American Entertainment: Starting with playing the role of Little Beaver

Chapter 50 The Gopher Peeks Out Ling Lingqi

Let me ask you a question:
The Secret Chamber grossed eight million pounds in its first two days of previews. Is that a terrifying figure?

答:
It's absolutely terrifying. This is pure horror, downright terrifying.

reason?

Very simple -

Before the release of "The Chamber of Secrets," the UK pre-release box office record was held by "The Philosopher's Stone," which grossed £670 million in two days.

Philosopher's Stone was released last year.

In just one year, "The Chamber of Secrets" broke the record and raised it by £130 million?
This is outrageous data!

It's worth noting that the British film industry hasn't seen any major changes in the past year.

From a micro perspective, there has been no increase in cinemas, screens, or ticket prices; from a macro perspective, the UK's population has not changed significantly, and the income of the British people has not increased much.

In that case, "The Locked Room" not only broke records but also raised the historical high by 19.4%?
This growth—

That's completely unscientific!
"really?"

Isabella still couldn't believe her ears.

"It's really true."

Catherine nodded vigorously and handed the phone to Isabella.

"If you don't believe me, call and ask yourself..."

"Jingle Bell--"

Before Catherine could finish speaking, her phone rang. Both of them looked at the Nokia screen, which displayed Danny's name. Without hesitation, they answered. The next second—

"Ohhhhh—Keisha—Is Isha there?"

"Let her answer the phone! Let her answer the phone! 'The Locked Room' has broken another record! Our 'The Locked Room' has broken another record!!"

"..."

To be honest, the box office performance of "The Chamber of Secrets" really exceeded Isabella's expectations, because in her memory, the only movie in the entire HP series that had grossed over $1 billion was the eighth installment, "The Deathly Hallows Part 2".

When the total box office of the HP series' opening weekend did not exceed 80 billion, and the average box office did not exceed 10 billion, how could the preview performance of "The Chamber of Secrets" be so much better than "The Philosopher's Stone," which has a global box office of nearly 10 billion?

It's not that she's mentally ill and insists on dwelling on it.

In the film industry, the better the pre-release results, the higher the total box office will be.

Unless the film receives terrible reviews, the final box office will not be lower than the preview results.

The HP series has the most consistent reputation in film history.

So……

How come the total box office of "The Secret Room" is lower than its preview results?
Given the current situation, it should become the first Harry Potter movie to break 10 billion!
Isabella was confused.

But with the constant stream of good news calls, she had no time to think about the potential increase. This wasn't just because the overwhelming joy was making her happy—no one can resist success, right?—but also because she didn't know the actual preview results of "The Secret Room" in her previous life. So, if the box office performance of "The Secret Room" wasn't as expected…

She's just awesome!

Because she represents the biggest change in the entire Harry Potter series!

After talking on the phone with her friends for a while, her rival's complaints only made her smile more.

"Daniel, what did you say? You're going abroad for promotional work?"

"Yes, Warner Bros. wants me to go to the US, to New York and Los Angeles. Then, in December, I'm going to Europe, to France and Germany. And then, at the end of December, before Christmas? I'm also going to Asia, to China, because Warner Bros. seems to have some investments there, I heard they're planning to build theaters? So they want me to attend the preview screenings there—"

"Oh, congratulations! You'll be surrounded by flowers for the next month."

"I... thank you..."

"Hey~ what's our relationship? No need for thanks~"

"..."

"Rupert, what did you say? You're going abroad to do promotional work too?"

"Yeah, I'm going abroad for gigs too. Warner Music wants Daniel and me to go to New York and Los Angeles, and then I have to go to Australia, Japan, and Singapore... After all that, I probably won't be back until Christmas at the earliest—"

"Oh~~ That kind of life sounds amazing~~ I really envy you being able to greet fans all over the world~~"

"You...sigh...Isa...dare you tell me the truth? Are you genuinely envious?"

"hahahaha~~~"

Isabella answered Radish's question with a boisterous laugh.

