Chapter 235: Six Test Screenings

Aside from some special marketing strategies, The Matrix launched a full-scale promotional campaign in mid-April.

Offline advertisements, posters, newspapers, TV and radio ads, and commercial plaza billboards—all conventional marketing methods were utilized.

For this, Warner Bros. and Disney allocated a promotional budget of $40 million.

Additionally, the film's official website saw an average daily traffic of over 50,000 visitors, and the official pages on Facebook and IMDb had accumulated more than 30,000 comments.

All these online users were potential viewers of The Matrix.

By late April, the film had held a series of screenings for theater chains and film critics, receiving unanimous praise.

Theater chains rated the film an A+, giving it a high priority in their scheduling. Meanwhile, media critics were full of acclaim. Gilbert's old friend, Roger Ebert, even called The Matrix "the best sci-fi film of the century's end."

This wasn't an exaggeration—after all, there weren't many sci-fi films at the turn of the century that could rival The Matrix.

What came next was the test screening for general audiences, which Gilbert valued the most. No matter how much critics and the media loved the film, if the audience didn't, it would all be meaningless.

To expand the scope of the promotion, Warner Bros. and Disney set up registration points in Los Angeles and New York, as well as an online sign-up option on The Matrix's official website.

However, on the very first day of online registration, the overwhelming number of visitors crashed the website. The tech team had to work urgently, adding several servers just to stabilize it.

The offline registration points were equally astonishing. In Los Angeles, the sign-ups were scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. the next morning, yet eager fans had already gathered the night before, prepared to endure an all-night wait just to secure a test screening slot.

Sarahti Merton and her new boyfriend arrived in line that night. Her boyfriend, however, was not too happy about it.

"Sarahti, it's just a test screening for a movie, right? We can just watch it in theaters when it's officially released. Why go through all this trouble?"

Sarahti Merton shot him a sharp glare, and he immediately shut his mouth.

Only then did Sarahti explain, "You don't understand. This is a Gilbert film. Do you even know what that means?"

Her boyfriend was still confused. "I really don't get it. There must be over a thousand people here."

He found it hard to believe that a movie's test screening could attract a thousand people queuing overnight—such an exaggerated scene.

Nearby, media reporters were taking photos, capturing this as valuable promotional material that the marketing team certainly wouldn't miss.

Sarahti Merton coldly glanced at her boyfriend. "Dave, if you don't want to be here, you can leave."

Dave rubbed his nose, giving an awkward laugh. "No way. I promised to accompany you, so I'm staying."

"That's more like it." Sarahti Merton nodded in satisfaction. "Trust me, once you see the movie, you won't regret it."

And he didn't regret it at all. Sarahti Merton and Dave were lucky enough to secure spots for the test screening and went in to watch the film.

Even though Dave wasn't a hardcore film enthusiast, once inside the theater, he was so captivated by the movie that he forgot to hold Sarahti's warm hand. He even neglected his popcorn and soda, completely immersed in the film from start to finish.

After leaving the theater, Dave was still deep in thought about the Matrix world, questioning the nature of reality.

He looked at the soda cup in his hand and asked Sarahti, "Could it be that we're actually living in a simulated world?"

Sarahti Merton was equally shaken. She had expected The Matrix to be a great film, but she hadn't anticipated just how spectacular it would be. There were so many discussion-worthy aspects to it.

Instead of answering his question, she asked, "So now do you still think it was unnecessary to fight for a test screening spot?"

"No, I think it was the exact opposite." Dave was thrilled. "A movie like this—every second we got to see it earlier was a blessing."

Where there were lucky ones, there were also unlucky ones.

Compared to the fortunate Sarahti Merton and Dave, two filmgoers in New York,Ruth and Evans, weren't as lucky.

To gather as much audience feedback as possible, Gilbert coordinated with Warner Bros. and Disney to hold three test screenings each in Los Angeles and New York.

Even though the largest theaters in both cities were chosen to accommodate a sizable audience, demand far exceeded availability.

Online alone, over 30,000 people signed up. For offline registration, New York had more than 5,000 people queuing. Los Angeles was even crazier—several registration points were swamped by crowds.

ABC News reporters moved through the scene, covering this grand event. Since the inception of test screenings for films, such a phenomenon had never been witnessed before. It was truly worth promoting.

With so many people, the chances of securing a spot were slim. Unfortunately, Ruth and Evans were unlucky and failed to obtain a screening ticket.

