Chapter 428 The box office is Good (3/10)

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

The screening is equivalent to a water test, a small-scale screening, and the market trend is judged based on the results of the screening.

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

Of course, sometimes the screening results are average, and the theaters are optimistic about this movie, and the screening time can also be extended.

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

"Mr. Tree" grossed US2230,000 in its first week, with an average attendance rate of 82%.

Judging from the attendance ranking, the top three literary and artistic movies in the same period had a higher attendance rate than the box office champion "Finding Nemo 2".

It's just that considering that the box office in the first week mainly relied on the popularity of Link's new song MV, this data is very high, and there is a lack of confidence in the theater.

In the second week, it was only extended to screenings in 26 theaters.

By this week, many clips of "Mr. Tree" and movie commentary appeared on video sites such as YouTube.

There are also video bloggers who edited a video of a big Hollywood actor smoking in a movie.

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

Although Mr. Tree's smoking action is also very cool, it is very eye-catching and even unsightly in a group of big-name Hollywood actors, and it makes people remember him.

The number of clicks on this video exceeded 2 million in five days.

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

Most film critics use the theme of magical realism to describe the genre of this exotic movie, saying that this is a movie that is not easy to understand. If you can understand the plot, it is also a movie worth watching for audiences who like niche literary and artistic movies.

"Variety" commented that it is a "textbook-level" film that understands the local culture of China.

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

The Chicago Tribune called the movie a Chinese version of the ’joker'.

“Is this an exaggeration?”

Link was a little amused when he saw the publicity in the newspaper.

At the beginning, the task he entrusted to the publicity department was to use the media to praise the film and arouse the curiosity of the audience. As a result, the publicity department directly touted the film as an Oscar-level.

Although "Mr. Tree" is not bad, it is not at the level of the Oscar for Best Foreign Language film.

“Chairman, this is the basic operation of promoting movies. If you want to hold a movie, you have to hold it to the extreme, so that people can be curious and go to the movies, and also let opponents go to the movies for criticism, so that the movies will have attention.”

Lions Gate Operations Officer Brian Goldsmith said.

Link nodded and asked the publicity department to proceed as planned. Although such publicity is suspected of being embarrassing, as long as the movie can be fired up and make more box office, it doesn't matter if it is embarrassing.

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

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

In the U.S. film market, there are more than 700 films screened publicly every year, compared with 774 last year, and only more than 400 movies have a box office of 1 million.

"Mr. Tree" sold 1.07 million U.S. dollars in two weeks, which is better than most foreign language movies.

In view of the good box office results last week, in the third week, the number of theaters where "Mr. Tree" was released expanded to 204.

During this week, many veteran actors stood up and touted the acting skills of the male protagonist of "Mr. Tree".

For example, the 41st Oscar winner Cliff Robertson and the 58th Oscar winner William Holt, in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, they praised the actor Stan Wang, who played Mr. Tree in the movie, for his superb acting skills. He is a ‘genius’ actor.

His acting skills exceed 99% of the current male actors on the screen, and he is expected to be shortlisted for this year's Oscar for best actor.

Although someone broke the news afterwards that Cliff Robertson had recently taken over a role in Lionsgate before he would take the stage for Lionsgate and publicly touted Stan Wang, when the news was first reported, it caused a lot of sensation in the American film industry. Sensation.

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

Some praised, some cursed.

The media has a comprehensive review of 82 points, the Rotten Tomatoes website has a score of 76% freshness, 42 people support and 18 people oppose; on the Yahoo side, the film critics scored B+.

Word of mouth has a tendency to polarize.

The professional media generally have a high evaluation of the film, thinking that it is a good movie, suitable for watching it quietly and slowly.

Ordinary viewers commented that they couldn't understand or understand, and this movie was not suitable for watching in theaters.

Both sides have their own opinions.

However, what Link didn't expect was that Jacquin Phoenix was bored and ran to watch "Mr. Tree". After watching it, he bragged to the media and praised Stan Wang's acting skills. It's really good. Ordinary actors can't perform at this level, and he said that Stan Wang's performance gave him a lot of inspiration.

