Chapter 127: Even the Grim Reaper Has It Hard

Compared to the previous screening of "The Purge," the preview of "Final Destination" went very smoothly. After the screening, Embassy Pictures hardly had to negotiate much to secure an additional 500 theaters from major North American cinema chains. This, combined with the already confirmed 2000 theaters, means "Final Destination" will open in over 2500 theaters across North America.

Moreover, several theater chains have guaranteed that the film will have a screening rate of no less than 15% on opening day.

North America is the most mature commercial film market in the world. The major theater chains have long established standards for assessing the quality of films. The eerie feeling of "Final Destination" is palpable even to those who aren't horror fans.

If "The Blair Witch Project" won purely through deceptive promotional marketing, then "Final Destination" stands out not only for its marketing but also for its quality, which is enough to attract audiences on its own.

With the theater count confirmed, Ronan signed a loan agreement, and a large sum of money from Relativity Entertainment was once again transferred to Embassy Pictures to prepare for the one-time printing of 3500 copies.

With "The Kingsman" and "Final Destination" about to be released one after the other, the post-release promotion of both films has reached its critical stage.

The former has a limited budget, with outdoor ads only appearing in minority communities, and media ads mainly placed in newspapers and TV stations targeting minority audiences.

This film features an Arab lead character, alongside positive African American, Asian, and Latino characters, who together defeat white terrorists. Though politically correct, its main audience will certainly be minorities.

In today's age, there are not many minority stars with true market appeal like Will Smith.

In another decade, Ronan would dare to continuously invest in black-themed films, as the risk would be less than using white actors as leads.

The promotional budget for "The Kingsman" before release is only $2 million, and including distribution costs, Ronan plans to keep the total promotional and distribution expenses within $5 million.

For "Final Destination," the response from media and theater previews has been excellent, prompting Ronan to temporarily raise the promotional budget to $10 million.

With a large amount of money invested, the momentum of the pre-release promotion is very strong. It's easy to spot posters and ads for "Final Destination" in newspapers, magazines, radio stations, TV stations, and outdoor billboards. Two different trailers have also entered prime-time ad slots on NBC, ABC, and several popular cable channels.

Blockbuster and Walmart, which sell and rent DVDs and tapes, have already placed posters in prominent positions.

The effectiveness of the ads is directly proportional to the amount of money invested. Even the sensational effect of the "Blair Witch Project" was achieved with over ten million dollars.

With good preview results and high investment, if this wasn't an R-rated movie but rather a PG or PG-13 rated one, Embassy Pictures might have secured even more opening theaters.

Due to the editing by Jessica Felton, this film was influenced by Ronan, the producer, particularly in terms of increased gore. If measured by Ronan's standards, the gore level is about the same as "Final Destination 3."

This caters to the needs of the mainstream North American horror film audience.

At the end of the '90s, a horror movie without enough gore wouldn't be considered truly scary by many traditional horror film fans.

After the release of "007: The World Is Not Enough," the trailer for "The Kingsman" received a lukewarm response, perhaps because most audiences weren't used to seeing an Arab face frequently on screen.

In contrast, "Final Destination" has garnered widespread attention.

The media reviews from the preview have been held back by Embassy Pictures until now. As the time is right, the media that participated in the preview have begun to release their reviews, and the general consensus is positive.

"'Final Destination' stands out for its creativity, with inescapable fatality, omnipresent death threats, novel and bizarre ways of dying, and intricately yet realistically designed death scenarios. Many plot designs are simply brilliant. The story's progression keeps the audience's curiosity consistently high, maintaining a heightened sense of suspense throughout the film," said Premiere magazine, giving the horror film an excellent review.

The influential entertainment magazine Variety also gave a very good preview review, awarding it four out of five stars.

"The story of 'Final Destination' is simple; the title itself is enough to explain the entire plot. But compared to traditional horror films, it is so different. There are no roaring monsters or sudden appearances of vengeful spirits. What it has is the terror of death stalking a group of students who narrowly escaped an accident, the fear of death's unknown and inevitable process. This becomes the film's most outstanding concept, creating a gripping horror that keeps the audience on the edge of their seats," wrote Variety.

In his office, Ronan put down the newspaper and picked up a statistical report.

