Chapter 335 The first weekend box office does not represent the total box office
"congratulations……"
After the show, Ronald held the hands of several main creators and congratulated them one by one in the lobby of the theater.
The staff of CinemaScore are also here to sample the audience's reactions and ask them to fill out forms and score them.
Ronald stood aside and peeked at a few pictures. Most people still gave them a grade of B or above, which made him relieved.
The audience response to this movie was pretty good, and there were quite a few people in the bathroom discussing the funny plot. It seems like it won't completely overturn the movie at the box office, and with luck, it can make back its money.
"Congratulations, Betty", the male protagonist Danny's face turned pale. His comedy has never had so few laughs.
"Same joy, same joy." Bette Midler, who is also a Golden Globe Award-winning actress, saw comedy veteran Danny DeVito say this and believed it. "Look at Ronald's face, he looks good.
,What do you think?"
"Really?" Danny DeVito smoothed his hair and squeezed his girlfriend's hand tightly, "Are you telling the truth? It seems we did a good job, huh?"
He went over to Ronald, wanting to have a few more words with the Hollywood blockbuster director to see what he thought of his first big-budget comedy movie.
Ronald is discussing with Disney's publicity staff, "This is not a traditional Zach-style comedy, and I am still very satisfied with the audience's feeling."
"But the number of laughs seems to have failed. We have strictly counted it. Even if it is a traditional screwball comedy, the number of laughs is a little less." The other party told the truth, and the two began to discuss the next publicity plan.
"I feel like the next marketing plan needs to be adjusted..." Ronald said about the on-site ratings seen by Cinemascore. "It seems to be a little better than we expected. If Touchstone can invest more, maybe the box office in the first week will be better."
Can it be improved a bit?"
"It's over, it's over, we're done." DeVito only heard the first half of the sentence, "The marketing plan needs to be adjusted." His face suddenly turned pale, and he pulled his girlfriend back, his palms sweating.
"What, what are you talking about?" Bette Midler heard DeVito's muttering and hurriedly came up to ask.
"Producer Ronald said that the number and intensity of laughter were not as good as expected, and he and Xuanfa are discussing whether to adjust the subsequent marketing budget."
"Ah..." Bette Midler exclaimed, "It's over, I'm done. Our acting careers are all over. We are not as good-looking as Helen. We can only rely on acting skills and making people laugh in this industry.
mix.
If this movie fails at the box office, the two of us will have to play supporting roles in small productions from now on."
"Ah... so bad?" DeVito's face turned pale again, "It's over, you still have a singing career to rely on, and I can only act in Roger Corman's low-budget exploitation films."
Ronald didn't know that the two protagonists were already frightened.
After he and Helen finished, they took a car to the Beverly Hills Hilton Hotel, which was just a few streets away from the Plitt Theater.
Little Bud helped him book a large suite.
Ronald took a quick shower and came out in his bathrobe.
Helen did not change out of the sleeveless red top, but only took off her high-heeled sandals. She saw that Ronald had combed his hair back into an aviator hairstyle, and he also brought a pair of Ray-Ban aviator sunglasses in the room.
.
"I heard that you like men who are taller than you, beauty." Ronald took off his yukata, revealing his muscular upper body.
"Hehehe... Now I think playing volleyball topless on the beach is very artistic..." Helen's hair was combed high, her blue eyes were full of admiration, and she hugged Ronald's neck.
, and kissed him.
"Tall men are more suitable for me, and I don't need to borrow seats for kissing scenes."
"How did my kissing scene go?" Ronald kissed for more than ten seconds and then joked with Helen.
He found that Helen still had her eyes closed, her face was intoxicated, and she pursed her lips nervously.
How could Ronald hold back and kissed him again.
"Well...you did a good job."
…
"Ding dong..."
Early the next morning, agent Richard knocked on his door again.
"Come here." Ronald looked at Helen who was sleeping next to her, got dressed, closed the bedroom door, opened the door and welcomed Richard in.
"Last night's box office came out?"
"Yes, this is your first production work, and it is also Touchstone's first film. Mr. Eisner has taken care of it, and the data will be sent to you as soon as it comes out."
"How many?"
"Less than two million. To be precise, it's 1.7 million, give or take 20,000."
"Tsk...hey..."
Ronald sighed, this result is not very good. The box office result in the first weekend was probably around 5 million.
Coupled with a cinemascore score of about b, the first weekend multiplier will be around five. Multiplying the two is the estimated total box office.
If it can be shown for about ten weeks and the first weekend box office is multiplied by five, the total box office of the entire movie will be 25 million to 30 million.
His first film production may have been of a tepid level. Although it did not embarrass Eisner, it was certainly not as strong as his support for his expected results.
"What did Touchstone say?" Ronald asked Richard with a frown.
"Touchstone said that it will invest publicity resources as planned. There will be no shortage of newspaper interviews and TV interviews. This was personally ordered by Katzenberg. However, no more resources will be invested in printing more copies or increasing screenings.
The number of theaters is also very difficult.”
