The Best Actor in the Vase of Meiyu

Chapter 1309 Extraordinary Premiere
In fact, a careful study will reveal that there are obvious differences in the distribution strategies and target audiences of "Dawn of the Dead" and "Eternal Love of Dreams". There is no need to drag them down or even to try to discredit them, as the two are completely different.

"Dawn of the Dead" is aimed at the niche fans of horror and zombie movies, especially veteran fans who admire George Romero's original movie. The positioning of Universal Pictures can be seen from the slogan.

"The Dawn of the Dead of the 21st century", "A tribute and re-engraving to George Romero", "Twenty-five years later, zombies are still zombies"...

And so on. Instead of deliberately trying to break away from the influence of the original film, they are prepared to use the original as a gimmick to attract new and old audiences.

"The Warmth of Love" is aimed at literary and artistic young people who like literature, music, movies and other artistic activities. Even if they are not avid movie fans, they are willing to go to the cinema occasionally and think about love.

"A wild and imaginative adventure", "Do you believe in your own memory", "What are we missing when we miss love"...

Then paired with some literary posters, Focus Features gave up love as a keyword from the beginning and used artistic atmosphere as the entry point. They even took the initiative to mention the existence of Charlie Kaufman——

"Adapted Screenplay", a unique work with a different brain circuit from ordinary people, "Eternal Love" will also continue Charlie Kaufman's consistent style.

Focus Features is not worried about driving away customers; they must prepare the audience mentally.

Furthermore, one point worth studying in detail is:
Focus Features did not focus its promotions on Anson and Kate.

Of course, there was regular publicity, and they did not hide the two leading actors. There were not only individual character posters of the two actors, but also posters of the two actors cuddling closely. But in addition to these, there were also concept posters, without the two actors. It was purely a conceptual art creation poster, avoiding overwhelmingly emphasizing the presence of Anson and Kate, and determining the film's own artistic style through the poster.

This kind of publicity method makes the attitude clear early on and completes a kind of psychological construction:
It's true that Anson and Kate lead the cast, but audiences expecting a "Titanic"-style romance blockbuster should give up on that idea.

Memory. Love. Time.

This is the focus of Focus Features' early publicity, highlighting a different strategy.

All signs indicate that "Dawn of the Dead" and "Eternal Love" are two completely different works, with different styles, genres and target audiences. Even if the two films are released on the same day, they will not compete with each other.

The most intuitive point is the release strategy.

"Dawn of the Dead" was released in more than 3,000 theaters across the United States.

Universal Pictures' clever calculations have always been the most shrewd among the seven major Hollywood film companies. They plan to make a fortune by relying on sentiment before other competitors test the waters in April.

"Eternal Love" will be screened in more than 300 theaters across the United States.

Although it was not a preview, the number of screening venues was effectively controlled below 500. Focus Features' screening strategy was really clear and understandable.

New York, Los Angeles, Seattle, Philadelphia, San Francisco and other major cities on the east and west coasts became the focus of screenings, and publicity was overwhelming.

Of course, the central region is not neglected. Dallas, Portland, Kansas City, Columbus, Jackson, Little Rock, etc. have all arranged screening venues. The difference is that there are only one or two cinemas. However, cities with cultural heritage and movie-watching habits such as Chicago, Atlanta, and New Orleans have slightly more venues, but the number is limited.

The real focus is still on areas where the middle class, literary young people and Ivy League universities are densely concentrated. The overall positioning is very accurate.

One has 3,000 venues and the other has 300 venues, the scale differs by ten times. From any perspective, the two films are incomparable.

However! but!

Various reasons intertwined, the media continued to add fuel to the flames, and "Dawn of the Dead" was inexplicably caught up in this storm; but the point is that Universal Pictures didn't seem to care. No matter what the media focused on, it was publicity anyway, and they even followed suit, and the whole wave couldn't be stopped. So.

In the third week of March, the focus of the entire North American film market was on these two films.

However, it just isn't possible. No matter how you force the contradiction, you still can't create any tension.

Just watch the premiere.

During last year's holiday season, "The Butterfly Effect" and "Master and Commander" collided head-on. The latter's grand premiere blew away the former's. When you were in Los Angeles, you could clearly feel the game and tug of war between the two.

But now, the situation is quite different.

"Dawn of the Dead" premiered at the Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles.

Although Universal Pictures was stingy and refused to spend more money on publicity and promotion, there was no interference from strong competitors during this time slot, so it was easy for it to occupy the time slot in Chinese theaters, and the scale of the premiere suddenly became higher-end.

By then, all major media will be present, and "Dawn of the Dead" can make full use of Anson's favorable wind and maximize the publicity effect without much effort.

Universal Pictures' wishful thinking is going well.

So, what about “Warm Light Within”?

This time, Focus Features simply did not arrange a formal movie premiere. A work like "Eternal Love" does not need a grand premiere with a strong commercial atmosphere to announce its debut. The distribution strategy is closer to the preview mode.

Just right, saving costs.

Instead, Focus Features arranged a preview screening in New York.

The venue is the Angelica Film Center in New York, which is one of the two theaters that previously screened "Elephant" in New York; the preview is open to everyone, and as long as you are interested in the movie, you can log on to the official website of the Angelica Film Center to apply, and the film center will finally hold a lottery.

In addition, Focus Features also emphasized that this preview has no special nature, and it does not matter if you do not apply or participate, because "Eternal Love" will be officially released in a small range the next day and everyone can watch it.

Everything is casual and natural.

It can be clearly seen that Focus Features' positioning is to consciously differentiate itself from commercial films and tend to prefer the preview model of art films.

In terms of form, scale, attitude, and positioning, there is absolutely no comparison between the two films. Even if the media forcefully paired them together and tried to hype up the life-and-death battle between "Dawn of the Dead" and "Eternal Love", there was no spark.

Fake hi.

Focus Features' rationality and calmness gave "Eternal Love" some breathing space amidst the turbulent waves in Hollywood, allowing it to seize the center of gravity and gain a firm foothold. Even though the Academy executives and Sony Columbia were fanning the flames and trying to set the pace from behind, they still managed to stabilize the situation.

It was under such circumstances that "The Light of Love" officially debuted at a preview that was not a premiere, finally unveiling its mystery.

(End of this chapter)