Isabella wasn't being honest; she wasn't envious of their life at all.
No normal person would enjoy a job that involves a lot of travel, right?

The reason she doesn't need to interact with the outside world is because her busy schedule is linked to "The Voice of China".

Warner Bros. scheduled the release of "The Voice" a month later in December, avoiding the opening month of "The Chamber of Secrets". In the film industry, when a film is competing against itself, it's not called internal conflict, it's called internal conflict.

So, when the promotion for "The Voice of China" doesn't officially begin until early next month...

Sigh, she'll actually be busy next month too.

This is truly a case of the pot calling the kettle black.

However, it's good to be able to work a few days later. It's not that Isabella is being lazy... well, okay, she does think she's pretty lazy, because her biggest dream in life is to lie down and relax...

Even though Isabella wasn't running around with Egg and Carrot for promotions, her heart remained closely connected with her friends.

For example, while everyone else was busy and barely had time to breathe, she stayed in her dormitory in Leavesden and had her mother brew her a large pot of Da Hong Pao tea. Then she leisurely browsed the internet, looking at the market feedback after the preview of "The Chamber of Secrets".

Then, reading the positive reviews on Yahoo made her feel incredibly happy:
"The Chamber of Secrets once again transported me to a vivid and magical world! This movie is absolutely fantastic!"

"The solo scene between Harry and the Basilisk was absolutely fantastic! He became the hero the moment he raised his sword!"

"Isabella's performance is unforgettable! Although she didn't have much screen time in 'The Chamber of Secrets,' her decisiveness in clearing the classroom obstacles and her toughness towards Malfoy were just so cool!"

"It seems Rowling really doesn't understand Harry Potter! Isabella might be the Hermione Granger she wanted to write!"

"Oh my god~~~~ I love Hermione the catgirl so much! When will Warner Bros. release a figure of her?!"

"Tom Felton really brought Malfoy to life! Every time I see him, I want to punch him!"

Of course, there were also negative reviews—

"I was very disappointed with the movie 'The Locked Chamber' because it omitted many wonderful details from the original novel!"

"I could feel that the director wanted to make the movie thrilling, but Harry's acting was really not good. When he fought the Basilisk and Voldemort at the end, he wanted to show his strength, but compared to Hermione's clearing the scene, his performance was still a bit weak!"

"A short story was adapted into an excessively long film! The slow pace was truly nauseating!"

There are a thousand Harry Potters in the eyes of a thousand viewers.

Therefore, it's normal for a movie to receive mixed reviews after its release.

Even the North American tax authorities can't reach a consensus, so how can you expect your movie to receive absolutely positive reviews?
Isn’t that bullshit!

After summarizing the comments from movie fans on Yahoo, Isabella found that most people gave positive reviews, while only a little over ten percent to less than twenty percent expressed their dissatisfaction.

Such facts are enough to prove that the film "The Locked Room" received very good reviews after its release.

In that case, with the premiere date approaching...

"The Secret Room" also delivered amazing results.

Excluding previews, The Chamber grossed £1090 million in its opening weekend in the UK.

Including previews, The Chamber grossed £1890 million (approximately $2981 million) in its opening week in the UK.

The greatest film of all time.

In North America, The Chamber grossed $8840 million in its opening weekend.

Although this result is significantly lower than that of Spider-Man, which was released earlier this year, and also a step backward compared to the 9030 million earned by HP's predecessor, Sorcerer's Stone, last year.

Even so, The Chamber is still the third highest-grossing opening weekend film in North American film history.

This is already a very good result!
Because only epic IPs can manipulate historical rankings like ordinary annual rankings!

Moreover, The Chamber's first-week box office performance actually surpassed that of Philosopher's Stone.

In its opening week, "The Chamber of Secrets" raked in $1.2 million at the box office in the UK and the US, while "The Sorcerer's Stone" only grossed $1.13 million.

A $700 million increase may seem small, but $1.2 million is already the second highest grossing film in history.