"I understand, I'll call Mr. Eisner."
"I'll make an appointment with his secretary."
Ronald was a little depressed. After all, he was not a producer with any unique secrets. He could tell whether a movie would be a hit or not.
This comedy work is not a failure, but it is definitely not a success. Fortunately, with a production budget of less than 10 million, it has a box office of 25 million, which is already profitable. How can this be the first film of the Screen Fund?
Investment works, and the touchstone of specializing in live-action movies have passed.
For Eisner's power struggle within Disney, this result is far from being a useful weight.
"It seems that my level as a producer is not as good as that of a director. After all, it is based on dreams, and the movies that can be dreamed about may have been box office hits in previous lives, so they can be made into video tapes.
Be seen by yourself.”
"His secretary said he is in the office and Mr. Eisner wants to speak to you."
"Mr. Eisner, the box office numbers are not very satisfactory." Ronald took the phone and told Eisner his thoughts.
"Don't be too discouraged, Ronald. This is just your production work. Jerry Zucker wants to change his directing style. This is his problem. There is obviously a successful formula out there."
"Can this achievement help you within Disney?" Ronald asked. At that time, Eisner invested in this movie. On the one hand, he wanted to give an explanation to the eldest son of the deputy commander, and on the other hand, he wanted to work in Disneyland.
Internally, results were used to combat the veterans who were obsessed with cartoons, led by Roy Disney, the nephew of the founder.
"If the box office is less than 30 million, I'm afraid it's not good news for live-action movies. How about using it as a touchstone for your next movie? I'll give you the best treatment."
"I'm still waiting to hear from Paramount, Mr. Eisner. Can you increase your budget?"
"The people at the Screen Fund are very stubborn and insist on investing a budget of less than 10 million to make the film. This time there is a bad box office performance. I'm afraid they will have something to say and will further reduce the budget of each film."
"Hey, these people really don't understand the business and art of filmmaking."
"Actually, it's not difficult to get investment based on your box office performance. I can provide you with 600 to 8 million. If you find 5 million in investment, that's about it."
Michael Eisner is a short-tempered hero. He once ran Paramount for ten years and couldn't make movies with less than $15 million. Now he has to worry about investing in live-action movies with only a few million.
"Okay, according to the contract, I have to wait for news from other studios, and then I will visit you."
Ronald hung up the phone.
"Moonlight" is not the kind of high-concept movie that I am best at. If I and Douglas Jr. jointly invest as much as five million, I am afraid that there will be a lot of risks to take.
"The Evil Husband" gave me a wake-up call. This kind of movie needs to attract the audience of "The Sound of Music". Many factors are beyond my control. Who knows what those audiences who rarely watch a movie a year will do?
Why go to the cinema?
When it comes to making money from investment, high-concept movies like "Top Gun" are more reliable. It's also easy to recommend movies among friends, such as the movie about the Soviet Union MiG being defeated in an air battle.
"Make an appointment with Ned Tanning from Paramount. We will meet with him and listen to his decision." Ronald asked his agent Richard to contact him about the production of "Moonlight".
He owns Paramount, Disney, and MGM/United Arts, which Weintraub recently took over, and the three companies have expressed interest.
The best option is of course Paramount. Their investment in this kind of movie is not a big deal and they have the strongest distribution capabilities. Disney has budget constraints, and Weintraub's power at MGM is unclear, so their conditions are the most variable.
"Ronnie, ah... you are here, Richard." Helen woke up and came out in her pajamas. She said hello to Richard.
"I'll contact the studio first, and then you and screenwriter John Patrick Shanley will go together." Richard nodded and said hello, stood up and left.
"Are the box office results out?" Helen packed herself up and went out to eat the breakfast delivered to her with Ronald.
"Yes, it was about five million in the first weekend. One thousand and one theaters is a pretty good result, and it can make it into the top five in the box office rankings." Ronald handed her a glass of orange juice and pushed the bread basket.
past.
"That's it? It's not as high as the weekend box office of 'Supergirl'?" Helen took the bread basket, took the vegetable salad, and was about to eat. When she heard the box office number, she looked at Ronald with wide eyes.
.
"Is it because of my performance that it drags down the box office?"
The memory of the failure of the first two movies came to mind again. Helen's hand stopped reaching for the bread, and she only ate salad and drank orange juice. She touched her face, had she gained weight again?
Ronald cut a piece of fresh baguette and handed it to Helen, "Don't be nervous, the first weekend box office does not represent the total box office. Our cinemascore score is good, and the box office multiplier is expected to be five, so the total box office will not be less than 2,000
Five to thirty million."
"Really?" Helen's smile returned. She picked up the baguette and put it in her mouth. The fresh bread made a crisp sound and tasted very good.
"Hehe, this is the first time a movie I've starred in has a box office of over 20 million."
"It will be better in the future." Ronald wiped away the bread crumbs from Helen's mouth. She was indeed not very lucky. The two movies she starred in failed at the box office. Now she plays the second female lead in the third movie, which is not a big success.