Six Hundred and Seventy-Three-Why Do Theaters Love Wayne so Much?

"boom!"

At 10:50 in the morning, a burst of warm applause that seemed to overturn the theater came out through the closed door of the screening hall.

Warner Bros. investigator Sean skillfully patted a large stack of questionnaires and a large bundle of pens at his feet, ready for the work he was about to face.

The entire movie length of "The Flash" is only 106 minutes. The only reason for doing this is to sell more money. Hollywood Film Company has done a lot of research and found that a tight-paced commercial film of about 100 minutes is the most appropriate movie length.

This length of time is also the favorite of theaters, also in order to quickly turn over the show and attract more traffic.

"The Romance of Fairy Wood"

"F**k, I really want to see a Superman movie right now, and yes, Wonder Woman on the big screen..."

"It's so enjoyable. This is a real superhero. The special effects are so shocking."

"I swear, the special effects alone are worth the price of admission!"

As soon as the theater manager opened the door to the screening room, the fans who came out immediately talked about the movie they had just watched. Investigator Sean felt relieved. The fans who had already walked out looked excited, which showed that they were interested in the movie. The satisfaction level is quite high.

"Hey, can I spare you a few seconds..."

Seeing that the crowd had begun to line up and slowly walk out, Sean quickly stepped forward to greet them. He spoke to the three young people at the front while waving the questionnaire and pen in his hand.

"Of course, I mean no problem."

Anyone who has a long-term movie watching habit has almost encountered these. The three young people skillfully took the questionnaire and pen, filled in the ratings neatly, handed it back to Sean again, and then continued their excitement Walking outside while talking about the plot of the movie.

As long as they are satisfied with the movie, movie fans are usually very talkative, which is considered the most favorable situation for the investigation work. In less than ten minutes, a large stack of completed questionnaires was once again piled at Sean's feet.

This kind of work needs to be repeated more than ten times today, and this is the inevitable process of Hollywood movies. It is the main means for Hollywood movie companies to obtain first-hand data.

"Well, it seems that fans' views on this film are completely different from some previous public opinions."

Sean had just sat down to rest for a while and looked at the fans queuing up one after another. Mirko Ramsey, the theater manager, bent down and picked up a few questionnaires. He nodded while reading and said: "A, A, A-, A+, B+, it’s been a long time since I’ve seen such favorable reviews from fans on a commercial film.”

"This is just the beginning." Sean shrugged and glanced at him.

"That explains a lot, Sean."

Shaking his head slightly, Mirko Ramsey looked at the other party and whispered: "I just went to the front desk to see it. Even if you don't count the reserved rooms of the Wayne Fans Organization, "The Flash" has played a total of six shows so far. The average attendance rate is about 65%, hey, you should understand what I mean, today is Friday!"

For example, the theater under the Imperial Cinemas chain in Burbank has already completed the modern multi-hall renovation early, and can start multiple movies to be screened at the same time. In addition, today is still a working day in the morning, with this attendance rate, it is already a hit.

"Where's "Godzilla"?" Upon hearing the news, Sean's face was also full of smiles, but his immediate concern was still the company's main competitor. "How does it compare to The Flash?"

"The ticket sales ratio between the two sides is about 7 to 1, but this data is not accurate. It is just what I have observed from this morning to now."

Regardless of what Sony Columbia wants to do, just looking at this ticket sales ratio, Sean understands that the first-day box office of "The Flash" is likely to crush "Godzilla".

Of course, it's not yet noon, let alone the evening when attendance is at its peak. In addition, the data from only one theater may deviate greatly from the final result, but at least it has been proved that most people's first choice is still "The Flash".

"If this ticket sales ratio continues, before I get off work tonight, I will make a suggestion to the headquarters to reduce the number of theaters showing "Godzilla" to one or two, and give "The Flash" tomorrow. The copy has been applied for in advance. ....." Before returning to the office, Mirko Ramsey patted Sean on the shoulder and said pointedly.

In fact, in the early stages of the release of big projects from large film companies, theater companies basically make little money at the box office. The reason why they agree to sign such a box office sharing contract is because of the traffic.

The screening agreement that a theater company usually reaches with a distribution company not only contains the period during which the film will be shown in the theater, but more importantly, the box office sharing terms of the film.

The most common box office sharing ratio in Hollywood is 90-10, which means that after deducting theater operating expenses, the distributor gets 90% of it, and the theater gets the remaining 10%. The theater's operating expenses will be negotiated specifically for different films, and will also change depending on the influence of both parties.

However, this high share ratio for the distribution company only applies to the early stages of the film's release, such as the first week and the second week.

As time goes by, this number ratio keeps changing, from 90-10, to 80-20, 70-30, 60-40 and so on. For example, some films that want to compete in the Oscars will even give more than 90% of their box office revenue to theater companies because they need theaters to screen the film for a long time.

According to normal circumstances, from the beginning of a film's release to the next release, the box office income of the distribution company and theater company can basically reach about 50-50. After all, the film is not only shown for a week or two, the timeline is As it is stretched, this number will slowly change.

