บท 121: Chapter 121: Word of Mouth
The message board is a popular feature on IMDB, where registered users can share and discuss news about movies, actors, and directors. However, IMDB, as one of the most well-known movie websites on the internet, is most famous for its film ratings.
The threshold for these ratings is very low, especially now, as almost all registered users can rate their favorite movies.
Daisy had registered her IMDB account long ago, and as she opened the website, it was, of course, to rate "Saw".
It had to be said that since Amazon acquired IMDB, it had done an excellent job in terms of immediacy. Even for a film like "Saw," which had just begun limited preview screenings, there was already a dedicated rating section.
She didn't immediately rate the film, but first checked the rating already given by other users next to the movie poster.
Currently, thirty-seven users had rated it, with an astonishingly high score of 8.8!
Without needing to think, Daisy knew that these thirty-seven users were definitely horror movie enthusiasts.
Frankly speaking, Daisy felt that the rating was a bit high. The film was indeed very good, but 8.8 was a bit exaggerated, and also...
She gave it an 8.5 rating, then typed a line with some resentment.
"Perhaps the most terrifying and bloody aspect of 'Saw' is not the intricately designed murder games, but the cold and inhuman inner world of that damn director, Murphy Stanton. A person's psyche twisted to the extreme, either destroying oneself or the world, but definitely set on destruction. And after the destruction, that twisted director, Stanton, can still come up with some absurd excuse to hypnotize himself..."
Daisy closed the webpage, leaned back in her chair, and the desire to see what that twisted director looked like grew stronger.
The night breeze blew through the streets of Seattle, bringing an unexpected coolness even in July. On the streets near Pike Place Market, several young people rubbed their arms outside their short-sleeved T-shirts, walking towards the nearby cinema.
"Is it really as good as you say?" asked a blond boy.
"Really, I swear!" a black mixed-race boy swore enthusiastically, "After watching 'Saw,' I guarantee you won't sleep all night!"
He had just seen it in the morning and was eager to share the wonder he had discovered with others. As soon as he returned to his university dorm, he immediately gathered all his friends who lived in the same apartment building.
"If it doesn't scare you, if it doesn't surprise you," he continued, "you can twist my head off and kick it like a ball!"
The others were skeptical, but as they walked towards the cinema, they encountered many people, most of whom were discussing the movie they had just seen, like most of the other audience members.
"What a talented director, what a talented screenwriter!" one person's voice was particularly loud, "The ending is definitely something only the devil could come up with."
Someone else chimed in, "I really admire the director and screenwriter. How did they come up with and shoot such a twist?"
"I'll remind you..." another person said in a pompous tone, "The director and screenwriter are the same person, just praise one person."
"I'm happy to praise them both!" the person said ecstatically, "With such a terrifying movie, such a director, if I don't praise them, what else would I praise?"
These words all reached the ears of the blond boy's group.
Seeing those people walking towards them, the blond boy couldn't help but ask out of curiosity, "Sorry to bother you, but could you tell us which movie you were discussing just now?"
"Murphy Stanton!" the speaker was pulled by his companion and scratched his head apologetically, "It's 'Saw,' directed by Murphy Stanton."
Like excited children eager to share their joy, he added, "If you like horror movies, I highly recommend you go see this movie. The feeling is just wonderful..."
After hearing the praises from the other group, the blond boy couldn't help but believe the words of the black mixed-race boy, and his anticipation for the movie grew even higher.
In the absence of sufficient publicity, "Saw" was spreading by word of mouth. Although it was not as widely known as mainstream commercial blockbusters, word-of-mouth promotion was the most effective way to drive others to purchase tickets. Many horror movie enthusiasts learned about this film from friends, colleagues, or family members, then went to the theater, and the vast majority of them were satisfied, spreading the word further...
Such information obtained from relatively trusted sources spread relatively slowly, but its impact on actual ticket purchases far exceeded that of media hype.
Kevin Harland was a freelancer in the film industry, like many others. For example, when a movie star came to Las Vegas for an event, they could accept employment from companies to act as the most enthusiastic fans, and some companies needed to investigate the popularity or market prospects of their works in Sin City, so they could also act as investigators.
Hollywood supported them, and they revolved around Hollywood to make a living.
