Five Hundred and Forty-One - More

$84.36 million! As soon as this terrifying box office statistic appeared, it immediately aroused intense discussion throughout Hollywood. With the popularity of this year's "Batman", everyone knows that it is basically impossible for the box office to be a waterloo, at least it will not be lower than the previous film "The First Time" , however, this number is still a bit exaggerated!

Compared to previous years, Warner Bros. was significantly more prepared for superhero movies this year. Facing a box office explosion that far exceeded expectations in the theater market, there was no rush. Early Saturday morning, they had prints ready in advance. A thousand film copies of "The Dark Knight" were produced and began to be shipped non-stop to theaters in major cities in North America.

Since "The Dark Knight" can achieve such an astonishing box office on Friday as a working day, fans will undoubtedly be even more enthusiastic on Saturday, the rest day. Warner Bros. believes in this, and with the three major theater chains The theater chain alliance headed by the company also believes in this.

The actual situation was no different from what they imagined. On Saturday morning, all theaters showing "The Dark Knight" in major cities in North America changed from their usual deserted state. As soon as they opened their doors in the morning, there was an immediate rush of people. Scenes.

Since Wayne's films have been among the best-grossing in theaters for the past few years, theaters have far more confidence in "The Dark Knight" based on their past success, and some autonomy is relatively independent. The small theater has even set a screening rate of more than 75% for "The Dark Knight". From the first movie in the morning, every 5 minutes, a "Dark Knight" will be shown frantically.

There is only one reason for theater companies to judge whether a movie is good, and that is whether it can bring more traffic to the theater. They don’t care about art or not. Only when more movie fans flock to the theater can the theater make real profits. Order, popcorn, drinks, various items for sale, movie peripherals, etc.

The craziness of summer movie fans and their generosity in spending on movie peripherals are the main factors that create the largest movie schedule in North America. "The Dark Knight" can be said to have made a good start for the summer movie. Theaters will give this movie The main purpose of the film scheduling rate of more than 60% is to benefit from the huge benefits.

Therefore, theaters in prosperous areas in major cities in North America were busy early in the morning. Compared with the movie fans who watched the movie earlier yesterday, those who came early today had a very obvious difference. the difference.

"There are seven tickets for "The Dark Knight" at 9:45, thank you."

In front of the ticket window of a theater owned by the American Artists Theater chain in New York, a childish voice sounded, and then with the help of his father, he placed a large amount of change on the front desk of the ticket gate.

"Okay, seven tickets for "The Dark Knight."" The Mexican ticket seller habitually repeated the customer's needs. Seeing that the other party did not raise any objection, he quickly opened the seven movie tickets in his hand, handed them over, and put them away. A handful of change in front of the window.

While he was busy, he also spotted out of the corner of his eye that these were two families, fans coming to watch the movie with their children.

Before he could think too much, the ticket-buying queue moved forward again. Standing at the window was a man. He handed over a Franklin and said something. "Six photos of "The Dark Knight" from the latest show, thank you."

"Okay, I'll charge you one hundred dollars for six copies of "The Dark Knight" from the latest show. This is your change..."

"Hey, there are eight pictures of "The Dark Knight." I want the one at 10:05 a.m.!"

The conductor lowered his head and kept issuing tickets, collecting money, and giving change. Although the central air conditioner in the theater hall was turned on at full speed, obvious sweat stains appeared on his head after a while. However, he stood in front of the ticket window. The team has not decreased at all.

He couldn't remember how long it had been since he had experienced such intensity of work as today. He had been busy since the morning yesterday, but it was not as intense as today. He was just a conductor and couldn't figure out why. There was no time for him to think about it.

Fortunately, when he saw that he was really busy here, the theater manager took off his suit jacket, rolled up his sleeves and opened a ticket window. This gradually eased the busy work and the queue gradually became smaller. Go down.

When the conductor mechanically raised his head again, he finally breathed a sigh of relief. There was finally no crowd in line in front of him. Glancing at the clock hanging in the hall, he found that the time had reached almost eleven o'clock before he knew it. This was the first time he had stopped what he was doing since going to work this morning.

"Woody, hey, this way."

The theater manager's voice sounded behind him. "If you want to go to the toilet, go now. Take the time to drink water, go to the toilet, and solve personal problems. I estimate that I will be busy again in less than twenty minutes."

The conductor Woody turned around and saw that the manager was putting on his suit jacket and constantly giving him instructions. He nodded and responded: "Okay, I'll go to the bathroom right away. You can help me hold on for a few more minutes."