So why do theaters agree to share more than 90% of the box office in the busiest period of a movie's release? This involves the theater's revenue composition, because their profit focus has not been on the box office from the beginning to the end. Pass.

Some people say that no matter what the box office share ratio is, theaters will probably get about 50% in the end. But in Hollywood, whether this number is an industry myth or a fact is another matter.

This has to mention "licensed products". This "licensed product" is generally what people think of popcorn and soda. This income is the bulk of theater income. What is important is that the distributor does not participate in the distribution of this income.

Detailed data shows that sales from this "license revenue" account for 50% to 80% of the theater's total profits. In 1998 alone, this profit for movie theaters across North America was approximately $2.5 billion!

The average movie ticket price in 1990 was US$4.22. Now in 1998, the average ticket price in North America is US$4.69. For nearly ten years, ticket prices have remained in this range. In fact, even in the past few years, North American movie ticket prices have not increased significantly.

However, the price of this "licensed product" has been skyrocketing with commodity prices! Whether it's Coke, popcorn, or those snacks, they are all incredibly cheap.

Take popcorn as an example. In 1998, the average selling price of a popcorn was about 75 cents. Taking into account labor, equipment wear, oil, salt, butter and corn kernels, the profit margin was also 80%. Above, because the shipment volume is so large, in comparison, the main cost of this type of "licensed goods" is actually truck transportation...

There is another important income that has always been ignored, and that is OEM advertising and screen advertising space in theaters. The fees for these advertising spaces are calculated entirely by advertisers based on the number of people in the theater.

This is why movie theaters are still willing to sign harsh agreements even if most of the early box office is taken away by the distribution company. The number of people in a theater is the main source of theater revenue. In fact, in the eyes of ordinary people, the box office, which is extremely important, accounts for a horribly low proportion of theater revenue.

If you are serious, you will definitely find that the revenue model of theater companies is actually the same as that of movie companies. On the contrary, the movie as the main body is more like a large-scale advertising video, or rather a gimmick.

However, the only convincing way to reflect the effectiveness of this advertising film is at the box office!

Taking off the so-called film art cloak, in the eyes of the relevant industry capital standing behind the scenes, the film industry is only a small part of the money-making tool, and the reality is so cruel.

This also explains why theater companies love Wayne's films so much. Because every time Wayne's films are released, they can get top-notch traffic, which indirectly creates huge profits for the theater companies. Astonishingly.

Just like the movie fans who showed up early in the morning to organize movie theater reservations, it actually happened not only in this theater, but also in mainstream commercial theaters in major cities in North America. Even the exaggerated ticket purchase and viewing ratios of "The Flash" and "Godzilla" also occurred in major mainstream theaters and lasted the entire day on Friday.

The scorching sunshine in Los Angeles sets, giving way to the hustle and bustle of the night. When the time passes midnight, the hustle and bustle of the night gradually subsides.

The entire media capital of Burbank has entered silence. An office on the upper floor of the Warner Bros. headquarters building is still brightly lit. In the office rest area, Wayne held half a cigar in his hand, scratched his head twice, and murmured:

"It doesn't make sense. What do Paul from Sony Columbia and the book guy think? There's no reason..."

"Don't worry about it for now. Nothing is as convincing as the box office!"

Hearing his beeping, Bruce Rosenblum, who was sitting opposite, shook his head. He always felt that he sometimes thought too much. People who are too smart usually see everything as a conspiracy, and there will inevitably be some deviations.

Wayne glanced at him, put the cigar in his mouth, and said with a smile: "No, Sony Columbia has no reason to admit defeat like this, let me think about it, let me think about it again..."

He has a strong feeling that today may be the last calm before the storm. Warner Bros.'s investment in "The Flash", including promotion funds, has reached nearly 300 million US dollars. Sony Columbia's investment in "Godzilla" , I’m afraid it won’t be much less than this number!

Who would be stupid enough to watch hundreds of millions of dollars in damage? Anyway, Wayne has always felt that Paul, the old fox who has been in Hollywood for more than 20 years, is not stupid, and the CEO of this book cannot be a fool either.

Calmness returned to the office again. Nina, who was sitting in a corner, covered her mouth with her hand and yawned. She looked at the three men who remained silent and shook her head helplessly. All that needed to be said had been said when they came over in the afternoon, and now the three top Hollywood bosses were waiting for a few simple sets of numbers like they were waiting for a judgment book.

Another point is that neither Sony, Columbia nor Paramount Pictures expected that for such an important film as "The Flash", Wayne, the absolute leader of DC movies, would dare to stay in Los Angeles instead of leading the crew to promote it. Roadshow.

"Bang, bang."

There was a loud knock on the office door. The three men, who had been smoking cigars and drinking in silence, raised their heads in unison and looked at the door that was knocked.

"Come in." Bruce Rosenblum's slightly hoarse voice sounded.

"Boss, the CEO of Nielsen Entertainment, personally sent the first-day box office data of "The Flash" as well as their temporary analysis report. The questionnaires from us and third-party research companies have also been compiled... ....”