Capítulo 82: Chapter 82: Successfully Over a 100 million
The box office of a film is not only determined by the quality and promotional factors but also deeply affected by external factors. The most typical example is the origin of the film. For instance, films from Europe and Asia may have good quality and promotion, but in 99% of cases, North American audiences will not buy it.
After reviewing the competitor's information, Duke realized that although "Cliffhanger" was produced by Calroc Pictures—the producer of "Terminator 2," and is now the leader of second-tier Hollywood studios—the biggest investor came from Silvio Berlusconi!
Yes, the owner of AC Milan! He is also the film's primary producer!
While this may seem like a trivial factor, it will have some influence on the film.
The most important point is that the distributor, 20th Century Fox, took a significant portion of the earnings from "Terminator 2," causing Calroc Pictures to end its cooperation with them. For "Cliffhanger," they did not choose the most powerful seven major distributors but opted for the second-tier distributor, Samsung Pictures!
Though it is also one of the historic brands, its capabilities and promotional distribution channels cannot compare to the seven major studios. Distribution is not just about having distribution rights and abilities; it is also about being able to secure an equal number of screening theaters for films of similar production quality, especially in the extremely competitive summer box office season!
One undeniable fact is that Hollywood is a circle controlled by giant corporations. They can collaborate and compete, but they absolutely do not allow newcomers to rise to the same level.
Now, the leader of second-tier companies, Calroc Pictures, is a key target of restriction. They could only secure 2,300 theaters for the production cost of $70 million for "Cliffhanger," far fewer than the 2,512 for "The Rock."
The difference in the number of theaters leads to a difference in box office!
The means by which the giants suppress newly emerging companies can be varied, and distribution channels are one of the simplest, most brutal, and most direct methods. It is just like how they will deal with DreamWorks in the future. Without sufficient distribution channels, no matter how strong directors like Spielberg and Jeffrey Katzenberg are, they cannot save DreamWorks from its fate.
Let's not say that casually acquiring a distribution company can allow for large-scale releases of films in North America or even globally—that's wishful thinking!
Both Katzenberg and Spielberg have been deeply rooted in Hollywood for over twenty years, and even with their considerable abilities and capital, they still cannot achieve this. How could newcomers to Hollywood, who have barely been around for a few years, do it?
If the opponents were weaker, "Cliffhanger" would surely win, but when the opponent becomes Warner Bros. and Duke's "The Rock," its inherent disadvantages in production and distribution severely affected the overall weekend box office trend.
On Saturday, like most films, "Cliffhanger" saw a significant increase in daily box office, earning $5.76 million!
However, "The Rock" also followed the normal trend of highly-rated audience films, gradually rising to $7.25 million, still outperforming "Cliffhanger" and "Interview with a Vampire," securing the top spot in daily box office!
At this point, the overall box office trend for the weekend was set. Even if Calroc Pictures and Samsung Pictures wanted to make some moves, there was no time left.
...
"Pat, give me the latest data! Tell me!"
It was the morning of a new Monday. After arriving at the CAA building, Tom Cruise did not meet with other co-managers but went directly into the office of his agent, Patricia Kingsley, who had brought him into the business.
"'Interview with a Vampire' is doing pretty well!"
Patricia Kingsley glanced at her boss across the table, suppressing her unhappiness from a recent interview incident, and said, "This weekend it earned $17.43 million, with a cumulative North American box office of $60.68 million. It should be no problem to eventually surpass a 100 million."
If it had been in the past, Tom Cruise would have laughed. A film crossing a 100 million in North American box office not only consolidates his current position but also allows him to continue climbing to the top tier of Hollywood. But now, his mind was far from this.
"What about 'The Rock" He spoke with impatience. "Did it win the box office champion again?"
"Yes!" Kingsley found a document and flipped it open. "'The Rock' earned $22.89 million, clearly surpassing 'Cliffhanger' at $18.51 million, securing its second box office champion title. Duke Rosenberg also got his fourth box office champion!"
"$22.89 million!" Tom Cruise calculated for a moment and squeezed out a sentence, "With a total box office of $78.89 million, damn it! It's likely to surpass a 100 million this week!"
His expression immediately darkened.
"Calm down, Tom!"
