are drinking here. I have nothing to do this afternoon. Come and have a drink. Hi, Link, it’s really rare to see you here.”

Joaquin smiled.

Link picked up a can of beer and handed it to him, "Joaquin, I haven't thanked you for helping me promote the movie. You helped me get a million dollars at the box office with just one sentence."

"You're welcome! What I told the reporter at the time was all true. The Chinese actor's acting skills were indeed very good. If he hadn't acted in his true colors, he could have been nominated for the Oscar for Best Actor based on his acting skills."

Joaquin leaned under the palm tree and drank beer and said.

Helping Wang Baoqiang publicize the Oscar for Best Actor?

Link raised his eyebrows, not to mention that the probability of success was too low.

If it happens, on the day of the Oscars, Wang Baoqiang will be sitting among Leonardo, Johnny Depp, Brad Pitt and others. The scene will be a bit novel when you think about it.

 (End of this chapter)