Chapter 107 Breaking New Ground
"This is an excellent horror film."
On the television screen, Susan Arnold, the producer from DreamWorks, was being interviewed by reporters. "The goal of 'Ghost Invasion' is to top the box office charts, there's no doubt about it!"
A reporter from the television station asked, "What do you think about the documentary 'The Blair Witch' which is also releasing at the same time as 'Ghost Invasion'?"
Many reporters were eager to stir up trouble.
As a veteran figure at DreamWorks, Susan Arnold couldn't fail to notice the reporters' intentions. After a brief hesitation, she replied, "The Blair Witch' is not a self-shot film, it just uses some special filming techniques."
Even someone with a discerning eye could see what she meant. Of course, 'The Blair Witch' would ride on the coattails of controversy.
She spoke the truth: "It's unfair to compare 'Ghost Invasion' with 'The Blair Witch.' The production cost of 'Ghost Invasion' is as high as $80 million!"
The implication was clear.
The interview wasn't long, and it soon ended.
Ronan picked up the remote and turned off the television.
"The people at DreamWorks are too much!" Robert said at this moment. "They're just speaking nonsense."
He looked at Ronan. "Shouldn't we refute it?"
Ronan shook his head directly. "She spoke the truth. What's there to refute? Besides, she's not the only one saying this now."
The public wasn't blind. 'The Blair Witch' had been showing in 200 theaters for almost a week, and many media outlets and fans had already seen the problems with the film.
Online, in newspapers, and privately among fans, there was constant criticism, but 'The Blair Witch' not only didn't suffer negative consequences but also saw an increase in popularity.
Sometimes a film drawing a lot of criticism wasn't necessarily a bad thing.
There were countless examples of films whose box office soared despite being heavily criticized.
"We should stay behind the scenes. It's not our place to step forward," Ronan said again. "Engaging in verbal battles won't benefit us. DreamWorks just wants to ride on the hype."
Although many media outlets mentioned Embassy Pictures, compared to the buzz surrounding 'The Blair Witch', hardly anyone paid attention to the distribution company.
Ronan's plan was clear. Once they pushed the main creative personnel of the film to the forefront, the media's curiosity and desire to explore would soon be satisfied.
"Shouldn't we do anything about it?" Robert asked.
It seemed like Ronan wasn't usually this accommodating.
Ronan nodded gently. "We don't need to bother. Doing what we're doing is enough."
At a critical moment when 'The Blair Witch' was expanding its release, they didn't want to provoke any accidents, nor did they have the time and energy to engage in verbal sparring with DreamWorks.
As for the weekend box office champion, it wasn't certain who would claim it yet.
Only three films remained in wide release theaters this weekend: 'Eyes Wide Shut,' 'The Blair Witch,' and the newly released 'Ghost Invasion.'
By today's standards in the Hollywood film industry, not only was there a complete industry chain, but there was also a relatively accurate market estimation mechanism.
A film often only showed in North American theaters for one to three days, and based on audience word-of-mouth and box office performance, the estimation mechanism could predict the future box office trends and even the final box office numbers.
'Eyes Wide Shut' was the first to drop out, just as predicted by Emperor Entertainment Group. While the film boasted a top-tier cast, Stanley Kubrick's films were never known for their box office performance. The film's box office success in its opening weekend was more due to the appeal of Kubrick's legacy and Tom Cruise's star power.
Even the grand spectacle of Stanley Kubrick's legacy didn't attract many viewers to the film.
On Friday, 'Eyes Wide Shut' only garnered less than $3.5 million in box office revenue, withdrawing from the weekend box office champion competition ahead of time.
'Ghost Invasion,' distributed by DreamWorks, secured $11.95 million, surpassing 'The Blair Witch's' $11.9 million, claiming the title of the day's box office champion.
Directed by Jan de Bont, who had previously directed 'Speed' and 'Twister,' was undoubtedly a highly recognized commercial director in Hollywood. Liam Neeson and Catherine Zeta-Jones also had a certain appeal among second-tier stars.
The cast lineup had the greatest impact on the film's opening weekend box office.
'Ghost Invasion' debuted with a bang, riding the wave of its new release.
On the other hand, after expanding to 2,750 theaters and over 3,500 screens, 'The Blair Witch' inevitably experienced a significant drop in occupancy rates. The market underwent a brief adjustment before returning to normal.
However, by the second day, Saturday, 'The Blair Witch' once again surged ahead, raking in $15.6 million, surpassing 'Ghost Invasion's' $12.19 million, not only reclaiming the title of the day's box office champion but also leading the weekend.
As for 'Eyes Wide Shut,' with only $6 million in two days, it was already far behind.
Ronan took the time to collect information specifically about 'Eyes Wide Shut.' It wasn't because he was interested in the rumors about Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman, nor did he want to see Nicole Kidman's explicit scenes.
Actresses like Nicole Kidman, who leaned toward arthouse films, had countless explicit scenes; he had seen them countless times.
He was summarizing experiences and lessons.
Perhaps due to the genre of the film, Warner Bros. didn't put much effort into promoting 'Eyes Wide Shut.' The gimmick of Stanley Kubrick's legacy was hardly utilized.
For Hollywood film promotion, dead people among the creators were much more useful than living ones.
If this film could have had a targeted plan based on the rumors surrounding Stanley Kubrick and the Cruise couple, the North American box office wouldn't be like this now.
Ronan didn't think it was because Warner Bros. had integrity and respected Stanley Kubrick; rather, it was because they didn't have much confidence in the film itself.
When it came to throwing away integrity in Hollywood film companies, who would hesitate?
In his past life, Warner Bros. was one of the most successful film companies in making money from dead people.
Perhaps that success was exactly what led to the lessons learned this time.
Ronan simulated in his mind how to use Stanley Kubrick's death to promote 'Eyes Wide Shut,' accumulating experience for the future, and maybe one day, they could make money from dead people too.
Unfortunately, it could only be simulated, not practically applied.
One couldn't just make a film and kill off one of the main creators, right? That would be too crazy.
Exploiting legal loopholes or something like that was possible, but actually making money by exploiting legal loopholes was another matter.
Sunday passed, and a new week began, with the weekend box office results freshly released.
'Ghost Invasion' had a decent first-week box office performance, grossing $33.43 million in over 2,800 theaters, fully meeting DreamWorks' expectations.
But the box office champion eluded them.
After completing a comeback on Saturday, 'The Blair Witch' continued to lead on Sunday, with a total of $34.46 million in three days, claiming the first box office champion since its release!
With the previous earnings, 'The Blair Witch' had already garnered $53.4 million at the North American box office!
In just ten days of release.
This box office number was enough for Embassy Pictures to recoup all their investments.
With the sudden increase in the number of viewers realizing the truth about 'The Blair Witch,' the criticism also gradually became mainstream.
Many viewers who were aware of the events but hadn't seen the film yet, heard others criticizing it and became curious, purchasing tickets to see it for themselves, all the while cursing as they watched.
Ronan had been closely monitoring the specific situation, knowing that the audience's dissatisfaction needed an outlet for expression, or it might burn Embassy Pictures.