Chapter 106: Scary Heights

"Sorry, Mr. Stone."

In the meeting room of Emperor Entertainment Group's theater company, Miller politely addressed the project manager from Warner Bros., saying, "I don't have the authority to expand the screening theaters for your film 'Ocean's Eleven.' My supervisor is away at headquarters, so let's discuss this further when he returns."

Of course, this was just an excuse. After all, the six major companies were the primary sources of films.

Stone smiled. "The Los Angeles branch of Emperor Entertainment holds significant weight in your company, Mr. Miller. Not only are you an expert in film selection, but you also oversee theater operations. Expanding the screening for 'Ocean's Eleven' is merely a matter of your word."

Seeing no way to refuse, Miller said, "I really can't make the decision on this matter. Emperor Entertainment doesn't have any spare theaters at the moment."

"As far as I know, your company plans to allocate 700 theaters," Stone said, quite well-informed. "Allocating a third of those to 'Ocean's Eleven' should be reasonable, don't you think?"

At this point, Miller knew Emperor Entertainment's actions couldn't be concealed from a veteran company like Warner Bros., so he decided to speak honestly. "These theaters are already allocated."

Stone frowned. "Allocated? For DreamWorks' upcoming release 'The Haunting'? No, wait, that film is opening in a staggering 2,800 theaters..." Then he seemed to realize the answer. "Could it be for 'The Blair Witch Project'?"

Miller didn't deny it; he just nodded.

Stone immediately questioned, "Your Emperor Entertainment is expanding to 700 theaters for just one film. Isn't that a bit risky? From what I understand, the cost of that film is at most fifty thousand dollars, and its cast has no significant recognition."

Miller didn't argue, simply stating, "The marketing and distribution budget for 'The Blair Witch Project' has reached fifteen million dollars! In terms of marketing, it's significantly more than 'Ocean's Eleven.'"

Stone countered, "But 'Ocean's Eleven' is Stanley Kubrick's last work! It stars Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman! It was also last weekend's box office champion!"

"The average box office per theater for your 'Ocean's Eleven' is only nine thousand dollars," Miller shook his head slowly. "While 'The Blair Witch Project' has an average of fifty-nine thousand dollars per theater!"

Seeing Stone about to speak again, Miller stopped him, saying, "Your company knows better than us; 'Ocean's Eleven' is unlikely to gross over a hundred million in North America. Its obscure and complex content is unlikely to attract audiences if not for Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman. We were planning to reduce theaters and production this week."

As Stone was from Warner Bros., a major player in Hollywood, Miller explained a bit more, "Unlike regular screenings, 'The Blair Witch Project' premiered in 200 theaters and achieved an average box office of fifty-nine thousand dollars per theater. The market potential of this film is far from being fully realized."

The theater company wasn't a charity organization, and while they were closely connected with the six major companies, they couldn't ignore a film that had the potential to make huge profits.

Stone spoke for a while longer, but seeing no resolution, he had to bid farewell and leave.

As Miller escorted him out, Emperor Entertainment had actually accommodated Warner Bros. well. The screening theaters and schedules for 'Ocean's Eleven' wouldn't be reduced much this week.

As for 'The Blair Witch Project'...

Sighing and shaking his head, Miller picked up the relevant statistical data from his desk. This film had truly exceeded expectations.

Who would have thought that it would actually convert social buzz and discussions into real market revenue?

With so many years of experience in the industry, Miller realized he had underestimated it. Luckily, they were somewhat prepared, so expanding screenings for them wasn't difficult for Emperor Entertainment.

From the current situation, this crazy marketing campaign had already succeeded.

Why would Embassy Pictures devise such a plan? He had known Garcia Rodriguez for a long time; the man was capable, but this level of insanity wasn't his style.

Suddenly, Miller remembered something. Embassy Pictures had been acquired by someone recently, a young producer named Ronan Anderson.

Could this be Ronan Anderson's doing? This guy was extraordinary!

Miller made a mental note of Ronan Anderson's name, intending to investigate further and write a report to the head office. Selecting films for theaters also depended on the producers.

Suddenly, the phone rang, and Miller answered to find Brown from AMG on the line.

Their conversation revolved around 'The Blair Witch Project.'

"A crazy and successful marketing campaign like this will change Hollywood's promotion methods," Brown said, a sentiment Miller fully agreed with. "This person is skillful and stays behind the scenes, avoiding possible risks. It's not just crazy; it's also very cautious, which is even more rare."

Miller asked, "How many theater chains has AMG provided to support the expanded screening of 'The Blair Witch Project'?"

"Not quite 700," Brown said, with no need to hide anything. "This film will bring us huge audience traffic."

Audience traffic meant box office revenue.

