Chapter 242: The Booming Merch Sales

Near Chinatown in San Francisco, Jack Zhao and Irene walked hand in hand to watch The Matrix.

Ever since they confessed their feelings and got together, with the support of their open-minded parents, Jack Zhao and Irene overcame the barriers of class and status and were able to be together.

They had even reached the stage of discussing marriage. Jack had already proposed to Irene, and she had happily accepted.

During The Sixth Sense's promotional tour, Gilbert had heard about their love story. So, for The Matrix's premiere, he invited the couple to attend the event.

It was at the premiere, in front of thousands of fans at the venue and millions of viewers watching on television, that Jack Zhao proposed to Irene, with The Matrix producer Charles Roven officiating the moment.

For The Matrix, this was also great publicity.

A couple brought together by Gilbert's films, with their proposal taking place at The Matrix's premiere—this was bound to attract the interest of many fans.

Wanting to provide Irene with a life worthy of her status so she wouldn't have to suffer, Jack Zhao worked hard to improve his situation.

He realized that selling movie merchandise was a promising business and successfully secured a distributor license. He then opened a merchandise store near the Chinatown cinema.

This was a first for Chinatown, as watching movies was considered too much of a luxury for the working-class Chinese community, let alone purchasing movie merchandise.

However, the audience at the Chinatown theater was now predominantly white, coming from nearby white communities.

With other theaters in the city packed to capacity, Chinatown's theater remained one of the few with slightly more availability. Gradually, it became one of San Francisco's well-known cinemas.

The theater's owner was shrewd and had renovated the venue, making it one of the top ten largest theaters in San Francisco.

Better facilities attracted more audiences, which in turn brought higher foot traffic, market gaps, and business opportunities. Jack Zhao seized this chance and was the first to open a merchandise store.

"Honey, you ordered fifty Nokia phones and five limited-edition models. Isn't that a bit risky?" Irene asked, holding Jack's hand with some concern.

After setting up the store and giving instructions to the staff, the couple headed to the theater to secure tickets.

Jack, full of confidence, reassured his beloved, "Don't worry, Irene. I believe these phones will sell out within a week.

You've seen the movie, haven't you? This is the best advertisement a phone could have."

Nokia had collaborated with The Matrix, not only launching a new seasonal model but also releasing a limited-edition The Matrix phone.

These phones were quite expensive—not every moviegoer could afford them.

At precisely 9 AM, the theater officially opened for business. Typically, even during the summer season, morning audiences were sparse.

With so many theaters in the city, moviegoers had plenty of options.

However, the moment the Chinatown theater's doors opened, the sight of over a hundred fans rushing inside took Jack by surprise.

Most of them were young people who showed no interest in the theater's various movie posters. Instead, they headed straight for The Matrix.

Jack quickly noticed that nearly everyone coming to this theater was a fan of Gilbert.

He recognized quite a few of them, and some even came over to greet him and Irene. Clearly, their love story had spread among fans, making them somewhat known.

Irene, meanwhile, started counting the audience numbers:

"Taxi has four viewers. Armageddon has sixteen. The other movies haven't sold a single ticket—I doubt they'll even be screened."

"What about The Matrix?" Jack asked.

Irene shook her head and said, "I don't know. There are too many people to count."

"Alright then," Jack chuckled, squeezing Irene's hand. "Let's go in too."

"Mm, okay!"

Generally speaking, a small screening hall needed about six or seven viewers just to break even on screening costs. Based on the morning's ticket sales, the theater's profitability still depended on The Matrix and Armageddon.

Since the movie had just started, Jack Zhao's merchandise store had yet to see any business.

However, the theater's sales of popcorn and soda were quite strong. These were essentials for moviegoers and had always been a major source of revenue for cinemas.

Unlike Jack Zhao, who was a second-generation immigrant, his employee, Rose Liu, was a first-generation immigrant from Hong Kong who had moved to North America and lived in Chinatown.

Since she spoke fluent English and was skilled in handling customers, plus had prior management experience in Hong Kong, Jack Zhao had appointed Rose as the manager of the merchandise store.

Watching the high sales of popcorn and soda, Rose felt envious. Her performance was directly tied to merchandise sales, so she naturally hoped the film's merch would sell well.

But since the store hadn't made a single sale yet, that wasn't a good sign.

Maybe, after the movie ended, the merchandise would sell better? Rose thought.

After waiting idly for over two hours, the first batch of morning viewers exited the theater. Rose noticed that instead of looking exhausted, they appeared thrilled—no, ecstatic.

It reminded her of something she had heard from newly arrived mainland Chinese immigrants in Hong Kong when they struggled with Cantonese: "He's so excited, it's like he's on a sugar rush!"

Yes, that was exactly the feeling.

