A private visit

"So, Hugo, what do you think the premiere box office will be?" Alex asked in a low voice while sipping his coffee.

"Oh my, goodness." Joseph and Karl both groaned simultaneously, clearly not optimistic about Alex's suggestion. Hugo chuckled and shook his head, "I'm not going to play that game. I'm not one of those boring media outlets."

At this moment, Hugo and the other four people were sitting in the third-floor coffee shop of the Universal Cinema in the city center, waiting for the 4:30 PM screening of "A Few Good Men".

The distribution of cinemas in the United States is controlled by several major theater chains, including Universal, Paramount, Carmike, and Marcus, among others. Currently, there were approximately 20,000 screens in the United States, of which 45% were controlled by these major chains, accounting for over 80% of the box office revenue.

Of course, in addition to the large commercial chains, there were also independent and art-house cinemas in the United States, which provided strong support for film studies programs at American universities. Currently, the top-ranked art-house cinema in the United States was Landmark Cinemas, founded in 1965. Although it had less than thirty theaters in North America, its support for art films was unquestionable.

However, cinema locations in the United States are quite unique. They are usually situated in areas relatively far from the city center, mainly because commercial areas with amenities such as parking lots and shopping centers develop around cinemas, creating large entertainment complexes. Families can simply drive to the cinema and have a full day of leisure and entertainment. Therefore, cinemas are rarely located in the city center.

Los Angeles, however, was a bit different. In fact, there was no designated city center in Los Angeles. Affluent individuals live in the suburbs, and the city center was only a place for work or business. It was only the ordinary residents who chose to live near the city center. The so-called city center mentioned here was just a geographical reference, with a region radiating from the City Hall.

In reality, Los Angeles was a typical polycentric metropolitan area. In terms of its form, Los Angeles had established various city-county systems, but in terms of urban morphology, it was a metropolis composed of nearly a hundred polycentric cities. These cities were compactly and orderly arranged within a rectangular area of nearly 10,000 square kilometers, with distinct boundaries. The City Hall acted as a central focal point, bearing the responsibility of administrative districts.

So, when Hugo and his group wanted to choose a movie theater to watch the film, they chose the relatively less crowded city center. There was a Universal Cinema here, and the surrounding facilities were well-equipped. It was also the most bustling area in the old city. They drove for half an hour from Sunset Square and arrived at the Universal Cinema located in the downtown financial district. They could overlook Little Tokyo and Chinatown not far away, and there were noticeably more high-rise buildings around. However, compared to Manhattan in downtown New York, it was completely a different beast.

"Come on, just guess a number randomly." Alex persisted with a mischievous smile, as this was the most enjoyable part before the film's premiere.

"Don't scare him anymore, Alex," Charlize teased with an unscrupulous smile, causing Hugo to furrow his brow. "When did I get scared? I know the opening weekend will be a success. It's an expected outcome."

Hugo didn't forget to remind Charlize, "Don't forget, the premiere two days ago received widespread praise! I'm not worried at all."

"Well then, just pick a number randomly," Alex said with a playful persistence. Karl and Richard burst into laughter sitting across from them, but Joseph's facial expression was quite stiff, appearing even more nervous than Hugo.

Hugo looked at Alex's smile and shook his head in helplessness. "Alright." He thought for a moment, but when it came to box office figures, Hugo couldn't recall too many details. He remembered that "Avatar" had a global box office of 2.78 billion, but when it came to specific weekend numbers, he couldn't remember them, especially since his memory of "A Few Good Men" was already quite vague. So Hugo thought for a moment and said, "10 million, hmm?"

Hugo remembered that the Los Angeles Times had predicted 12 million before the film's release, so he chose a safer number and looked at Joseph, who was extremely nervous. "Is that okay?"

Joseph shrugged. "Maybe, maybe not." He didn't have many expressions to begin with, but today, due to nerves, his facial lines appeared even stiffer. "If the opening weekend grosses 10 million, then we'll have to look at the drop in box office in the following weeks. You know, investing 40 million is not a small amount."

"How much do we need, then?" Hugo knew that Joseph had been in close communication with Columbia Pictures these past two days, obviously discussing this matter.