And more crucially, with audience traffic, high-profit items like soda and popcorn would also sell well.

Calculating, Miller realized that with the resources invested by other companies, 'The Blair Witch Project' would have a minimum of over 2,000 theaters for the next weekend.

But thinking carefully, it was quite normal for a film with a total investment exceeding fifteen million dollars to receive such treatment.

This marketing plan was special and effective, but it was also costly.

He hoped this film wouldn't disappoint after expanding screenings.

Unlike Artisan Entertainment in the past, Embassy Pictures, under Ronan's guidance, had already formulated comprehensive plans and backup plans early on. Even after the first week of release, they had three different plans in place, with the current one being the most ideal.

Communication with commercial theater chains had been very smooth. The theaters belonged to commercial companies, and of course, they wouldn't miss out on such a lucrative opportunity. At the beginning of the new week, Embassy Pictures had already determined the number of theaters for the second weekend of 'The Blair Witch Project.'

The film would be screened in 2,750 theaters after the expansion.

Ronan immediately made the decision to invest in an additional five hundred prints.

For the promotion and release of 'The Blair Witch Project,' Embassy Pictures had borrowed seventeen million dollars from Relativity Entertainment.

Of this, ten million came from bank loans, while the remaining seven million had been raised by Ronan through various channels.

This money hadn't been entirely spent yet; marketing expenses were being invested gradually.

Now that the buzz around 'The Blair Witch Project' was sufficient, there was no need for significant marketing expenses anymore.

Ronan estimated that the actual total investment in this film would exceed eighteen million dollars.

Calling it a low-budget film miracle, it was only after actual operation that one realized the so-called low budget was just the production cost, while the total investment was still frighteningly high.

But revenue was foreseeable; there were several forecasting agencies that, based on social responses and first-week box office, estimated that the film's North American box office would be no less than eighty million dollars.

And there was still overseas box office.

When the film went off screens, plus revenue from videotapes, TV broadcasts, and so on, even the most conservative estimate suggested 'The Blair Witch Project' could generate over a hundred million dollars in revenue.

Luckily, they had the capability and opportunity to secure a distribution company first; otherwise, even with ideas, they could only be employees of other distribution companies.

No distribution company meant these methods would be futile, and one would end up as a pawn for other distribution companies.

Nobody was a fool; with production costs of tens of thousands of dollars and an investment of over ten million dollars...

The importance of distribution channels for future plans was far more critical than other aspects.

The further back one went in the distribution channels, the more challenging it became to acquire them. Vaguely remembering the acquisition of Artisan Entertainment, which was relatively medium-sized among Hollywood companies, also known as Artisan Entertainment by Lionsgate, they expanded distribution channels and film libraries and spent a total of four hundred and fifty million dollars.

Artisan Entertainment wasn't too significant among Hollywood medium-sized companies.

There was also the establishment of Relativity Entertainment after 2000 in the previous life, wielding the money from Wall Street to enter Hollywood. They repeatedly encountered setbacks in building distribution channels, unable to find opportunities to buy distribution companies. In the end, they had to spend nearly two hundred million dollars in 2010 to acquire forty-five percent of the distribution rights of a relatively inconspicuous distribution company, Prelude Pictures. This was considered to have acquired distribution capabilities.

This two hundred million dollars did not include the film library, it was merely half the distribution channels, and it was still rented.

Now there was a chance to acquire a relatively complete distribution company. Ronan felt like he had received the favor of the goddess of fortune.

On the internet and media, controversies about 'The Blair Witch Project' had already emerged. It was impossible to hide such a videotape from everyone, but Ronan didn't pay much attention to it, nor did he guide public opinion. As the film was about to expand its screening, controversy was the best form of promotion.

This weekend, 'The Blair Witch Project' would face similar competitors. DreamWorks' horror film 'The Haunting' would open in over 2,800 theaters.

Moreover, it starred Liam Neeson, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and other celebrities.

In another weekend, there would be 'Runaway Bride,' starring Julia Roberts. In real life, Julia Roberts wasn't satisfied with just being a runaway bride; she wanted to portray one on the big screen again.

Then it would be August, marking the end of the traditional summer season, and the North American film market would enter a relatively slow period.

Ronan didn't plan to pay attention to these two films. If the market response to 'The Blair Witch Project' wasn't good, he might consider riding on Julia Roberts' popularity, but given the current situation of 'The Blair Witch Project,' other films would probably come to ride its wave.

On Monday, 'The Blair Witch Project' continued its buzz, still screening in two hundred theaters and maintaining a per-theater revenue of over ten thousand dollars, grossing two point six million dollars.

On Tuesday, it rebounded to over three million dollars.

This film had become a sensational social topic. In Hollywood's style, people would quickly jump on the bandwagon.