"Please, let us in!" Since the official channels didn't work,Ruth tried to find another way—he attempted to sneak in but was caught by the staff.

Batch Ruth started pleading, "We don't need seats. We can even stand."

"Yeah, we waited in line all night and still couldn't get in," Evans added, almost tearfully.

The staff remained indifferent. "Sorry, I can't let you in. There are so many people behind you. If you go in, what about them?"

The staff's merciless rejection crushed Ruth and Evans' dream of seeing the film early. Left with no choice, they went to a fast-food restaurant across from the theater.

"Even if I can't watch it, I just want to soak in the atmosphere," Ruth said, greedily staring at the massive poster of Tratini outside the theater. He sighed, "My God, she is so sexy."

Evans, meanwhile, was rubbing the image of Tratini on a Coca-Cola bottle, fantasizing about being trapped between her legs.

"When will they start selling merch? I need to buy a Tratini figure—she's just too sexy," Evans said.

The Coca-Cola packaging was a promotional collaboration with The Matrix. Gilbert and Coca-Cola had come up with the idea of launching a Matrix-themed limited-edition Coke.

Each bottle had a unique code printed on it, which could be entered on The Matrix's official website.

Every code represented a chance to win a prize, and upon entering it, fans could see what they had won.

Prizes ranged from another free Coke, The Matrix posters, and autographed photos of the cast, to the ultimate prize—an invitation to The Matrix premiere.

Of course, the most common prize was just a simple "Thank you for participating."

While such marketing tactics were commonplace in later years, at this time, Coca-Cola executives were calling it a stroke of genius.

If not for Gilbert's status as a major director, Coca-Cola might have considered recruiting him as their marketing director.

The plan worked brilliantly, sparking enthusiasm among fans. Coca-Cola's sales surged this quarter, and The Matrix received an extra wave of publicity.

According to Liv Tyler, when Michael Bay heard about The Matrix's aggressive marketing campaign, his face darkened, and he even lost his temper several times.

It was understandable—no matter what promotional strategy Bay employed, Gilbert always seemed to be one step ahead.

To make matters worse, every single marketing move for Armageddon seemed to be anticipated by Gilbert, who countered them perfectly, leaving Bay in an embarrassing position.

Bay was utterly baffled. He never would have guessed that his own film's lead actress had become a spy for the sake of love.

Returning to the topic of Coca-Cola's promotion, the grand prize—an invitation to The Matrix premiere—drove wealthy fans into a frenzy, buying up as much Coke as they could.

One wealthy heir, a die-hard fan of Gilbert, bought out all the Coca-Cola stock in nearby stores yet failed to win.

That week, his family's servants and his father's company employees drank so much Coke that they were sick of it.

But in a twist of fate, a classmate he always looked down on—a kid from rural Texas—bought just one bottle and instantly won a ticket to the premiere.

The rich heir was unwilling to accept this outcome and offered to buy the ticket for $50,000.

But the country boy refused. He was also a die-hard fan of Gilbert and was determined to attend the premiere himself.

This story caught the attention of gossip media and became a widely discussed topic among fans.

So far, seven lucky fans had secured premiere tickets through the Coca-Cola promotion. As the premiere date approached, those who hadn't won were getting anxious, driving Coke sales even higher.

All these marketing efforts had one goal—to ensure massive box-office success for the film.

In total, six test screenings were held in Los Angeles and New York, allowing over 2,000 fans to see the film in advance.

The film received overwhelmingly positive reviews, with a staggering 98% of viewers giving it an A rating or higher, signaling a promising future.

When Gilbert received the audience feedback report, he found that most fans, lacking the words to describe their excitement, could only say:

"F***, this movie is so cool!"

Those with a slight French accent added, "This movie is really, really cool!"

Viewers with more film-watching experience and analytical ability offered a more detailed critique:

"A crazy and futuristic thriller that showcases an extraordinary level of imagination.

It combines elements of classic science fiction with groundbreaking visual storytelling techniques that are beyond words."

Another fan commented, "The concepts in this movie are way ahead of their time—artificial intelligence, virtual worlds, philosophical and religious discussions—this movie is absolutely worth the ticket price."

Gilbert had made several adjustments to The Matrix, rationalizing certain aspects of the story. Judging by audience reactions, these changes had paid off, putting his mind at ease.

With the test screenings done, the next step was the grand premiere, followed by the official release in theaters.

The summer of 1998 was about to begin. The battlefield was set, and with the competition heating up, the final winner remained to be seen.

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