"12 million, and the second-week drop cannot exceed 20%," Joseph said with concern. "If it goes over 15 million, then the situation might be a bit easier."

"15 million?" Karl, being an industry insider, couldn't help but scoff at the number. After September, only three films had surpassed the 10 million mark in their opening weekends, namely "Under Siege", "Bram Stoker's Dracula", and "Home Alone 2: Lost in New York" with a full fourteen-week run. Only three films had achieved box office numbers over 10 million in their opening weekends. For a film like "A Few Good Men" without action, explosions, or special effects, reaching that milestone would be an incredibly difficult task.

"Forget about 15 million, I made my own prediction," Alex said proudly. "31,126,831 dollars..."

To be specific down to one dollar was quite unexpected. "How did you come up with that?" Joseph looked at him with astonishment.

"Just one dollar more than the opening weekend gross of "Home Alone 2"," Alex immediately laughed. "I'm certain "A Few Good Men" will become the opening weekend box office champion of the fall and holiday season!"

"Are you serious?" Hugo couldn't help but be amused by Alex's words. "Hah, "Home Alone 2" was a sequel, and the first one was already very popular. It only reached 17 million in its opening weekend. I think Columbia Pictures' prediction of 12 million is more reasonable."

That was indeed the case. Two years ago, the first "Home Alone" film swept the United States with a box office of 280 million, but its opening weekend was only 17 million. This time, "Home Alone 2" had the advantage of being a sequel, which allowed it to achieve an opening weekend gross of over 30 million, something that "A Few Good Men" couldn't compare to.

"Don't think about surpassing Kevin anymore. It's more reliable to aim for 12 million dollars." Kevin referred to the name of the main character in "Home Alone". Joseph said this because he didn't want to continue putting pressure on the box office, both for Hugo and himself.

Box office is not like a movie itself. Movies can be controlled by the producers and directors, but the box office is in the hands of the audience and is completely uncontrollable. Many times, film companies confidently release a film, only to see it flop. Who could have predicted that?

"I think no matter what your predictions are, it's time for us to discover the results," Charlize pointed to the clock on the wall. "At least the five of us contributed to the box office, right?"

"That's true. Seeing five people sitting in the cinema is reassuring. At least we won't have an empty theater," Hugo nodded seriously, provoking Charlize. She lifted his foot to give Hugo a kick, but after spending half a year together, Hugo had become smarter and evaded the attack.

Charlize looked at Hugo, who was smiling, grinding her teeth. She stood up and chased after him. Hugo quickly ran away, and the two of them dashed towards the entrance of the cinema. Watching the playful scene, the remaining three shrugged their shoulders. Karl couldn't help but add, "Kids are always mischievous..."

After the five of them entered the cinema, Hugo started to look around and whispered to Joseph, "There are so many people here today. That's a good sign, isn't it?" The cinema was packed with a crowd, and the screening hall they entered was almost full. There were still five minutes until the movie started, which meant that no one was late, and the occupancy rate was very high. This news was truly delightful.

Joseph nodded, "I asked Rick to buy the tickets because I heard that several major theater chains have already started queuing."

"I saw it just now. All the tickets for the 4:30 show are sold out," Charlize patted Hugo's arm and lowered her voice.

Although Hugo had been pretending to be calm just now, only he knew the nervousness in his heart. Witnessing an occupancy rate of over 90%, his boiling emotions finally settled down. But Hugo couldn't help but wipe off the sweat. It turned out that box office pressure was like this—something intangible and suffocating.

In the past, when he saw actors becoming movie stars, he thought it was glorious. But now he finally understood the hardships behind the scenes. Actors who couldn't become the leads had their own regrets, and even actors who played the leading roles had their own worries.

Hugo smirked at Chalirze, "I hope this situation isn't deliberately created by them because they knew I was coming to this theater chain." Hugo remembered the times in his home country when the local government would gather and arrange a prosperous scene for leaders to visit. They would specially organize and create a beautiful facade for the leaders to see. That's why Hugo made such a sarcastic remark.

Charlize rolled her eyes, "If you feel like you have too much money and nowhere to spend it, I don't mind helping."

"Me too," Alex's voice suddenly came from Charlize's left side, accompanied by a big smile, causing Hugo's smile to freeze on his face.