Chapter 240: The Beast in the Cage

First thing Monday morning, Doug Walter, head of distribution for Warner Brothers, met with CEO Jeff Robinov before heading to a reception room. Los Angeles representatives from Regal Entertainment, the AMG Chain, United Artists Theaters, and the North American Theater Alliance were already waiting inside.

"Hello, Michael. Hello, Steve..."

Doug Walter greeted them one by one and sat across from them, brimming with confidence.

Steve, the AMG representative, spoke first.

"Doug, AMG has already expanded Chicago's screen count as much as possible."

"Regal Entertainment has done the same."

Michael and the others chimed in with similar remarks.

"Expanded?"

Doug Walter's face showed undisguised dissatisfaction.

"As far as I know, the total number of theaters for Chicago right now is barely 500. Don't tell me you've already done your best..."

"We can't dedicate every newly available theater and screen solely to Chicago..."

Before the United Artists representative could finish, Doug Walter cut him off.

"So you allocated a portion of your theaters to The English Patient? Gentlemen, could you please look at the data? Could you ask your superiors to look at the data before making a decision?"

Data and commercial performance were the foundation of Doug Walter's aggressive confidence. Without giving them time to react, he spoke rapidly.

"Let's not even talk about Star Trek, which made 30 million dollars in its opening week. Let's just compare The English Patient and Chicago, which share similar niche genres. In its first three days, The English Patient took in 2.71 million dollars, while Chicago made 3.18 million..."

"The numbers aren't that far apart, right?"

Doug Walter's voice rang exceptionally loud.

"Please don't forget that the former is playing in 268 theaters, while the latter is only in 100! The English Patient has an opening-week per-theater average of just 10,123 dollars, while Chicago sits at a staggering 31,875 dollars!"

Finally, Doug Walter stood up.

"Give me one good reason why you aren't throwing your full support behind Chicago!"

The theater representatives weren't fools, either. They offered no concrete promises, only assuring him that if the film maintained its current momentum over the next few days, its theater count would inevitably see another massive increase this weekend.

Though dissatisfied, Doug Walter understood that under these circumstances, market rules had the final say.

As the new week began on Monday, Chicago's screening scale multiplied several times over, reaching 500 theaters. The film also started showing in more regions. With the rapid increase in viewership, Chicago's audience word-of-mouth inevitably saw a slight decline, but everyone who watched it shared one consensus: this was not a traditional musical.

"The movie isn't boring at all. In fact, it's a lot of fun."

Footage of moviegoer interviews was continuously broadcast on television.

"It's full of black humor, and the song and dance numbers aren't outdated in the slightest. It's full of modern flair."

"This is an incredibly successful adaptation!"

Theater fans had clear-cut opinions, largely supporting the film. Many people who remembered the Chicago stage musical bought tickets and headed to the cinema.

As night fell, Broadway was brightly lit once again. The Chicago movie advertisements erected on 42nd Street and Broadway were exceptionally conspicuous. Sparse crowds passed beneath the billboards and walked to the Abbott Theater, where posters for Chicago were also displayed—but these were for the stage musical.

In late November, New York nights carried a palpable chill. After purchasing their tickets, many audience members hurried inside the theater, found their seats, and waited for the show to begin.

Theater manager Jamie Albert stood in front of a second-floor box, watching the growing crowd below with a deepening smile. Following the summer performances and the start of the new season in November, the number of spectators coming to see Chicago had steadily declined. Most of the time, attendance barely hovered at fifty percent.

Unexpectedly, starting last Saturday night, the theater's audience numbers surged. Nearly every show was packed, almost making him wonder if the golden age of stage musicals had returned.

In reality, Jamie Albert knew very well that the golden age of musicals would never return. The theater only boasted such high attendance rates because of a single movie: Chicago!

He had looked into it. Over the last few days, any cinema screening Chicago could only be described as explosive. Middle-aged and elderly audiences, who had gradually drifted away from movie theaters, practically leveled the cinema thresholds after a brief reaction period. Having seen the film, these people were reminded of the old stage musical, and thus, this deeply nostalgic demographic returned to Broadway.

Aside from them, Jamie Albert also noticed a sharp increase in young audience members over the past two days. He had looked into it: these people originally had no interest in musicals, but after watching the movie, their curiosity was piqued, drawing them here.

