Bab 300: Market
"Jake, is the promotion enough?"
"Oh, is that so? You can come back next week."
"No, that's fine. We'll discuss it when you return."
...
Jake Gyllenhaal hung up the phone, rubbing his cheeks, trying to make himself more alert.
Half a month ago, director Roland Emmerich had been mostly polite in his dealings with him.
His involvement in "The Day After Tomorrow" could be attributed to the help of his agent, his own qualifications, and his family connections. There was nothing to be ashamed of. After all, his father was a director, and he knew Roland. Although their relationship wasn't particularly close, it was still a plus.
When it came time to start filming, he wouldn't receive any special attention.
But with the success of "Effervescent", he, as one of the male leads, had been influenced quite a bit. Even the higher-ups at his talent agency had called to discuss and plan his future schedule and endorsements.
Yes, many brands wanted him as their spokesperson, for cars, spring fashion collections, and even household products.
Suddenly, he had become famous, another darling of Hollywood.
In just a few days, he received numerous offers for film roles, most of which were leading roles or significant supporting roles.
This was something he couldn't have imagined just a few days ago.
Roland had even given him several days off to participate in the promotional roadshow, and his attitude had improved significantly.
All these changes had occurred suddenly in the past few weeks, making him feel like it wasn't quite real.
He even felt a bit light-headed when walking.
In contrast, others appeared somewhat calmer.
"Today, we're going to Miami, then St. Petersburg. The schedule is a bit tight. How are you all feeling? Did you rest well last night?"
In the business car, Lyman discussed the upcoming roadshow locations.
"I'm okay," said Heath Ledger.
"I'm a bit tired. I'll rest in the car for a while," Eva replied.
"I'm fine," Jake replied somewhat hesitantly.
Sophie Marceau wasn't present because she couldn't make it, and EuropaCorp needed her to participate in promotions in France.
The driver was behind the wheel, and John began his customary work report.
"This week, we've secured screenings in 2,900 theaters."
"Is it starting to decrease?"
"Yes."
This number didn't come as a surprise to Lyman.
Typically, the first half-month of a movie's release is the most crucial, and it generally determines the final box office performance. Now, "Effervescent" was already experiencing a decline in its daily box office revenue, and with the April releases approaching, several new films were scheduled to premiere. It was necessary to make room for them.
This was the final sprint stage, and the number of theaters would only decrease faster from now on. The final earnings were actually looking somewhat clear.
Based on yesterday's market data analysis, "Effervescent" earned $18.65M, and the decline in attendance rates was becoming more apparent. It wasn't just Lyman's film; several other films released around the same time were encountering similar problems.
The overall market wasn't strong enough, so a decrease in screenings was inevitable.
"Even some poorly performing movies have been pulled from theaters."
"$300M should be the limit for North America," John thought for a moment and said.
Lyman nodded, his estimate was similar.
In the car, the others were indifferent to hearing this number. Instead, Jack in the backseat looked at everyone and felt a bit sentimental.
A $15M investment, and a $300M box office. What a huge profit.
When he first took on this film, it was mainly because of his agent's persuasion. Of course, the script and the role were good enough to sway him. So, he starred in "Brokeback Mountain", co-starring with Heath Ledger. Then, in "Effervescent", they collaborated once again.
Now, looking back, he had forgotten how Lyman had come to choose him. What did we talk about the first time we met?
More importantly, as a second-generation actor in the industry, he had been around for many years. He had starred in many films, but none of them had crossed the $300M threshold in North America.
Or in other words, in Hollywood, it wasn't common for a film to surpass $200M in local box office earnings every year. They were mostly franchise films or had large budgets.
For a film like "Effervescent" with such a high return on investment, this was truly a first.
"What about overseas?" Lyman asked.
"It's not very optimistic, especially since it's the off-season. If it reaches $200M overseas, that would be considered good," John replied.
"True, the overseas market is different from the domestic market. Many promotional methods can't be applied, and there are other regions that produce good movies as well. Plus, we have to consider screen allocations, which naturally limit the upper limit. Moreover, romance films are generally less accepted in non-English-speaking cultures. Otherwise..."
Lyman felt a sense of regret.
He was speaking the truth. Overseas, big hits were usually big-budget action films, and there was market data to support this.
Genres like comedy and romance were rarely as popular overseas as they were in the domestic market. Genres like action, thriller, and suspense had fewer cultural barriers to overcome, which was related to cultural factors.
After arriving in Miami, the group participated in several events and then rushed to St. Petersburg without stopping.
As they were preparing to conclude the roadshow, although the box office of the movie "Effervescent" had been steadily declining, the cumulative box office was still steadily approaching the $300M mark.
On Monday, April 7th, it earned $10.21M.
On Tuesday, which was a traditional discount day for ticket prices, it earned $11.42M.
On Wednesday, it dropped below $10M for the first time, earning $9.64M, and the number of theaters decreased further to 1,646.
On Thursday, it earned $8.82M.
By Sunday, it had earned $7.2M.
In the entire week, "Effervescent" had a cumulative box office of $57.65M, ranking third in the weekly box office chart from April 7th to 13th. The top spot was taken by "Mean Girls" distributed by Paramount Pictures, with a box office of $86.52M. In second place was "Man on Fire" distributed by 20th Century Fox, with a box office of $75.64M.
So far, the total North American box office of "Effervescent" had accumulated to $288.62M.
As expected, the arrival of competitors would inevitably shrink the market for "Effervescent". Several new films were scheduled to be released, and it would become their world. In addition, Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ", which had been in theaters for a longer time, had also been greatly affected and had now completely withdrawn from the North American market this week. With a total North American box office of $300.882M, it had met the expectations of its backers, despite the controversies and their promotional efforts.
Moving forward amidst controversies, yet making money, was quite peculiar.
But this was the movie industry, and anything was possible, wasn't it?
After reaping such a significant box office, "Effervescent" was essentially approaching its conclusion, and it was estimated that reaching $300M would be the limit.
However, it was already a significant success.
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