When it comes to understanding Cruise, Patricia Kingsley was definitely more perceptive than Nicole Kidman. "Don't say foolish things or act stupidly; tarnishing Duke Rosenberg and 'The Rock' will only backfire on you!"
Her client was a superstar, an idol, while on the other hand, there was only a director, a background professional who never relied on fame. If both sides began slandering each other, the one who would suffer the most would certainly be Tom Cruise.
As long as Kingsley pointed it out, Cruise was still a relatively clear-headed person, dispelling the unreliable thoughts that had just emerged in his mind and leaning back in his chair.
"Tom, this is just normal business competition," Patricia Kingsley tentatively advised him. "You and Duke Rosenberg have no personal grievances, and there's no need to keep confronting each other! The success of 'The Rock' also proves he is a rapidly rising commercial film director. Don't tell me you can't see the benefits of befriending such a director!"
"Speed" easily made Keanu Reeves and Uma Thurman famous, while after "The Rock," originally unknown actors like Ed Harris, Nicolas Cage, and Christopher Lee became hot properties…
If he were the one playing Stanley Goodspeed, what would that look like? Tom Cruise could almost predict that everyone would completely regard him as a box office miracle, and he could demand at least $20 million plus a minimum of 10% profit share for the next film!
Taking a deep breath several times, Tom Cruise slowly said, "I know what to do!"
No matter what Tom Cruise's actual thoughts were, "The Rock," like all successful summer blockbusters, stood out from the fierce competition and continuously attacked new box office heights. Although, as the screening time increased and the box office figures rose, the film critics, who would never belong to the market or the public, began to attack the film more and more, with professional scores even dropping to around 7, the audience rating remained above 80%, ensuring the film continued to harvest every dollar from theaters.
As Duke and the others traveled through cities like Philadelphia, Atlanta, and Nashville, finally stopping in Miami to conclude their North American journey, "The Rock" also passed its third weekend in North American theaters and earned $14.39 million over the weekend.
Although it predictably fell to second place in the box office ranking, with the cumulative total from the first four working days at $11.22 million, the total North American box office reached $104.5 million!
The film successfully crossed the 100 million mark in North American box office!
However, Duke knew very well that this should be the film's last week of high box office accumulation; in the future, it could only rely on the screening time for accumulation. This is because in the new weekend, a film that could be considered terrifying even if placed twenty years later, which he deliberately avoided competing with, was about to be released!
Yes, Steven Spielberg's "Jurassic Park" was coming strong, and any film hoping to do well during the summer season avoided the weekend slots of late May and early June.
Duke was not afraid of competition, but not fearing it did not mean he would throw his head against an iron plate!
During the third weekend of its North American release, "The Rock" also landed in three English-speaking countries: the UK, New Zealand, and Australia. All three were part of the English-speaking Five Friends region, and generally, films that perform well in North America will not have a poor market response there.
The weekend box office data of $6.12 million in the UK, $3.24 million in Australia, and $780,000 in New Zealand successfully occupied the box office champion position in their respective markets.
This million-dollar figure may not seem too much, but in today's world, with the drastic changes in Eastern Europe and the collapse of the Soviet Union, most countries and regions opened their doors to Hollywood. Except for love stories and crude comedies with distinct North American characteristics, films like action and sci-fi that sell super well could have overseas box office completely surpass North American box office, with some reaching 1.5 times or even double.
However, in this era, information exchange is poor, making true global simultaneous releases impossible. Most overseas regions often conclude screenings three months to six months, or even a year after the film has finished in North America. The revenue sharing from overseas box office collection can be quite complicated, with long delays in receiving payments being normal.
Duke's current wish is to maximize the North American box office, allowing him to repay his mother's $10 million loan with one-fifth of the North American market's revenue share. The remaining 10% of the profit share can be settled gradually after receiving the overseas share.
According to the original contract, the lawyers hired by Duke and the accounting team from PricewaterhouseCoopers were involved in the preparation, shooting, promotion, and post-screening of the film.
In this highly commercialized society, there is no such thing as gain without pain. Especially for Hollywood companies with a poor regulatory reputation, failing to hire a professional team at a high price may result in losses that exceed the compensation paid.
In June, Lee, Cage, Harris, and others went to Europe to continue promoting the film. Due to the relative lack of attention given to the director, Duke returned to Los Angeles, where many people were waiting for him in the City of Angels.
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