Extracting skills from movies

Mid to late April.

Data released by the North American Theater Association shows that "Wanted" will open in 3360 theaters!
This shows that the theater is full of confidence in the box office prospects of this film.

Not only that, Du's disciples and Sheng fans also took action, calling on fans to go to the theaters as soon as possible to support the movie.

Scarlett Johansson is currently ranked among the top ten most popular Hollywood actresses, and her appeal also adds a lot of points to the box office.

Even veteran actor Morgan Freeman has a certain influence among middle-aged and elderly audiences.

Based on Hollywood's mature predictions, a movie's performance in the period before its release can basically predict its success or failure.

What "Wanted" received was nothing but positive feedback from the market.

Speaking of which, the promotion for this film started as early as March.

At that time, Du Sheng had just been nominated for an Oscar for two films and won the Best Actress Award, and was very popular.

Sony took advantage of the situation to launch a behind-the-scenes publicity campaign, which quickly attracted public attention.

By April, the publicity was fully upgraded.

As soon as Du Sheng arrived in North America, he was bombarded with overwhelming advertising.

"Wanted" can be seen everywhere, including newspapers, television, the Internet, subway stations, bus stops, both online and offline.

So far, more than 10 million US dollars have been spent on publicity, and it is estimated that the entire round will cost 20 to 30 million.

There is no way around it. If a commercial blockbuster wants to sell well, it must have a lot of hype in the early stages.

Like "Zodiac" starring Robert Downey Jr., it also spent a lot of money on publicity.

Especially in the fiercely competitive schedule, if you don't advertise, others will.
Whoever catches the audience's attention first will gain the upper hand and create a "herd effect".

For Wanted, it was money well spent.

The movie itself has many labels: thriller adventure, police and gangster action, handsome men and beautiful women, bullet special effects, family fun...

It covers almost all elements that attract audiences.

The goal is to attract as many different types of audiences as possible.

The publicity focuses on two aspects:

First, the movie special effects, the bullet turns and explodes, full of visual impact;
The second is Du Sheng’s action scenes.

After all, with the popularity of two Oscar-winning films and the public opinion of "Du's disciples", his popularity has remained high.

Taking advantage of the Chinese Kung Fu craze, his fighting scenes have become one of the most eye-catching selling points.

In Vancouver, a family of three was sitting on the sofa watching TV when suddenly a trailer for "Wanted" was interrupted.

The eyes of the two seven or eight-year-old children lit up, staring at the cool settings of the bullet turning and the loom of fate on the screen, and shouted excitedly:
"It's so cool! Mom, we have to go see it!"

My mother was also attracted. Seeing that the protagonist was the handsome oriental guy who had won an Oscar, and being fascinated by his smooth kung fu, she couldn't help asking her husband:

"This movie seems good? What do you think?"

Dad was still thinking about Ivanka's sexy appearance, nodding and rubbing his hands:
"Wow, this woman even walks with rhythm, and the plot sounds exciting, let's go to the premiere!"

……

"Hey, Cost, Master Du's new movie is coming out soon, do you want to watch it together?"

"Of course! I'm a disciple of the Du family. I think he can fight better than Jack Chen!"

“I still prefer Jack Chen, but Master Du is really amazing.

This seems to be an adventure story similar to Mr. and Mrs. Smith? I hope it won’t be the same old routine again.”

"I saw that the special effects in the trailer are pretty cool, I don't think people will be disappointed."

……

"Ellie, can you go watch Wanted with me this weekend?"

"Wanted? It sounds like a horror movie. The name is a bit scary."

"You didn't know? This is Du Sheng's new work!"

"Sorry, I've been studying for the exam lately.

Du Sheng? Is he the handsome Asian guy who beat Tyson before?

I quite like him, his fighting in the ring is very explosive."

"That's right! Brother Sheng is a guarantee of quality. From boxing, music to movies, he has never disappointed anyone."

"Okay, I have some vacation time after the exam, so I'll go with you."

……

There is more and more discussion about this movie on the streets of North America.

Posters were put up one by one at the entrance of the cinema, trailers were played over and over again, and hot searches on social media continued to appear.

The fire had already begun to spread before "Wanted" was released.

The release date of "Wanted" is getting closer, but Du Sheng is not in a hurry.

He casually flipped through the newspaper at hand.

