Extracting skills from movies

Chapter 698: Crazy Gambler
After all, the production cost of "The Departed" was nearly 100 million US dollars.

This determines that it is impossible for it to follow the diffusion model of fermenting through previews, slowly accumulating word of mouth, and then gradually expanding the scale of screenings.

Instead, it must opt ​​for a fully commercial, comprehensive coverage model.

From the very beginning, we targeted a broad audience group and strived to achieve the greatest market response in a short period of time.

On the day of its North American premiere, "The Departed" earned a box office of 1519 million US dollars!

It refreshed the media's predictions.

It is also the most brilliant single-day box office in director Martin’s 40-year career in film and television.

Looking back, the four legendary directors of Hollywood in the 1980s, Lucas, Coppola and Spielberg, have all created astonishing box office myths in business.

But Martin's gap in this regard is a bit big.

This is also what people have always complained about him.

The door of a bar was pushed open in Philadelphia.

Du Sheng and Leonardo walked in with star-like aura.

"cheers!"

Director Martin raised the beer glass in his hand and clinked it lightly with the main creative staff in front of him.

Nicholson drank the wine in his glass in one gulp and said jokingly:
"The old guy is about to retire, but I didn't expect that he could still make a comeback in the box office battle."

Director Martin was in a very good mood at the moment and said with a smile:
"You guys are really good at creating topics. The exposure is enough to increase the box office by a large margin out of thin air."

Leonardo smiled and patted his shoulder:

"You can rest assured now. There is a high probability that you will break your box office record."

He turned to Du Sheng:
“I heard that Warner originally predicted that the first-week box office would be 3500 million?
Now it seems that this number is about to be rewritten.”

“The first week box office includes advance screenings.”

Du Sheng picked up the whiskey glass:

"But with the current reputation, 4000 million is definitely not the ceiling."

There was a cunning light in his eyes:

"After all, we are the ones who brought gorillas and Kung Fu Panda to the red carpet."

Nicholson suddenly became interested:

"By the way, Martin, are you kidding me about your retirement plan?"

"About the eighth child."

Director Martin suddenly became serious:

"If the box office can really double this time, I, an old man, would really like to have another grandson."

"Test tube technology is so advanced now."

Nicholson winked:
"Isn't it just a matter of minutes to have a child?"

Director Martin looked out the window at the night, with some emotion:

"A few years ago, I risked everything to make Goodfellas, and now..."

He raised his glass:
"I'm old and I don't have enough money to pay off my debts. I have to change the way I live."

Leonardo leaned back on the leather sofa, his fingertips unconsciously stroking the rim of the whiskey glass, the candlelight dancing in his pupils:
"Marriage is like putting shackles on freedom. I don't want my life to become a horse ranch."

Du Sheng leaned against the French window, his voice full of sarcasm:

"With so many beauties around me, if I just find a random harbor to stay, wouldn't it be a waste of the favor of the stars in the sky, right?"

Leonardo slapped his thigh and agreed:
"Yes, we have to fulfill our responsibilities as men. Not getting married can prevent them from being labeled as mistresses or concubines."

Director Martin's cigar was in the ashtray, and he was a little shocked:

"Your logic is even more absurd than my script!"

Nicholson opened his mouth exaggeratedly.

He thought he was rebellious enough, but he didn't expect that there would be more people behind him than him.

"I think I have been through a lot, so I can barely understand some of the truth."

Leonardo sat up straight and stared at Du Sheng with burning eyes:

"What kind of emotional ups and downs did you go through to develop such a strong determination to 'go with the flow'?"

Du Sheng shook the red wine and said:
"When I was a minor actor in my early years, I once waited for two hours in a rainstorm just to hold an umbrella for a beautiful woman I liked.
As a result, she drove her luxury car through the water, splashing mud all over me. "

He suddenly chuckled:
"Later I understood the meaning of the saying, 'The more you lick a pig, the richer it becomes.'"

Nicholson slapped the armrest of the sofa and laughed:

"So you guys turned your love story into a script for The Godfather?"

Martin shook his head slightly.

The experienced director suddenly realized that perhaps it was the countless times they walked on the cliff of Vanity Fair that made the two young people hesitate to get married.

After the North American premiere, the schedule got even busier.

The scorching sun in Texas has not yet faded, and the creative team's car has already driven into the morning fog in Louisiana.

This box office carnival is like a hurricane, sweeping across the lighthouse land with devastating force.

The battle for the top spot at the North American box office is staging an amazing comeback.

Just one day later, director Martin's single-day box office record was broken by himself.