As for who is number one?

cough--

A failed man.

To be honest.

The $1.14 million opening weekend gross for The Failed Man in North America is just fucking outrageous.

If it made any money in the UK, it could easily become the number one film in history.

It's outrageous!
However, whether it's third in North America, second globally, or first in the UK, none of that matters to Warner Music, because Warner's goal is to be the world's number one...

"Although The Escape Room didn't beat Spider-Man, it shouldn't be too much of a problem for it to take the top spot this year."

"Since the Spider-Man movies have all finished their theatrical run, they have grossed a total of $8.21 million so far, which is a high number, but as long as The Chamber of Secrets performs normally, it will be easy to surpass it."

"After all, Philosopher's Stone was the world's number one game last year."

"HP has a box office base of 9.74 million."

With the first week's results released, Warner executives held a flurry of meetings.

In their view, with a start like "The Secret Room," it would be too easy for the global box office to break 9 million, and breaking 10 billion would also be easy.

If "The Secret Chamber" can gross 9 million, then Warner Bros. will be the world's highest-grossing film of 2002.

This isn't because they look down on their peers, but because there aren't many strong competitors in this year's film market.

The failed man was indeed a dark horse, but it was too one-sided.

It grossed $4 million in North America, but a total of $8.21 million worldwide.

This fact is sufficient to prove that the failed Man is merely a regional IP.

People in North America certainly like it, but the world's pursuit of it still needs to be increased.

Besides the failed Man, there are actually two other films worldwide that could compete for the top spot this year.

One is called "Star Wars", and the other is called "The Lord of the Rings".

The former, SW, was highly anticipated by everyone before its release.

Since its inception, SW has never missed out on the annual championship.

As long as the Imperial March plays, no one can defeat us. That's how overpowered this IP is!
But this year, SW's myth came to an end.

Because Attack of the Clones had a bad plot and bad action, and it was also sandwiched between release dates.

The first two are Lucas's problems, which only he can solve.

The next one...

Spider-Man was released a little earlier than Replicas, and Fear Killer was released a week later.

While SW is indeed an epic IP, the film market is finite, and the number of cinemas and screens is fixed. Therefore, when Spider-Man and Fear were both profitable, The Replicas had relatively limited screenings.

If screenings are not scheduled well, box office revenue will definitely be affected.

If I had to describe it, this year's SW is like the meat in the middle of a hamburger, while Failed Man and Fear are the buns sandwiching the hamburger. Their history may not be as glorious as SW's, but when they are mixed with the meat, they can also have a meaty flavor.

So, with the film's theatrical run over, *The Clones* only grossed 6.53 million yuan at the box office. At present, SW poses no threat to *The Chamber of Secrets*, and as for *The Lord of the Rings*…

"The Lord of the Rings shouldn't have much of an impact on us."

Nathan Bailey said, "The Lord of the Rings grossed $8.83 million last year, which seems terrifying, but compared to our Philosopher's Stone, there is still a difference of $9000 million. In the $8 million and above range, this difference is very large."

Ok.

Nathan Bailey, who once felt his life was incredibly unfortunate, has been promoted!
After returning from the UK, he became the vice president of Warner's operations department.

He may not have done a good job of completing the tasks assigned by Barry Mayer, but Barry Mayer could still see his loyalty. Ever since he took up residence in Leavesden, no one outside has been able to contact Isabella.

This kind of perseverance is truly moving.

Currently, he and his team are doing the data analysis work.

"So, we've got this year's global championship in the bag?"

Barry Mayer was very pleased with the result, and said with a satisfied expression.

"If nothing else happens."

Nathan Bailey nodded.

"An accident? What do you mean?"

Before Nathan Bailey could finish speaking, Barry Mayer frowned.

The sudden rise in voice froze the atmosphere in the conference room.

But Nathan Bailey smiled, revealing his white teeth, and said, "The unexpected thing is that New Line bought tickets."

"Ted Turner bought a hundred million himself."