These fans were buzzing with excitement, constantly exclaiming words like "F***!" and "Cool!"—aside from those, Rose barely heard anything else.

As they left the theater, one familiar fan asked Jack Zhao, "Hey, man, where did you get that trench coat? It's so cool—it looks just like Neo's!"

Jack and Irene exchanged knowing smiles. They had planned in advance to wear Neo and Trinity's outfits to the movie, turning themselves into walking advertisements for their merchandise store.

The strategy worked perfectly—aside from the film itself, the two of them were the center of attention in the entire theater.

Sure enough, the advertising effect was immediate. Fans were already eager to know where they could get the same outfits.

Jack pointed and said, "Right over there."

Following his finger, the fans spotted a merchandise store. Their eyes lit up as if they had just discovered a hidden treasure, and they rushed over, afraid that if they were too late, everything would be sold out.

After two long hours of boredom, Rose finally had work to do. She quickly organized her staff to handle the influx of customers—today's sales were finally looking promising.

The counter was swarmed with fans eager to buy merchandise—at least forty of them.

Most were after trench coats, sunglasses, and boots, all inspired by the movie's characters. Neo and Trinity figurines were also in high demand, nearly selling out instantly, even clearing out the store's stockroom inventory.

A life-sized Trinity statue displayed at the entrance, meant to attract customers, was purchased on the spot by a wealthy fan for $2,998, with home delivery arranged.

The fan who had asked Jack about his coat was now part of the shopping frenzy.

After squeezing through the crowd, he shouted, "I want sunglasses and Neo's trench coat! Do you have boots too? I'll take a pair!"

Once he got his hands on the items, he immediately put them on, transforming himself into "The One."

And if he was now the One, he couldn't be without Trinity.

So, he shouted again, "I also want a Trinity figurine! A keychain will do too!"

Rose apologized, "Sorry, sir, the Trinity figurines and keychains are sold out. We'll have more in the afternoon."

"What's wrong with you guys?" the fan pouted. "How could you not stock up on merch from such a blockbuster?"

"Apologies," Rose quickly responded before switching to a sales pitch. "However, we do have The Matrix-edition Nokia phones—would you be interested?"

"Is it the latest Nokia flip phone?"

"Yes! The limited edition comes with pre-recorded voice messages from the film's cast, as well as exclusive posters and other memorabilia."

Hearing about all the extras, the fan hesitated for a moment—then decided to go for it. Worst case scenario, he'd survive on instant noodles for a month. He bought the limited-edition Nokia phone.

To justify his purchase, he bragged, "Perfect timing—I needed a new phone anyway!"

Many fans around him were envious, admiring the sleek phone. But the steep price tag deterred most, though a few wealthy fans still bought the limited-edition models.

Meanwhile, about a dozen women, ignoring whether the outfit would suit their body types, bought Trinity's black bodysuit and boots.

Since the store had fitting rooms, some immediately changed into their new outfits.

When they walked out, they exuded confidence, embodying Trinity's fierce and alluring presence while soaking in the admiring gazes from the men around them.

Some more impatient women couldn't even wait for a fitting room and simply changed into the tight suits in the middle of the store—whether or not the outfits suited them was one thing, but the male customers certainly enjoyed the unexpected show.

The idea of installing fitting rooms had been Jack Zhao's stroke of genius.

He believed that if fans loved movie-inspired clothing, they would want to wear it immediately. So, he set up changing rooms like a regular clothing store.

As it turned out, the strategy was a massive success—customers loved the service.

And so, as the influence of The Matrix spread, the forty-something individuals who had entered the store as ordinary people walked out looking like a swarm of Neos and Trinities.

It was an incredible sight—when a whole group of "Neos" and "Trinities" emerged from the merchandise store, it stunned not just the casual moviegoers but also those who had come to watch other films.

From the moment the first screening ended, Rose had been busy nonstop. By noon, she had to call her boss, Jack Zhao, urging him to restock immediately.

Despite the emergency restocking, by the time the store closed at night, every Matrix-related item had sold out—including all the Nokia phones, which had been snapped up by enthusiastic fans.

During the nightly sales report, Rose said, "Boss, I suggest we increase our stock of The Matrix merchandise and hold off on Armageddon products."

Armageddon had its own line of merchandise, but it was nowhere near as popular as The Matrix. Sales for the day barely reached $1,000.

Meanwhile, The Matrix had generated nearly $60,000 in sales.

For a single merchandise store, that was almost on par with the daily revenue of some remote Walmart locations.

Listening to the astonishing sales numbers, Jack Zhao was thrilled, and Irene was equally delighted.

They had spent the whole day observing ticket sales at the theater's box office. While they didn't know the exact figures, they were certain that The Matrix had drawn the largest audience.

Judging by how well the merchandise was selling, Jack Zhao was convinced that The Matrix was about to set record-breaking box office numbers.

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