This "The Departed" is like a hungry beast, wreaking havoc on the box office battlefield and sitting at the top of the North American box office chart for two consecutive days.

Other opponents couldn't even catch up with its back.

As the Sunday morning light dyed the Hollywood skyline red, the latest box office data flashed on the electronic screens of major cinemas.

"The Departed" topped the North American box office championship with an impressive score of 4198 million US dollars!

This was not only the most brilliant opening performance in director Martin's career, but also shocked the entire film industry.

"Dreamgirls", which ranked second, was backed by two giants, DreamWorks and Paramount Pictures, and featured the dream combination of last year's Oscar winner and pop queen Beyoncé, but it still couldn't escape the fate of being completely crushed.

This musical film, which was originally expected to be a success, failed to break the $2500 million mark in its first week.
Like a paper boat torn by a hurricane, it was completely thrown off the track.

On social media, the "Infernal Walker Movie Viewing Group" spontaneously organized by movie fans is spreading wildly, and the ratings on major film review websites continue to rise.

A fan wrote on the forum:
"Director Martin's camera language, Du Sheng's fighting scenes, Leonardo's pretense...

The combination of these things is like a double feast for the eyes and the soul! ”

Even those viewers who were not interested in gangster films were intrigued by this movie.

"Brother Sheng, this box office trend is like riding a roller coaster!"

When leaving the promotion site in Chicago, Zhang Haolong excitedly said to Du Sheng:
"Rotten Tomatoes has a 92% freshness, MTC has a score of 88, and IMDB has a score of 8.7. This movie is a sure win."

Du Sheng just smiled and said:

"Asia is a little worse, so I think I should go there before I join the group."

Miracle Pictures' investment in this film is not low, and it can bring in 5 reputation points on average every day, not to mention the huge increase in international status, so it is necessary to do more publicity.

What made the producers most happy was the dazzling A-level rating on cinemascore.

“This means that the audience will spontaneously speak for the film!”

Warner's marketing director said excitedly in a conference call:
"Conservatively speaking, it's only a matter of time before the North American box office breaks 2.1 million."

In Director Martin's office, an assistant was spreading the latest media reviews all over the conference table.

The New York Times compared The Departed to Taxi Driver, and The Hollywood Reporter called it "director Martin's rebirth."

These praises are like gold foil, adding new luster to the legendary career of this veteran director.

Meanwhile, the gears of overseas markets have begun to turn.

Beijing, Paris, Rio de Janeiro…

Cinema managers in these cities are gearing up for the release of this "gangster epic".

During a break in his promotion in Chicago, Du Sheng suddenly received an excited call from Hades:

“Good news, Ali has held a prize-winning meeting especially for you.

They will send several senior public relations people to form a special operations team with Cui Yayi and me..." Du Sheng stood on the steps of the road show, looking at the fans queuing in the distance, and asked:

"How's the PR going with the film critics in Los Angeles?"

Hades was clearly prepared for this question:

“Many Los Angeles film critics have praised your performance in The Departed, and their columns have been quite fascinating.

Of course, this is also related to our targeted public relations strategy.”

Speaking of this, he specifically mentioned:
"The Green column praised your performance as 'a philosopher in a gangster movie'.
Three senior film critics also wrote a joint article in the Los Angeles Times, saying that you "demonstrated the complexity of human nature to the core" in the film.

Du Sheng raised the corner of his mouth slightly:

"Don't just say nice things, what's the specific strategy?"

"We spent a lot of money."

Hades said proudly:

“We held three film critic receptions alone, and everyone who attended received a customized version of your manuscript of The Departed.

Those old pedants have now become half of your fans."

"How was the interview?"

Du Sheng suddenly thought of something:
"I heard that there are changes over at Vanity Fair?"

"don’t worry."

Hades' voice suddenly became mysterious:

"I asked Gillian to do it herself, and she promised to write about your 'artistic pursuit' in the interview.

At The Hollywood Reporter, we have also scheduled a feature for Thanksgiving."

The sunlight outside the window suddenly became dazzling, and Du Sheng squinted his eyes:

“And those celebrity friends…”

"rest assured."

Hades is confident:
"Keanu Reeves, Jessica, Scarlett, Charlize and others have agreed to speak out on social media, and are waiting for news of your award."

When he hung up the phone, Du Sheng was looking at the fans queuing downstairs.

They held up signs that read "Du is the Leo of Asia", like a group of devout Du's disciples.

He suddenly remembered the Asian market that Hades didn't mention, and a faint smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.

At this moment, at Warner headquarters, senior executives were sitting in front of a huge data screen.

"look at this."

The marketing director pointed to the Asian box office curve:

"The decline there actually reversed, and word of mouth spread. It's simply a miracle!"