Just thinking about how busy he was just now, Woody shuddered in his heart. He didn't care whether the manager answered or not, and ran towards the bathroom quickly.

When he finished solving his personal hygiene problems, washed his face, and returned to his job refreshed, he found that the manager was looking through today's ticket sales records, and he seemed to be in a particularly good mood.

"So that's it..."

Hearing the other party's muttering, Woody sorted out the messy ticket window and subconsciously asked: "What's wrong? Stoke."

The theater manager had a smile on his face. Although his shirt was soaked with clearly visible sweat, he was obviously in a very good mood. "Woody, have you noticed? Few of the customers who came to buy tickets to watch the movie today came alone. I just watched your place and it is no different from mine. Most of the customers are family movie fans. "

The other party's words gave Woody a feeling of enlightenment. He noticed from the beginning that there was a big difference between today and yesterday, but he never had time to think about it. Although it was very busy yesterday, the attendance rate was definitely not as high as today, because most of the movie fans who came yesterday were alone or with one or two friends.

Today, the situation is exactly the opposite. More than 70% of the movie tickets sold since the morning are family movie fans. The biggest feature is that the proportion of children is very high.

You must know that due to the type restrictions of past films, although Wayne's films performed at the top level in the theater market, the audience has never included family movie fans. In the social attributes of North America, there are no A parent who is willing to take their children to watch an R-rated movie during their weekend break is not.

But this time the situation has obviously improved a lot. The theater was filled with the noise of children chirping. When these sounds reached the ears of the theater manager, he did not feel irritated at all. On the contrary, his expression showed enjoyment.

While the two were chatting, another group of customers with their families began to walk into the theater. Just as the theater manager said, it was less than twenty minutes, and there was a long queue again in front of the two ticket windows. Team.

"Little Batman, attack!"

For the screenings that started earlier, there were already customers who had finished watching the movie. Unlike those relatively sensible adults, most families with children did not leave the theater hall directly, and naturally took their children into the surrounding areas. Among the stores.

When more than ten minutes passed, a group of little Batmans appeared in front of them. Each child almost made the same choice and put on a souvenir Batman armor, a pitch-black cape, and other necessary items. With his little mask on, he followed his parents, imitating the actions in the movie from time to time while walking out.

The unusual situation in the cinema, the first to learn about the situation was the cinema chain company. In the entire film industry chain, although theaters are located at the end, the big screen is the first-hand window to connect with the audience. Information that can affect the box office will also be fed back to the theater as soon as possible. On the desk of a senior executive of a line company.

In the small and inconspicuous city of Lakewood, near Kansas, there is the headquarters of AMC, the world's largest cinema chain company. This cinema chain group, founded in 1920, has always occupied a leading position in the North American cinema market. holds the largest market share.

"Yes, little Batman, attack! Warner Bros. is really good at it. A documentary with these words can be exchanged for weekend entertainment arrangements for families across North America!"

In a conference room at AMC headquarters, CEO Adam Allen put down the fax in his hand and shook his head gently with a smile on his face. "You should have all heard the news. Yesterday, on its first day of release, "The Dark Knight" grossed nearly $85 million at the box office in 3,700 theaters across North America!"

He stretched out his hand and knocked on the table, paused, and looked around the people in the conference room. He continued: "Warner Brothers has mailed us more than 300 copies again this morning. Obviously, they have already mailed us more than 300 copies." We are fully prepared for the possible box office explosion of "The Dark Knight."

In the entire conference room, more than a dozen executives from AMC headquarters were staring at the CEO intently. Everyone knew the significance of this number. It is also this unexpected box office figure that is about to change AMC's screening plan for "The Dark Knight."

With such an astonishing first-day box office, it is destined to be impossible to maintain the original screening plan and film scheduling strategy. Based on the behavior of theater companies in recent years, they will definitely increase the film scheduling rate, screening frequency and screening times, in order to achieve the best results in the shortest possible time. Within a period of time, create the most box office results.

"tomorrow!"

CEO Adam Allen tapped the fax of the theater manager's report he had just read with one hand, and said to everyone: "Starting from tomorrow, the film "The Dark Knight" will be scheduled in all our theaters. It must be increased to above 75%, and Warner Bros. will definitely increase its publicity efforts, and we will try our best to cooperate with them!"

