Chapter 239: Interests and Prejudice

"Before shooting the marionette scene, we practiced for two whole months, but Duke still wasn't satisfied with our rehearsals. After one bad take after another, Nami and I..."

On the NBC Television Network's morning program The Today Show, Tom Cruise, Naomi Watts, and Catherine Zeta-Jones were going all out to promote the film, sharing behind-the-scenes stories from the shoot. Even though the movie's primary audience was the nostalgic crowd, the production team was actively courting a wider demographic, much as they had done by hyping up the fake romance between Duke and Zeta-Jones.

Sitting at the dining table across from the television, Duke ate the breakfast his mother had left for him at an unhurried pace. A knock sounded outside, followed by Tina Fey greeting the maid, and then his assistant walked into the dining room.

"Have a seat, Tina."

Duke casually gestured to the chair across from him. Tina Fey pulled a folder from her bag, sat down, and glanced at the three leads still enthusiastically talking up the film on the television.

Opening the folder, she said, "Duke, yesterday's single-day box office numbers are in."

Setting down his coffee cup, Duke swallowed his food. "Tell me how the three new releases did."

"Here are Friday's twenty-four-hour box office figures," Tina Fey said, scanning the numbers on the page. "Paramount Pictures' Star Trek: First Contact took in $9.87 million across 2,812 theaters! Miramax's The English Patient made $950,000 in 268 theaters! And our Chicago pulled in $980,000 from 100 theaters!"

"$9,800 per theater for a single day?" Duke flicked the side of his cup lightly. "Not bad. That's a bit higher than I expected."

Given the film's pre-release publicity and the reputation Chicago had built up over the years, its per-theater average in a limited platform release was bound to explode. According to projections from Duke Studio and Warner, the film's per-theater gross over the three-day opening weekend should have been over $20,000. Now that opening day alone had hit $9,800—and with Saturday grosses typically climbing higher than Friday's—the opening-weekend average per theater could easily make a run at the $30,000 mark.

Judging by this momentum, 100 theaters clearly wouldn't be enough to meet market demand.

With that in mind, Duke said, "Tina, give me the rest of the stats."

"Star Trek: First Contact had an average attendance rate of 21.3% and an audience approval rating of 67%; several analytics firms expect its box office to drop sharply after the first week. The English Patient had a 39% attendance rate and an 82% audience approval rating, though with so few theaters showing it, the outlook remains unclear. Chicago posted a 79.5% attendance rate and a 96% audience approval rating. Audience word of mouth is through the roof, and market analytics firms believe our box office will likely see rapid growth if we expand the release."

Expand the release?

That would still require communicating with the theater chains, and none of it could be rushed.

Duke asked, "What about the audience demographics?"

"Of the 210,000 moviegoers who walked into screenings of Chicago yesterday, roughly 70% were over the age of forty, while students made up less than 20%. Moreover, the older moviegoers almost universally gave the film glowing reviews."

Because the film was playing in a limited number of theaters and in only a handful of regions, the first people to see it tended to be fans of the stage musical Chicago or die-hard supporters of Duke and Tom Cruise. That initial audience was relatively narrow, which minimized the chances of people who didn't care for the genre or who bought tickets blindly wandering into a screening. As a result, the film built sky-high word of mouth right out of the gate—and combined with the marketing push, that was more than enough to whet a lot of people's appetites.

The vast majority of moviegoers in the world, upon seeing a film they consider fantastic, will naturally recommend it to the people around them. Those who hear the recommendation tend to go in with a favorable impression of their own, spreading the strong word of mouth even further. On top of that, the film was hardly an unknown title; it had already been hyped and promoted through multiple channels. Once the market had fermented to the right point, expanding the release would unleash tremendous energy.

This was arguably the most suitable marketing and distribution strategy for a relatively niche genre film.

Chicago already boasted considerable name recognition, had numerous favorable factors working for it, and was backed by rock-solid quality. By Saturday night, more than half the screening rooms across its 100 theaters were even seeing the rare sight of sold-out houses.

"Hello, this is Regal Entertainment..."

The Regal Theater Chain's public hotline had been ringing nonstop since the start of the day.

"We are aware of your urgent request. Regal Entertainment will coordinate with our theaters as quickly as possible, and Chicago will open in more locations as soon as we can manage."

"Hello, this is Regal Entertainment... You'd like to ask when Chicago will open in Anacos City? I'm sorry, sir, we currently don't have..."

"Fuck..."

Before the operator could finish speaking, a burst of swearing came from the other end of the line. Still, the staff at Regal Entertainment had grown used to it today. Plenty of impatient moviegoers, upon hearing that the film wouldn't be opening in their city for the time being, would leave a few rude words behind out of sheer frustration.