The North American film market has been very lively recently, with the two most anticipated blockbusters being the recently released "Spider-Man 3" and the soon-to-be-released "Zodiac."

Spider-Man 3 was a huge hit as soon as it was released last weekend. The North American box office has already reached 1.26 million U.S. dollars, and overseas markets have also been opened one after another with impressive results.

It is predicted that the global box office is expected to exceed 8 million, which is a sure hit.

Moreover, this movie is very likely to sweep all major awards next year, and achieve both commercial and good reputation. It's a sure win!
As for "Zodiac", it is Robert Downey Jr.'s comeback work after he was released from prison.

This former "King of Wei" has been meditating in prison to gain enlightenment, and is no longer as popular as he was at the peak.

In order to keep a low profile, the film company did not use Downey as the main character in its promotion, and instead took the route of "real case + suspense and reasoning".

Du Sheng is quite confident about his own film "Wanted Order".

The special effects are better than the previous one, and the release date has been adjusted to the international holidays. It can't lose to the original version's global performance of 3 million US dollars, right?
Although it is a bit difficult to surpass the monster-level box office of Spider-Man 3, which was close to 9 million,
But if we compete with "Zodiac", there is still hope!
When talking about box office, we cannot fail to mention the film rating system of the Beacon Country.

"Wanted" has been given a PG-13 rating this time, which means it is recommended that children under the age of 13 watch it with their parents.

Of course, this is a "suggestion" rather than a "mandatory requirement", so children can still buy tickets to the cinema.

There are even lower levels: G-level is suitable for everyone, such as "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone";
PG-13 is one of the most mainstream ratings currently, and many popular films are concentrated at this level.

For example, "Titanic", "Pirates of the Caribbean", "Jurassic Park", and several films in the "Harry Potter" series.

This type of movie may contain some scary scenes, a small amount of blood or dirty words, but overall it is acceptable.

The tense and exciting "wanted manhunt" scenes in "Wanted" are indeed a bit scary.

Especially children may have nightmares, so it is reasonable to be classified as PG-13.

Of course, this was the result of Du Sheng's deliberate changes.

Otherwise, according to the previous life, it would definitely be rated R.

This is the G-rated advanced version, which is restricted. People under 17 must be accompanied by their parents to watch it.

It's obviously a watershed. Many movies will try their best to avoid the R rating.

Because once it reaches this level, it means that students will basically not be able to enter the cinema, which will directly affect the box office.

For example, Spider-Man 3 could have been postponed to the summer season, but it is already rated R and cannot be squeezed into the prime time when elementary and middle school students gather, so it can only be released early.

But now it seems that it is still very popular and is expected to enter the top five box office of the year.

Speaking of which, Tobey Maguire is indeed one of the top superstars in Hollywood right now.

Who would have thought that he would go to Las Vegas to be a poker player, and end up losing everything he had?
The end of April is always a popular time for major movie studios, and this year is no exception.

In addition to Spider-Man 3, which was released a week earlier, and Shrek the Third, which was released two weeks later, there were two other powerful rivals to Wanted:
One is "Zodiac", which is adapted from a real case and stars Robert Downey Jr., and cost $8000 million;
Another is "Perfect Strangers," starring Bruce Willis and Halle Berry, which cost $9000 million.

Although the production costs of these two films are not as high as "Wanted", they are not action blockbusters and do not have expensive special effects.

So in terms of cost-effectiveness, it is completely inferior to "Wanted".

The reason their costs are pushed so high is entirely due to the salaries of Hollywood stars.

But as long as it has appeal, the money is worth it.

In terms of popularity, "Zodiac" has real events behind it, and the plot is pretty solid;
"Perfect Stranger" has the golden sign of Bruce Willis, plus the popularity of Halle Berry, so the lineup is also not weak.

It can be said that "Wanted" faces considerable competitive pressure.

But then again, just as the Chinese film market was able to accommodate more than two domestic blockbusters with a box office of over 10 billion yuan at the same time, the current North American market is fully capable of absorbing three big productions being released at the same time.

Especially during this period, there are many audiences, sufficient screenings, and high popularity.

Who wins and who loses depends on the performance of the finishing touch!

"Theresa, what's the situation with those two families now?"

Du Sheng had just returned from a promotional roadshow and asked the general manager of MGM who was sitting at the conference table while taking off his coat.