This report was conducted by a third-party market research company hired by Embassy Pictures, targeting both internet users and general moviegoers. It serves as a market barometer, allowing the promotional campaign to adjust based on actual conditions.

According to the data, the public attention garnered by "Final Destination" is far less than that of "The Blair Witch Project."

In random street interviews with people under 25, less than 20% had heard of "Final Destination," whereas nearly 50% had heard of "The Blair Witch Project" before its release.

As for the online discussions triggered by the two films, they are not even on the same level.

Based on this data, Ronan estimated that the North American box office for "Final Destination" would not surpass that of "The Blair Witch Project."

How much did "Final Destination" gross in its previous life? Ronan didn't have specific memories, but he knew it was successful, otherwise, they wouldn't have made so many sequels.

Being the Grim Reaper isn't easy; it has to keep harvesting lives on the screen to generate profits for the film company.

There was a knock at the door. Ronan said to come in, and Mary walked in, pulled out a chair, and sat across from him.

She placed a document in front of Ronan and said, "Sony Columbia Pictures' $50 million for the overseas rights to 'The Blair Witch Project' has arrived. You previously mentioned reserving 20% as a fund for Embassy Pictures to establish overseas distribution channels. I have signed the agreement with them in the form of an intermediary commission. Here is the contract, and you need to sign it."

Ronan flipped through it and signed his name.

Mary handed over two more contracts: "These are the latest loan agreements for 'The Kingsman' and 'Final Destination.' They also need your signature."

After reviewing them, Ronan signed and said, "Keep the accounts clear, and send the project accounts to Abu Dhabi."

"Are we going back to Abu Dhabi?" Mary asked.

Ronan replied, "Not for now. I'll invite the relevant personnel to Los Angeles. If they don't want to come, let the proxy accountant handle the settlement."

For some reason, since meeting that Samir, Ronan felt increasingly uneasy about the Abu Dhabi side.

Having been in Los Angeles for just two years, he fought his way up from near bankruptcy to the current situation. How much had he put in? The busy work, the constant studying and charging, meant he rarely slept before midnight.

Strictly speaking, the only times he slept a little earlier were those nights with Carmen Kass.

Having put in so much effort and finally getting his career started, he couldn't rest easy with people eyeing him from behind.

Ronan used the investment from the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority to create his current favorable situation. The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority is not foolish, and Mansour had long had his plans.

But if given the chance, Ronan would still go to Abu Dhabi for financing again.

Finding funding for a first film project is incredibly difficult.

If Ronan were truly a "friend of the Arab people," the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority would respond to his needs. With Arab wealth, they would definitely provide sufficient funding. But he knew he wasn't; his only connection to Arab friendship was money!

Would he run to Abu Dhabi if the UAE had no money?

Friendship with the Arab brothers can only be measured in terms of money.

Mary didn't want to go back to Abu Dhabi either. Although Abu Dhabi appeared prosperous, even after several visits, her inherent impression of Arab countries remained one of barbarism, ignorance, and backwardness.

Hearing Ronan say she, as the financial director, didn't need to go to Abu Dhabi to settle the future earnings of the two films, Mary changed the subject, saying, "Isn't 'Final Destination' having its premiere in early December? Can I bring a few friends to attend?"

"Of course," Ronan readily agreed. "They're welcome to come and support."

Without any star actors and James Wong just becoming famous, Ronan was a bit worried the premiere might be underwhelming.

He even gave Robert a heads-up to specifically bring in some "fans" for support.

Mary smiled and said, "I can bring four or five people to support."

Ronan reminded her, "Call Robert. He's in charge of the premiere."

The premiere was being organized by an external company, with Robert overseeing it as the head of Embassy Pictures.

Mary acknowledged and was about to leave when she remembered she had another document. She handed it to Ronan and said, "A while ago, you asked me to post a job ad for professional ghostwriters. Ten people submitted resumes. I screened them, and here are three who meet the requirements."

Ronan took a quick look and said, "Okay, I'll have someone arrange interviews for them."

After Mary left, Ronan called in the receptionist, Eva, and gave her the resumes, asking her to contact the applicants and schedule interviews for tomorrow.

All three were under forty, had published novels in newspapers or magazines, and one was even a screenwriter in Hollywood's lower ranks, all with relevant experience.

The receptionist soon scheduled the three applicants for interviews the next morning.