The executives sitting in the conference room all know that Wayne's films are originally the first choice for young audiences in the summer, so the main force in the consumption of these movies is the base of Wayne's movies. As this base grows bigger and bigger , his movies always shine at the box office.

Now this report shows that a larger potential consumer group among North American movie fans, family movie fans, have also joined this movie-watching feast, which means that with the basic base of young movie fans, the film "The Dark Knight" The box office will continue to rise.

You know, as long as family movie fans come to the theater, there is basically no possibility of buying a single movie ticket, at least four or more, and because there is usually at least one child in the family, popcorn, drinks in the theater , and the sales of peripheral products are also very guaranteed.

"Adam, don't we wait and see the reaction of Imperial Cinemas and Artists United Cinemas?"

A middle-aged white executive sitting under the CEO kept turning the pen with one hand, raised his head and gave a cautious reminder. "More than 75% of the film schedule means that before next weekend, only "The Dark Knight" will be available in our theaters. Isn't it a bit too radical?"

Everyone understands his subtext. AMC is the world's largest theater chain. They have more than 500 theaters and more than 6,100 screens in prime locations in major cities in North America. Such a radical film scheduling strategy, It usually only appears in those small theaters, otherwise it would be too difficult for them to turn around if something unexpected happens.

They are the earliest theater chain company to develop multiplex theaters in North America, and they are also the theater chain company with the largest number of multiplex theaters in North America. The market is really too big, and every percentage point of film arrangement rate may mean more than a million dollars. Gains and losses.

"Do as I say."

Adam Allen frowned slightly and explained: "This time "The Dark Knight" is different from Wayne's previous movies. He just won the Oscar for Best Director this year, and he appeared before the movie was released. The documentary "Batman Goes Out" warmed the whole of North America. I have to say that this is a perfect marketing strategy!

This fax from the reports from major theater managers shows that because of this documentary, those parents have changed their main weekend family leisure and entertainment items to taking their children to watch the movie "The Dark Knight" with their families. We More screens must be made available. This unexpected group of moviegoers will fill all the theaters. "

After hearing the CEO's patient explanation, everyone in the conference room nodded silently. As the closest link between the Hollywood film industry and audiences, these executives of theater companies know very well that family movie fans are the largest movie-watching group in the theater market. Whenever these family groups appear in theaters, they are also Those were the golden years when movies set box office records.

After a few final instructions about the screening arrangements, Adam Allen announced the adjournment of the meeting and returned to his office alone. He sat behind his desk and once again stared at the fax in his hand.

In his heart, Wayne Greenberg is actually not a pure commercial film director at all. If he were to make a classification, he would classify this young film master into the traditional old-school directors, similar to Ru Xi Traditional directors like District Kirk and Francis Ford Coppola.

Contrary to Wayne's age, his two good friends, Steven Spielberg and George Lucas, although much older than him, their filmmaking techniques and techniques are closer to each other. The modern technology flow, whether it is George Lucas's special effects storm or Steven Spielberg's constant pursuit of change, has always been at the forefront of the business field.

The same thing that puzzled him was this. Regardless of Wayne Greenberg's movies, the core will never lack violence, gore, discussion of human nature, warning of social issues, etc., which make film critics happy, but the movie is not It's boring and very well received by movie fans. It doesn't look like a genre-defining director with an obvious style at all.

"The perfect combination of business and art, the contradictory combination of traditional academic shooting techniques and alternative stylization..."

He had already watched the movie "The Dark Knight" yesterday. In his eyes, this movie is the perfect combination of the other party's ultimate personal style and commercial blockbusters. Everything has reached a perfect balance point. Almost all Movie fans can get what they want in the film, even those who like niche literary films.

Of course, no one believes that Wayne can shoot every film to the perfection of "The Dark Knight", but as long as there is such a film, the director will be firmly written into the history of film, not to mention Wei Wei. This is not the only one that En owns. When "Joker" appeared, many people who put him on the altar also vowed that the same film would not appear again in ten years.

How many years have passed now? Another film has appeared that will also be canonized. Who can guarantee that in another two years, Wayne will not be able to create another great work?

Throwing down the fax in his hand, Adam Allen shook his head and smiled. No matter what, "The Dark Knight" will bring revenue of tens of millions of dollars to AMC. As long as this can be confirmed, it is enough. Interests exist, let alone giving a horror film scheduling rate of more than 75%, no matter how much it is, he dares to give orders directly to the managers of his theaters.

"Dingle, ring, ring."