"This is Du Sheng's fan economy."

The producer stroked his chin:

"So that's how his fan clubs and Du's disciples operate."

In a Paris cinema, an Asian fan wearing sunglasses said excitedly to the camera:
“This is not a gangster movie, it’s a visual feast!
Du Sheng's performance was even more shocking than the Hong Kong version's Liang Chaowei. "

Back in North America, the box office curve of "The Departed" is like a roller coaster, dancing on the screen.

The box office only fell 38% in the second weekend, but still remained at a high level of 9878 million.

The North American box office reached 9878 million US dollars.

The film also achieved consecutive box office championship in North America.

In North America, over 100 million is within reach.

Similarly, the films that are big hits here also boost overseas performance.

"The Departed" earned $4868 million in its first overseas week.

The box office mainly comes from the Oceania and European markets.

The film experienced a certain degree of decline in the East Asian and Southeast Asian markets where it was released a week later.

That's where "Infernal Affairs" had the greatest influence, so preconceived ideas are inevitable.

In the past, with this high-quality movie that is more in line with Asian aesthetics, "The Departed" was compared to it and even criticized as a vulgar and swearing movie.

There are endless negative reviews, just like "Infernal Affairs" failed to make waves in North America and "The Departed" did not perform well at the box office in the Asian market.

Fortunately, Du Sheng joined this time and pulled the group up with the help of his own fans.

Of the overseas data of US$4868 million, nearly half was contributed by Asia.

The Eastern countries in particular contributed US$1280 million (approximately RMB 9000 million) in the first week.

According to estimates, the subsequent box office in Asia will conservatively reach 8000 million US dollars.

It is precisely because of this that Warner is more confident in his appeal.

This day, the interview scene in San Francisco.

The huge poster of "The Departed" fluttered in the wind, and Tobey Maguire raided the press conference in the nine o'clock daylight.

As soon as this 'Spider-Man' opened the car door, the paparazzi who had been waiting for a long time surrounded him like a group of sharks smelling blood.

Du Sheng was leaning beside him sipping iced American coffee, while Leonardo skillfully adjusted the angle of his baseball cap to ensure that every strand of blonde hair fell precisely at the 45-degree angle that the media loves to capture.

"Would you two like to continue the party at my sky villa after work?"

Toby blew kisses at the two of them, causing the paparazzi to press the shutter buttons even more frantically.

The media frenzy only died down temporarily when the staff handed over champagne.

After the crowd dispersed, Du Sheng suddenly poked Leonardo in the ribs with his elbow:

"I heard AA is going to have the wedding of the century? What about the bachelorette party you promised?
Could it be like the planks in Titanic, existing only in legends?"

Leonardo was adjusting his collar which was heated by the flash, and raised his eyebrows when he heard this:

"You have several blonde and white girls around you now, who are even more outrageous than me, and you still have the time to attend a party?"

When he thought about the gap between his own 20 seconds and others' 200 minutes, he got a terrible headache.

"Don't compare me to you."

Du Sheng pointed to the wealth Leonardo was wearing:

"Not every man needs money to prove his charm."

This insinuation made Tobey Maguire next to him burst out laughing, and he quickly covered the lower half of his face with a newspaper.

“Victoria’s Secret is going to do something big this year!”

Leonardo suddenly lowered his voice, as mysterious as if he was about to reveal a national secret:
"I heard that they are going to build a catwalk on the water, and AA's diamond ring can only be worn after the angel wings are folded up."

He said shaking his phone.

On the screen was the show design that had just been received. The silver catwalk floating between the blue sea and sky really looked like a stairway to heaven.

The topic took a sharp turn, and Toby suddenly interrupted:
"Are you planning to spend your golden years on supermodels?"

The man who just saved the world in Spider-Man 3 was now drawing a little spider on the edge of the script with a marker.

“How about going to Las Vegas to watch lizards dance?”

Du Sheng chuckled.

"There's an underground Texas Hold'em game over there this Friday, do you want to go?"

Toby was indeed in high spirits, his blue eyes flashing with the enthusiasm of a gambler in the morning sun:
"Professional player level, the chips are pressed with real gold foil!"

He pulled out a platinum-plated lighter with the neon outline of the Wynn Hotel in Las Vegas etched into the metal.

Upon hearing this, Leonardo exchanged a knowing look with Du Sheng.

The man, who has recently become addicted to Texas Hold'em, is said to have lost three supercars at the Bellagio Casino.

Of course, in front of the "God of Basketball" Jordan, this amount of money is just child's play.

.........

(End of this chapter)