Chương 23: Chapter 23: The Best Evidence
After hanging up the phone, Duke paced back and forth in the living room twice before calming down. The mixed emotions on his face were replaced by a sense of calm.
Due to the limited preview, "Speed" had its first-day statistics already available from just twenty screens in twenty theaters.
The average number of attendees per screening was 18 people, and the average box office per screening was $84—thanks to discount packages. Each theater averaged 8 screenings on the first day, and the total box office for the first-day previews was $13,440.
Compared to the major blockbusters, where a single screen could bring in $15,000, this performance was dismal.
However, another piece of news provided a much-needed boost in morale.
A total of 2,880 people had watched "Speed" on its first day, and 20th Century Fox received 2,056 survey responses. Of those, 1,577 rated the film A+, 256 gave it an A, and less than 20 people rated it below a C.
The word-of-mouth for the preview screenings was overwhelmingly positive.
The only question now was whether this strong word-of-mouth would translate into box office success.
With a quiet sigh, Duke left his home and walked towards the nearby seaside road. In April, Santa Monica was already getting warm. Although the sea breeze still had a hint of coolness, after walking along the coastal road for a short distance, Duke was sweating.
As he neared the private yacht dock area, Duke turned into an ice cream shop at a three-way intersection and spoke to the owner behind the counter, "Joe, can I get a chilled coconut juice?"
"Hey, Duke." The owner smiled as he handed over the drink. "I heard your movie was released?"
"You're well-informed." Duke took a large sip of the cold coconut juice, feeling much more refreshed.
"Don't forget, this is Santa Monica."
Joe, the owner, pointed in the direction of the yacht docks. "You could grab anyone from there, and they might just be a movie star."
Seeing Duke shrug, the owner added confidently, "Don't worry, Duke. We've known each other for ten years. I'll make sure everyone around me goes to see your movie!"
Hearing Joe's words, Duke couldn't help but look up, as if trying to see through the ceiling and into the sky beyond. He hoped that everyone who had seen the preview screenings would also spread the word and encourage others to watch "Speed." He knew how powerful word-of-mouth could be.
Not far from Duke, Kunitz was walking sluggishly into the University of Southern California. He hadn't slept well the previous night, his head filled with images of racing buses, and he even dreamed he was on a bus involved in a huge explosion, meeting God in the aftermath.
"Damn that movie! Why did that young director, Duke Rosenberg, make it so thrilling? So intense?"
"Hey, Kunitz."
Suddenly, a few classmates caught up with him, one of them, carrying a basketball, throwing an arm around his shoulder. "Come on, let's go shoot some hoops."
"Not today." Kunitz pointed to the dark circles under his eyes. "I need to catch up on sleep."
"You didn't sleep well?" Another person walked over and asked.
"I watched a movie last night, and it was too exciting..."
Like a kid eager to share a great story, Kunitz enthusiastically recounted, "Aside from *Terminator 2*, it's the best action movie I've seen in years."
A long string of praises poured from his mouth, and he finished with, "I suggest you guys go see it when you have time. It would be a shame to miss it."
"Oh?"
Several people were intrigued and asked, "So what's the movie called?"
"Speed!"
"Isn't this weekend free from any extracurricular activities?" The guy with the basketball suggested, "Let's all go see it together."
As the sun climbed overhead, Johnson returned to his office after lunch. During the short break, many of his colleagues gathered to discuss topics of interest. Johnson joined in, and after a bit of conversation about the new president and the collapse of the Soviet Union, the topic gradually shifted to movies.
"Next month, *Alien 3* will be released."
The speaker, probably nearing forty, seemed to have a special attachment to the *Alien* series from the late '70s. "I heard they changed directors again. This time, it's a rookie named David Fincher. Are any of you interested in watching?"
This wasn't exactly a family-friendly movie, more suitable for a group of friends.
"Is that the only new movie out?" Someone clearly wasn't interested in *Alien*.
"I'll recommend one to you." Johnson took the opportunity to speak. "I had the day off yesterday and went to see a movie called *Speed*..."