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

Brian said no, and said that not only Jacquin, but also actors such as actors William Holt and Michael Keaton, also spoke publicly for "Mr. Tree" without being publicized by them.

Link asked Brian what is the reason, these people want to make friends with Lionsgate in this way?

Brian Goldsmith said not necessarily, and told him a message.

At present, many film critics in the media praise "Mr. Tree". Some of them are people from the company, but a large part of them are not the result of the company's public relations, but the film critics feel good after watching the movie and take the initiative to post positive comments.

“In other words, this movie is not bad?”

Link was a little surprised.

“Yes, in terms of artistry, this film is also considered first-class in the world. The only problem is the Chinese background. The theme is too esoteric, which leads to many people who can't understand it. People who can understand it will think it's good. They think that the film is exploring human nature and sociality, and the topics involved are more profound and belong to a niche boutique.”

Brian said.

Link nodded, he seemed to underestimate the movie a little bit, and he also underestimated the level of appreciation of the audience a little too much.

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

It's just that art has no borders. Good works of art will break through all kinds of barriers and resonate with people. For example, Asian movies such as "The Kite Chaser", "Little Shoes", "Rashomon" and "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" received a lot of praise when they were released in the United States.

In the third week of its release, "Mr. Tree" received a box office of US22.337 million in North America, ranking 15th in the box office rankings during the same period, with a cumulative box office of US33.41 million, far exceeding expectations.

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

If his public relations expenses are not included, the company has invested about 1.8 million U.S. dollars in copyright fees, production fees, publicity funds, etc. in this film, which has now been paid back.

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

Harvey said with a calm face.

This week, Weinstein Pictures also released a Chinese film, "Martial Arts" directed by Chen Kexin, which was not long ago shortlisted for the non-competitive "Midnight Unit" of the Cannes Film Festival.

Harvey used 650,000 U.S. dollars to get the North American distribution rights of the film.

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

The result was very unsatisfactory.

"Martial Arts" was screened in 8 theaters for three days over the weekend, and the box office was 107,000 US dollars, which was far lower than expected.

The attendance rate and average daily box office data are not as good as Link's "Mr. Tree".

Harvey was very dissatisfied with this.

It is also a Chinese-themed movie. The potential of the Chinese kung fu film "Martial Arts" is obviously greater than that of the local theme "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 have a good box office, on the one hand is word-of-mouth and on the other hand is publicity. "Martial Arts" is a foreign film. The quality is not particularly high. It is difficult to accumulate a high reputation and form a person-to-person communication effect. Then you need to spend money on publicity and spread it widely.

Just like Lionsgate, that "Mr. Tree" was very niche, and when it was released, no one was optimistic about the movie.

But under the continuous publicity and operation of Link and Lionsgate, it actually sold 3.39 million US dollars at the box office in three weeks, more than three times the budget.

"Complete Movie" analyzes the movie's box office for three reasons.

The first is Link.

Link became famous, driving the first wave of fans to watch the movie, so that the movie had a good screening result.

The second is publicity. Lionsgate has a good publicity strategy and is willing to spend money. In the case of uncertain market prospects, Lionsgate smashed more than one million for publicity. This is undoubtedly a big gamble. Lionsgate won the bet.

The second is that the quality of the film is good and can stand up to praise.

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

"Mr. Tree" has Link's new song to help promote, which has attracted many people's attention.

"Martial Arts" does not have the top stream to bring goods, so it needs to spend money to ask film critics to trumpet the hype and find a way to trick the audience into the theater.

“Smash the money?”

Harvey frowned. He could also come up with this method, but the premise of throwing money was that there was money. With the company's current financial situation, this method was not suitable.

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

“This”

David Glasser shrugged, "Investing in movies is like betting in a casino. In the end, no one is sure if they can make money. I think Lionsgate is not sure that they can recover their investment before releasing "Mr. Tree." They are also taking risks.”

Harvey thought for a while, do you want to take a gamble?If you win, you can recover the cost, and if you lose, you will lose more.

“What is the opinion of the marketing department?”

“They believe that the film has a general outlook. Even if it increases publicity, it will not have much box office. It is recommended to end the screening early and make it into a DVD release, which may be able to recover part of the cost.”