While he was still thinking, the phone on his desk rang. He was slightly stunned. Adam Allen raised his hand and picked up the phone, and the secretary's voice immediately came from the phone. "Boss, do you want to answer the call from Imperial Cinema?"

"Ha, I knew someone would be able to bear it first. Come in." The corners of Adam Allen's mouth gradually turned up. He could figure out the purpose of this call with just a little thought. He didn't even have to think about it. I know that the other party wants to test AMC's scheduling strategy in the face of the hot scenes of "The Dark Knight", and how it will adjust.

Not only did Imperial Cinemas call, but within the next hour, almost the top ten theater companies in North America called, wanting to test AMC's next film arrangement strategy. Adam Allen, on the other hand, had almost nothing to hide, and had no need to conceal anything. He happily gave out his film schedule ratio.

As if there is a tacit understanding, almost all theater companies have given similar ways to arrange films. No one is stupid, and they all want to take advantage of the unexpectedly popular scene of "The Dark Knight" to make a lot of money. Now that AMC is the leader, no theater company will hesitate.

At this time, the CEO of AMC did not know that the world's largest theater chain, which he worked hard to run, would last more than ten years. It was also under his leadership that it would be acquired by a real estate businessman from an ancient eastern country. Part of the shares briefly made Lin Jian, the real estate owner of the ancient oriental country, the owner of the world's largest theater chain company.

The theater companies noticed the abnormal performance of "The Dark Knight" and responded one after another. They were the quickest to get the news. The changes in the fan base in cinemas subsequently attracted the attention of the media and all companies in the industry.

"We have all noticed that the attendance rate of "The Dark Knight" should be very high. Can you talk about the specific data of the film?"

In an AMC chain theater in Beverly, Los Angeles, a female reporter with a "Hollywood Reporter" work badge on her chest was interviewing the theater manager.

Covertly glancing at the cameras behind the reporter, the theater manager smiled unchanged and answered into the reporter's microphone: "Of course, it's not a secret. Starting from this morning, the attendance rate of "The Dark Knight" It reached about 90%, and the attendance rate after lunch was 100%, even though "The Dark Knight" started every ten minutes."

"Ha, it looks like you are quite tired." The reporter teased the other party's sweat-soaked shirt and continued: "We all know that "The Dark Knight" made nearly 85 million US dollars in just one day yesterday. Box office. I would like to ask, is there any hope of surpassing yesterday’s box office record today?”

The theater manager shook his head first, then nodded, and explained: "I don't know whether the film can surpass Friday's box office, but the theater we are in, if nothing else, today's box office will be more than yesterday's. About one-fifth, you may not know, but today’s movie tickets have basically been sold out, and only two midnight shows are not fully booked..."

"Oh, God!"

The female reporter exclaimed in a very cooperative manner, then nodded and ended the interview politely. "Thank you for accepting our interview. I won't disturb your work too much."

After turning off the microphone and radio, the female reporter and the two photographers came to the rest area of ​​the theater. After sitting down, they looked at the bustling crowd in the hall and felt incredible.

"Generally speaking." A middle-aged male photographer put down the machine and said with some emotion: "The reason why "The Dark Knight" received more than 84 million US dollars yesterday is because of the die-hard fans of the previous movie and the big stars, and Fans of movie directors are the biggest box office contributors.

This means that today's box office will never exceed yesterday's, and the attendance rate should also decrease. Yesterday's movie fans were so crazy. Although they contributed to the film's amazing box office results, it also meant that too many fans' enthusiasm for watching movies has subsided. This is the normal market law! "

Everyone knows the subtext of the photographer. Judging from the current situation in theaters, "The Dark Knight" has no intention of following the market rules. Compared with the normal trend of the theater market, now this film actually received close to After grossing US$85 million at the box office, more movie fans continued to flock to major theaters in North America on Saturday.

"Not only the first-day box office, "The Dark Knight" may even create an even more terrifying first-weekend box office record the next day!" The female reporter squinted her eyes slightly and looked at the families with children queuing up. They buy several movie tickets at once, and then after the movie ends, those people take their children into the peripheral stores and put their children into a complete set of Batman equipment.

She even saw many adults with their arms filled with all kinds of Batman peripheral souvenirs, especially those Joker dolls, which appeared very frequently. Almost every fan who walked into the peripheral store would have one when they came out. Clown figure.

"Take more photos and watch. This time Warner Bros. and Wayne Greenberg will create a first-weekend box office record that will be difficult to surpass in the future! Come on, let's interview a few fans."

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