Though 20th Century Fox's marketing for *Speed* was still relatively low-key due to the limited budget, as more people watched the film, its reputation among audiences began to grow. While the box office didn't explode during the weekdays, it did show a slow upward trend each day.
The latest film data was also promptly relayed to Duke by Robin Grand
On Wednesday, the average number of attendees per screening was 21, with a total daily box office of $14,526.
On Thursday, the average number of attendees per screening increased to 25, with a total daily box office of $16,844.
In the first three days of previews, *Speed* grossed a total of $44,810 across 20 theaters, with an average of $2,240 per theater.
"That's a good result..."
On Friday morning, Duke received a call from George Lucas. "It's already surpassed my highest expectations. *Speed* has potential. I'll notify Lucasfilm to pressure 20th Century Fox to invest more resources."
At the same time, Townsend Rossman, head of distribution at 20th Century Fox, was convening a department meeting. In addition to discussing the release of *Alien 3*, they also addressed the ongoing previews for *Speed*.
*Alien 3* was, of course, a major project for 20th Century Fox this year and a key focus for distribution as part of a package deal with CAA.
"My opinion..."
Townsend Rossman's deputy chimed in, "We should remain cautious with *Speed*. Let's maintain the current level of marketing and see how the box office reacts on Friday and Saturday. Only the weekend box office can truly determine whether a film has the potential."
No one disagreed. Although the big studios release numerous flops every year, they're always cautious when it comes to investment. Even Spielberg's projects go through layers of scrutiny. From inception to production and then to distribution, long periods of research and evaluation are required. Snap decisions involving tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars never happen in large film companies with complex shareholding structures and power balances.
With Friday's arrival, the North American movie market entered its busiest period of the week. The weekly movie rankings in North America are also based on the box office numbers from Friday to Sunday, making this the time that best reflects a film's potential and competitiveness.
Fabio, a ticket seller at an independent theater, found his workload on weekends to be several times higher than during the week.
"*Basic Instinct*, two tickets, please."
Taking the money, Fabio expertly handed over the tickets and change. *Basic Instinct* had been in theaters for over a month, yet people still flocked to see Sharon Stone. It remained the theater's top seller.
As the clock ticked past 7 PM, more than forty people filed out of one of the screening rooms, discussing buses, subways, and explosions as they went. Fabio knew they were talking about the movie they'd just seen: *Speed*, which was in its fourth day of preview screenings at the theater.
It was a great film. Fabio had watched part of it himself during his day off. In his eyes, aside from Sharon Stone's nude scenes, *Basic Instinct* couldn't even compare to *Speed* in terms of excitement.
However, *Speed* suffered from a lack of star power, and its limited marketing left many people unaware of the movie. Over the first three weekdays, while attendance numbers had been rising, there wasn't any sign of a major breakthrough.
But today felt different. Attendance numbers for the screenings held so far had nearly doubled compared to yesterday.
"Hey, buddy..."
A group of students approached. "Six tickets for *Speed*."
As night fell, more and more people streamed into the theater.
"Two tickets for *Speed*."
"One ticket for *Speed*."
"*Speed*..."
Amid his busy work, Fabio suddenly realized that more and more people were buying tickets for *Speed*, even surpassing *Basic Instinct*, which was playing in three screening rooms.
After the latest screening of *Speed* began, Fabio finished his shift. During the handover, he roughly estimated the ticket sales for that screening and found that over 80 tickets had been sold. It was the highest single-screen attendance in the theater this week!
After days of slow buildup, the overwhelmingly positive word-of-mouth for *Speed* had finally taken effect. On Friday evening, from New York to Los Angeles, from Seattle to Nashville, the number of people attending preview screenings nearly doubled or tripled compared to Thursday. Many even arrived in groups, specifically asking to see *Speed*!
By the next morning, this trend had been reported back to 20th Century Fox. Although a final decision would require a meeting with higher-ups, Townsend Rossman already had the idea of allocating more resources to the film.
"The single-day box office for Friday was $62,778, with a per-theater average of $3,138, and 77% of the audience gave it an A+ rating..."
These figures on Townsend Rossman's desk were the clearest indication of the market potential of *Speed*!
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