The blockbuster success of the film had completely driven up the theater's box office. Jamie Albert was well aware that he had become a beneficiary of Duke Rosenberg's inadvertent influence.

Of course, he also knew that an increase in theatergoers actually helped the film as well. The relationship between the two was inextricable.

When the show ended that night, Jamie Albert accepted an interview with the New York Times. When asked about the film version of Chicago, he gave this answer.

"Duke Rosenberg has accomplished a magnificent adaptation!"

As the film's screening scale expanded, Duke traveled alongside the cast and crew. Together with lead actors like Tom Cruise, Naomi Watts, and Catherine Zeta-Jones, he began touring major cities across North America to promote the movie.

"I never once considered making a traditional musical."

Upon arriving in Chicago, Duke accepted a television interview at ABC Television's headquarters. Now that the nostalgic demographic had shown sufficient enthusiasm for the film, all that remained was to ignite the viewing desire of younger audiences.

"I believe the pacing of a musical can be just as tight as an action movie," he said. "The content can be more interesting, more fun, and bring people more joy. That's why I added a lot of black humor. It makes people even happier while they experience the song and dance."

"This is my style. What the audience likes is always the primary factor I consider when making a movie."

As long as it got more people into theaters to watch Chicago, Duke didn't care what he had to say. Wherever they went to promote the film, he and Tom Cruise praised each other to the high heavens. Judging purely by what the two men expressed, they were absolutely the best of friends and partners in Hollywood.

Naturally, Duke also followed Penny Kalis's plan, frequently showing affection with Catherine Zeta-Jones in public to generate more buzz for the film.

The crew's Tom Cruise-centered promotional strategy also worked wonders. Aside from the theater count gap that couldn't be closed in the short term, Chicago's buzz in the media and among the public completely crushed the Thanksgiving blockbuster, Star Trek: First Contact.

Although the difference in theaters meant the two films' total box office revenues were incomparable, Chicago maintained an incredibly high attendance rate and per-theater average once the workweek began.

When Duke and the others returned to Los Angeles on Friday, Chicago had played in 500 theaters over the past four workdays, pulling in 3.21 million, 3.15 million, 3.34 million, and 3.28 million dollars, respectively. Coupled with the 3.18 million from its three-day opening weekend and the 30,000-plus dollars from its Toronto Film Festival screenings, its cumulative North American box office stood at 16.19 million dollars.

Compared to the tens of millions Duke casually raked in during the Summer Season, this figure was rather underwhelming. But one had to consider the film's genre. Even The English Patient, another niche film, had only managed 9.87 million dollars in the same period after expanding to 593 theaters!

Equally impossible to ignore was Chicago's ultra-high audience word-of-mouth, which had consistently stayed above 95 percent. The film was only just starting to show in major and mid-sized cities across America; there were still numerous regions where it had yet to premiere.

By this point, Chicago's expanded release was unstoppable. Even if the Weinstein Brothers personally called the theater managers, it would be to no avail.

"Sorry, Bob."

Even though he was apologizing to Bob Weinstein over the phone, Paul, the CEO of AMG, felt no remorse whatsoever.

"We cannot accept your request for AMG to evenly split the newly available theaters between Chicago and The English Patient. Compared to Chicago, your box office numbers simply aren't persuasive. The fact that we're giving you a third of the screens is purely out of respect for our years of relations."

AMG and the other theater chains hadn't released Chicago on a large scale initially because its niche genre posed a market risk they wanted to avoid. Now, just like Duke's other films, Chicago was demonstrating massive market potential, outshining The English Patient by far more than just a single measure. How could they possibly hand theaters meant for Chicago over to The English Patient?

Paul knew full well that the other theater chains would handle the matter exactly the same way AMG had.

Because no strong films were releasing this week, the most market-friendly film, Star Trek: First Contact, held steady at 2,812 theaters. Starting Friday, Chicago's theater count multiplied yet again, skyrocketing from its original 500 to 1,866, giving it the muscle to truly brawl in the market.

Coinciding with the theater expansion, the crew generated another wave of news. Paparazzi snapped photos of Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman walking out of a private hospital. Goaded by certain outlets, the tabloids enthusiastically hyped the rumor that Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman had successfully conceived and were expecting their first child...

Meanwhile, Duke wasn't sitting idle either. Following the plan, Catherine Zeta-Jones prepared to move into Duke's mansion in high-profile fashion, and somehow, the news conveniently slipped into the ears of reporters and paparazzi.