David Glasser said.

Harvey thought for a while with a calm face, there was no other good way, so he could only accept the suggestion of the marketing department.

If it was when he first entered the industry, he might take a risk, but not now.

After decades of ups and downs in Hollywood, he has seen too many film companies go bankrupt due to gambling mistakes. He knows how risky it is to do so. For the sake of safety, it is better not to follow.

Although I knew it was the right thing to do, I was very upset when I thought that Link and Lionsgate had made the right bet this time and made millions of dollars more.

Harvey thought about finding someone to step on this movie, like dealing with "Bridesmaids", but "Mr. Tree" is already niche and not well-known. Stepping on it is also increasing its exposure. Undoubtedly, it is helping Link's movie to promote.

He would never do such a stupid thing.

After thinking about it for a while, I didn't expect any good way to deal with Link.

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

Bob comforted that "Mr. Tree" performed well at the box office, indicating that Link has a good vision. That "Master" may sell well and the company can make money. This is not a good thing.

Also, in order to save face, Link spent more than one million to promote the film, indicating that Link is very gambling, and he can make a fuss in this regard in the future and pit him.

Harvey thought for a while and felt that 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 that he is a top producer and is good at making movies. He should use this expertise to make more blockbuster movies. As long as the company's movies sell well, there is no need to envy Link.

Bob also reminded him that during this time he paid too much attention to Link's affairs and wasted a lot of time and energy. This is not good. I hope he can spend more time on film production.

Harvey snorted coldly and hung up the phone with a black face.

After sitting in the office for a while, he felt that Bob was right. He still had to start with the movie to deal with Link. He cursed the damn Link, called the female secretary and the driver, and said he was going to the studio to have a look.

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

Because of Link, he must endure all this now.

——

“Link, in order to promote the movie, you wrote a champion single, which is amazing.”

On the beach, Cassie Affleck said over a 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 heavy, I don't know if he was jealous.

Link smiled softly. A few days ago, in order to promote "Mr. Tree", he copied a popular song "Blind Lights" in 2020. The lyrics are somewhat close to the plot of Mr. Tree. The MV of this song was the first to be released on YouTube, and it was played more than 30 million times in a week.

By the second week, the recorded version of the song was officially released on paid/free music platforms such as iTunes, Amazon Music Store, and Spotify. Under the premise of free resources, it still sold 1.45 million copies on major platforms in the first week, becoming the number one song on the "Billboard" singles chart.

The popularity of this song also increased the exposure of "Mr. Tree" and contributed some box office to the film.

“This song is the second special work, not written for the movie. Because of the different styles, it was not included in the second and third albums. This time to promote the movie, there is a lack of a gimmick, so I took out this song, but the effect is very general.”

Link said.

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

Some people joked that the video was for the hillbilly to wear a top-of-the-line fashion. Although it was eye-catching, it was not coordinated.

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

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

“Hey, Jiekun, how come you have time to come over, the movie is over?”

Cassie patted her ass and stood up from the beach.

This is the beach of Cassie Affleck's villa in Malibu. Link was invited to come and take a walk. There were also James Franco, Toby Maguire, Summer Phoenix, Zac Efron and others present.

Seeing Jacquin Phoenix coming over, he waved and said hello.

“I heard that you are drinking here. I'm fine this afternoon. Come over for a drink. Hi, Link, it's so rare to see you here.”

Jie Kun smiled.

Link picked up a can of beer and handed it to him, “Jiekun, I haven't thanked you for helping me promote the movie. You helped me get millions at the box office in one sentence.”

“You're welcome!What I told reporters at the time was the truth. The Chinese actor's acting skills were indeed very good. If he didn't act in his true colors, he could be nominated for the Oscar for best actor based on his acting skills.”

Jiekun leaned against the palm tree and said, drinking beer.

Help Wang Baoqiang win the Oscar for best actor?

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

If it does happen, on the day of the Oscars, Wang Baoqiang sits among Leonardo, Johnny Depp, Brad Pitt and others, the scene is a bit novel to think about.

(End of this chapter)