This time, he accepted employment from a research company to spend three days over the weekend surveying data on a movie in the same theater. For a payment of three hundred dollars, he was doing his best.
This was a theater in Las Vegas, and Kevin Harland had been involved in related work for a long time, so he was already familiar with the people in the theater. Otherwise, he wouldn't be able to do this temporary job.
As the night grew deeper, the number of people in the theater decreased, and in the quiet smoking area of the theater, Kevin Harland lit a cigarette for the person opposite him, "How was the movie I was surveying?"
The person was the head of operations at the theater, who took a deep drag from his cigarette and said nonchalantly, "It's pretty much the same as what you saw. The number of viewers for 'Saw' has been steadily increasing. The latest screening just now had at least sixty people!"
"It seems this movie has great potential," Kevin Harland murmured to himself, then asked the person opposite him, "Is this the last screening today? And have you got the box office statistics?"
"I knew you wouldn't come over here for nothing," the head of operations pointed at him and flicked some ash off his cigarette, "We had two screenings in the morning, which should be around $270. The situation was better in the afternoon, with four screenings bringing in about $1200. Tonight, as you saw, the occupancy rate in the hundred-seat hall has already exceeded fifty percent, so the four screenings should bring in at least $1600, totaling around $3000 for today."
Kevin Harland seized the opportunity and asked, "How is this performance?"
"The 'Saw' is only in one theater, but in terms of single-theater performance, it's only surpassed by MGM's 'Legally Blonde' and Warner Bros.' 'Cats & Dogs,' ranking third in the theater."
The first two movies were typical mainstream commercial blockbusters, so it was normal for "Saw" to rank lower than them. Kevin Harland finished his conversation with the head of operations and returned to the lobby, sitting down on a resting chair and sorting through the firsthand data he had
collected today.
By the end of the day, he had consulted 125 viewers who had seen "Saw." Since those who were able to watch such films were often enthusiasts, their reviews of the movie were extremely high, with an astonishing ninety percent positive rating, especially for the director's incredible storytelling skills.
That director, Murphy Stanton, seemed to have a knack for horror films.
Unfortunately, the director was probably an unknown newcomer; otherwise, a film of this caliber should have been screened in more theaters.
Shaking his head, Kevin Harland stuffed the neatly arranged data into his briefcase and retrieved a survey report temporarily stored at the front desk of the theater for a final check.
This was a survey report on where the target audience learned about the movie before coming to buy tickets.
In the morning, the audience had primarily learned about "Saw" through four main channels: print media and newspapers, accounting for about one-third; television advertisements and late-night trailers, also about one-third; information on the internet, less than one-third; and finally, those who were influenced by seeing the posters and trailers at the cinema, which were the fewest.
However, in the afternoon and evening, a portion of the audience almost tripled, increasing to nearly one-third—those who were influenced by others' word of mouth to come and buy tickets!
Although not a professional in this field, Kevin Harland often took on temporary roles like this and understood what this meant.
Audiences who had seen "Saw" were extremely satisfied and willing to share this pleasure with others, thereby unwittingly becoming a promotional tool for the film!
Such films often received overwhelming positive reviews from audiences and ended up with decent box office results!
What about "Saw"? Kevin Harland knew that the audience feedback he had just collected was simply indescribably enthusiastic, but the film was only being shown in 30 theaters. Those who could watch such a film were often enthusiasts of this genre, so giving it a good review seemed natural. But what about when it expanded its release? Would it show a different outcome when more people saw it?
There were plenty of Hollywood films that received overwhelming praise during limited screenings but flopped after wider release.
After this day, he had subconsciously categorized "Saw" into the category of films that could expand their release.
Turning his head, Kevin Harland glanced at the poster in the theater, where the unfamiliar name Murphy Stanton didn't inspire much confidence in him.
Just as he finished organizing the survey report, a commotion and footsteps came from nearby. Glancing at the time, Kevin Harland realized it was the end of the final screening of "Saw" for the day. He had no intention of approaching, as he had already done enough work for the day.
Among the crowd, a middle-aged man with a large, round head caught Kevin Harland's attention.
The head of operations at the theater had already seen the man, and agilely maneuvered through the crowd like a rabbit, "Mr. Mints, it's really you! I didn't expect you to come to our theater; it's an honor for us."
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