"Aside from that, I couldn't even imagine that 'The Locked Room' could lose."

"Because the films released around the same time as 'The Locked Room' weren't very strong, they wouldn't pose a significant threat to 'The Locked Room'..."

When SW made a careless mistake and was turned into a hamburger by the failed Man and Fear Killer, Warner Bros., eager to win the year's top spot, would naturally have closely monitored the release schedule when releasing The Room.

Then they discovered that none of their competitors in the same time slot were any good.

In Hollywood, the "same release window" refers to the two weeks before and after a film's release. During this period, other films released are considered competitors, because a film's biggest money-making period is usually the month following its release.

Currently, in the two weeks leading up to the release of "The Chamber of Secrets," the main competitors are "Santa Claus 2" and "8 Mile."

The former is the sequel to the 94 film "Santa Claus". The original film grossed $2200 million with an investment of $1.9 million, but the sequel... sorry, it was a complete flop.

The box office revenue for the first three days was less than 30 million, and the figures for the second week dropped even further.

They simply couldn't take over the filming of "The Secret Chamber".

The latter is a movie starring Eminem, the king of rap in the pop music scene.

It tells the story of how a white guy living in Detroit gets into the black-dominated world of rap.

It's considered Eminem's autobiography.

Eminem's popularity in Europe and America is well-known, so "8 Mile" achieved excellent box office results after its release. As an R-rated film, it grossed $5500 million in its opening weekend in North America, which is an astonishing figure.

The following week, even though it was crushed by "The Chamber of Secrets", it still raked in $2130 million at the box office.

Uh……

To put it bluntly...

The fact that "The Locked Room" didn't break records is related to "8 Mile".

When Eminem has millions of fans, and countless people are buying his music.

The screening schedule for "The Secret Chamber" will be affected.

But that doesn't matter, because last year, Sorcerer's Stone's rival was Monsters, Inc.

The Monster is better than 8 Mile!

Therefore, after this, The Chamber is confident that it will completely overshadow 8 Mile.

In the two weeks following the release of "The Chamber of Secrets," the global film market will also see Disney's "Treasure Planet"...

This film won't pose a threat to "The Chamber of Secrets" because Barry Mayer called Robert Iger, who said the animated film was a complete mess and couldn't possibly succeed.

Because Iger needed Jobs, Mayer trusted him.

Next, "The Chamber of Secrets" will also be compared to James Cameron's "Solaris"...

The truck driver's name is impressive, but the lead actor in "Solaris" is George Clooney, who is really not worth praising at all. He is a well-known box office poison in the industry, and his reputation is all based on political posturing and marketing.

Therefore, with Clooney starring in Solaris, the film could not possibly pose a threat to The Chamber.

Besides, "The Locked Room" also faces the challenge of "Die Another Day" (a James Bond film), and well...

"Nathan, are you sure 'OO7' won't affect us?"

Barry Mayer asked with a serious expression.

At this moment, Warner, which he represents, has no room for error.

Last year they were the year champions, and this year they must continue to be the year champions, or else...

To be honest, if we can't get them, we'll have to resort to shady tactics, because we can't let "The Lord of the Rings" win the annual championship.

"I am sure."

Although Barry Mayer is the big boss who can control Nathan Bailey's life and death, Nathan Bailey still appears very confident at this moment because his soul has been sublimated during his exile journey in the first half of the year.

Uh... to put it simply: Nathan Bailey feels that he can't be as unlucky as last year when he was under pressure from his boss to negotiate a contract renewal with Spielberg and J.K. Rowling's people.

He's already played in god-tier matches!
He's already eyeing the Heavenly Palace!
What are you afraid of?

"Boss, our operations department has already checked the information, and the 007 series will not affect us."

"Take North America as an example—"

"The last 007 film was The World Is Not Enough, released in 99."

"That movie only grossed 3500 million in its opening weekend."

"The previous one was Tomorrow Never Dies in 97."

"That movie only made $2500 million in its opening weekend."