By Sunday, the situation hadn't eased up at all—some of it even made the live news broadcasts.

In the New York and Chicago areas, quite a few older moviegoers stood outside several theaters showing Chicago, holding high signs covered in writing. They all had just one goal—hoping that people arriving to pick up tickets reserved by phone would agree to transfer their tickets to them!

Reporters also interviewed some of them.

One person said, "My friends saw the movie yesterday and said it was fantastic. I'm a musical theater lover and I just can't wait anymore, but the theater has no tickets left—all of today's tickets sold out in advance. I don't want to wait any longer, so I'm hoping someone who changes their mind will pass their ticket on to me."

Chicago was short on tickets—severely short! Demand far outstripped supply!

Everything was sending that exact message to the public. Many who saw the reports found themselves wondering: just how hot did a movie have to be for every single ticket to sell out, and for people to stand outside theaters begging for tickets?

It wasn't just older moviegoers, either. As time went on, the strong word of mouth gradually spread to the teenagers and young adults whose attention had been caught by the pre-release publicity—the very demographic that formed the largest audience for the tabloid gossip about Duke and Tom Cruise, as well as Duke and Zeta-Jones.

While the film obviously couldn't draw a younger audience the way a sci-fi or action blockbuster could, the studio had pulled out nearly every promotional stop available, which was enough to win over a good number of them.

Among those efforts, Naomi Watts and Catherine Zeta-Jones walked onto the campus of New York University that Sunday, teaming up with the school's musical theater troupe to put on a sizzling song-and-dance show that drew even more attention from the youth demographic.

"They're even more gorgeous in person than they look on the posters!"

The internet had long since taken root across major universities in North America, with the Ivy League schools connected even more closely. That very day, college forums along the East Coast erupted in discussion.

"I was one of Zeta-Jones's backup dancers. She's so sexy, and her singing and dancing are truly amazing—I feel like she's even more charismatic than Julia Roberts."

"I wonder what kind of performances they give in the movie. I really want to see it; I just can't get a ticket."

"Yeah, you can't get a ticket anywhere. I called several theaters and they're all sold out."

"With tickets selling this fast, the movie must be a massive hit..."

At the Los Angeles Santa Monica Commercial Square, a promotional event had just wrapped up. Anthony Minghella walked out and got into the car waiting for him.

"Just how much did Warner Brothers spend on marketing and distribution for Chicago?"

Anthony Minghella directed the question to Harvey Weinstein beside him. "I can't believe they've created this much momentum."

"I heard that at Duke Rosenberg's request, they put up $15 million for marketing and distribution," Harvey Weinstein said calmly.

"A $25 million production budget and $15 million for marketing and distribution!" The corner of Anthony Minghella's mouth twitched. "Aren't they worried about losing money?"

"Don't forget, the film's director is Duke Rosenberg. He commands that kind of market value." Harvey Weinstein signaled the driver to pull out, then said, "On Saturday, Chicago took in $1.25 million across 100 theaters!"

At the mention of that figure, even Harvey Weinstein felt an inward tremor. Both were genre films opening in limited release, yet The English Patient had managed only $970,000 across 268 theaters. The two clearly weren't in the same league.

He glanced over at Anthony Minghella, and a realization suddenly hit him. When it came to plying those so-called artistic techniques, three Duke Rosenbergs put together might not match one Anthony Minghella. Yet when it came to reading what the market wanted, he was certain ten Anthony Minghellas wouldn't be a match for Duke Rosenberg.

The strategy he had mapped out for The English Patient was an Oscar campaign—but why campaign for an Oscar in the first place?

Harvey Weinstein knew better than anyone what Miramax's real goal was: commercial profit, pure and simple!

Perhaps after this year's Oscars, he could team up with Duke Rosenberg on a project? The thought came to him naturally, only to vanish in a flash, because judging from the current reception to Chicago, the other film was very likely to be a formidable rival to The English Patient at the Oscars.

Right now, he needed to give some serious thought to how to smear Duke Rosenberg and his Chicago!

In an office at AMG Cinema Line headquarters, the newly appointed CEO, Paul, was studying the figures in front of him. Across from him, Lynch, who had just been promoted to deputy general manager of the theater division, was looking over the exact same data.

Paul suddenly looked up and asked, "How many AMG theaters are currently showing Chicago?"

"Only ten," Lynch said solemnly, looking up as well. "Yet those ten theaters alone have already brought in $285,578 at the box office this weekend as of three o'clock this afternoon."

"It looks like even a genre film from Duke Rosenberg is nothing to underestimate."

The right choice to make now wasn't hard to see at all.

Paul said, "Starting tomorrow, allocate some of our freed-up theaters to Chicago. If its per-theater average stays at a high level before next weekend, we'll push it with everything we've got!"