Theresa flipped through the information in her hand and said with a slightly surprised tone:

"Bruce Willis and Halle Berry's Perfect Strangers has been moved up from April 4 to April 29."

Du Sheng raised his eyebrows and then smiled:
"Are you scared? This doesn't seem like a celebrity style."

"No way."

Theresa shook her head:
"You know Bruce, he has a very hot temper. I heard that he was so angry that he smashed a cup on the set.

However, the reviews of their film after the preview were mixed, and the producers were unsure, so they wanted to release it early to grab the first opportunity and try their luck. "

Du Sheng nodded:
"The schedule was moved up three days, from Friday to Tuesday, and it was estimated that it was a little below expectations.

But this kind of operation is not very useful, in the end it all depends on whether the audience buys it or not.”

He paused, with a hint of sarcasm in his eyes:
“I liked him when I watched Die Hard, but when I got to know him better, I realized that he was not a very nice guy in private.

I can’t stand that racism stuff.”

Theresa chuckled:
"You mean his 'lighthouse nation of white supremacy' thing?"

Du Sheng shrugged:

"Yes, he is an immigrant who fled to the Lighthouse to avoid the Vietnam War draft. Now he is playing a patriotic hero. How ironic."

"correct--"

Du Sheng suddenly became interested:

"Can we give him some extra spice?
For example, let's expose the incident of attacking the director a while ago and see if that can add fuel to the fire?"

"Ha ha!"

Theresa couldn't help laughing:
"Du, you are so mean!
But to be honest, we don't have to do anything.

He has been too greedy over the years, asking for a pay increase from time to time, which has offended many people in the circle, especially the Jewish circle.

This time his movie is not a big hit, so people will definitely be happy to help him and push him into the pit."

Du Sheng just mentioned it casually and didn't necessarily intend to take any action.

After all, the North American box office of this film barely exceeded 100 million in its previous life, and it only made a profit thanks to the global market and DVDs.

Now there is a new competitor, "Wanted", which is bound to make the situation worse.

He thought for a while and then said:
"What about Zodiac?"

When mentioning this opponent, Theresa's expression also became serious:
“This movie is not easy to make.

It is adapted from a real serial murder case, focusing on suspense and thriller, with a tense pace and gloomy style.

Moreover, its gunfights and police-gangster scenes overlap with ours, so it can be considered a direct competitor.”

“We are both releasing our films on the same day, and director David Fincher is very experienced and is very good at making this kind of film.

I heard the previews were pretty good, so it’s hard to say who will win or lose right now.”

After listening to this, Du Sheng nodded.

In its previous life, "Zodiac" grossed nearly 200 million worldwide, which was considered a success.

But to be honest, it actually received a mediocre response in North America. The film had a slow pace, gray images, and a dragged out plot, and many people felt drowsy during the first half.

In the past, it had no rivals in this period, the only slightly stronger one being "Perfect Stranger", but now "Wanted" has entered the market midway, and the outcome is unpredictable.

He took a sip of coffee and continued:
“It’s different now, we’ve come in and there are only so many viewers, so we have to choose one to watch.

Especially for those who like both action movies and police movies, we are definitely the priority option."

It is not possible to coexist peacefully, and the winner will be decided by who is stronger and who is weaker.

Meanwhile, in the meeting room of Constantin Films.

David Fincher, the director of "Zodiac", is also discussing the situation of "Wanted" with the distribution team.

"We inquired and heard that the internal preview of Wanted received a very good response.

Directors of major theaters praised the film highly after watching it, saying it was the best fantasy adventure movie since Raiders of the Lost Ark. ”

"A-grade popcorn movie, adapted from the comic book of the same name, solid quality, amazing special effects, and exciting action...

So the cinema chain is willing to give it a simultaneous premiere in 3300 theaters, which is a treatment not everyone can have.”

Although there is the influence of Columbia Pictures and MGM, other theaters would not be able to place a big bet if they were not optimistic.

A distribution manager frowned and said:

"So how are we going to deal with this? After all, we are scheduled for the same day."

The producer pondered for a moment and spoke slowly:
“There is no solution, so let’s just face it head on.

Since everyone wants to eat this piece of cake, let's see who can eat more."

David Fincher rubbed his swollen temples, with a bit of unwillingness in his tone:
"Can we make something out of Du Sheng's yellow race?"

………(End of chapter)