"When the scope of '007' is very limited, I believe 'The Chamber of Secrets' can directly crush it."

"You should know that last year, 'The Sorcerer's Stone' grossed $9600 million in its first two weeks in North America."

"This is 3.84 times that of Tomorrow Never Dies in its first week, and 2.74 times that of The World Is Not Enough."

"Therefore, even if 007 will impact HP, their impact will not be as strong as that of Monsters."

"Furthermore, as far as I know, due to its poor historical performance, the North American theater chain only allocated 3314 theaters to '007.' Even if they don't get the full 3682 theaters, the North American box office champion this week will still be our 'The Chamber of Secrets.'"

"As for other regions outside North America..."

"The influence of '007' is not as great as that of 'Spider-Man', and it is impossible for it to pose a threat to 'HP'."

Nathan Bailey's factual and reasoned approach made Barry Mayer feel very comfortable.

"Okay, very good."

He nodded and said with a smile, "I feel at ease having such a thoughtful person like you in the operations department."

"Since you're so meticulous, keep a close eye on the operation of 'The Secret Room,' especially the North American market. After all, our home country is the largest box office market in the world. Also, pay attention to the promotion and distribution of 'The Voice.' When 'The Secret Room' is expected to take the top spot for the year... I'm also looking forward to the box office performance of 'The Voice.'"

"Okay, boss, I will definitely keep an eye on the market."

Nathan Bailey is happy again!

Does the boss think he did a good job?

Isn't this implying that his position is unworthy of his abilities?

Did the Boss add burdens to his shoulders?

Isn't this just blatantly telling him that as long as he works hard, he can get promoted?

And he's already the vice president of operations, and he's moving up the ranks?

So, being the boss's secretary wouldn't be a problem, right?

This is a position second only to the emperor, a position above thousands!
If he does a good job, he could even compete for Warner's next COO!
While Nathan Bailey was fantasizing about one day replacing Barry Mayer as chairman of Warner Bros., the North American theater chains were releasing box office figures for various films—

On November 18, the fourth day of its release, "The Chamber of Secrets" grossed $532 million at the North American box office.
On November 19, the fifth day of its release, the North American box office grossed $474 million.
On November 20th, the sixth day, North America recorded 403 million;
On this same day, "The Locked Chamber" officially surpassed $100 million at the North American box office...

Although the box office of "The Chamber of Secrets" dropped sharply, these three days were weekdays, specifically Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. Moreover, during these three days, "The Chamber of Secrets" was still the top-grossing film on a single day in North America.

If "The Secret Room" can firmly hold the number one spot, then this achievement is beyond question.

Further on...

On Thursday, November 21st, "The Secret Chamber" was released for the seventh day and grossed 367 million yuan, still ranking first.

On Friday, November 22nd, the eighth day of release, everyone was on holiday, and the box office rebounded, grossing 11 million...

The nearly 200% increase made Nathan Bailey very satisfied.

In Hollywood, a pullback of more than 100% on two consecutive Fridays is considered excellent.

Like "The Philosopher's Stone," its two-week pullback was only 87%.

Therefore, when a correction of more than double the industry average occurred, the market's pursuit of "The Secret Room" became a visible frenzy, and this frenzy will easily push "The Secret Room" to surpass 10 billion in global box office revenue.

And how did "The Secret Chamber" manage to break 10 billion?
That would make it the second largest in the world!

This level of success is beyond even "The Lord of the Rings".

Even if you brought James Cameron, who directed "The Big Ship," he might not be able to replicate it!
Will the next installment of "The Big Ship" break 10 billion after its 18 billion box office success?

You think you're Jesus?!
Do you think that the moment you open your mouth, believers all over the world will respond to your gospel?

hum~
However, just as Nathan Bailey was about to ditch the reports and enjoy a wonderful Saturday...

Ok?
and many more!

How the hell did "The Locked Room" only come in second place?!
The ranking number sent by the North American theater chain alliance made Nathan Bella's eyes open instantly!

When he discovered that "The Locked Room" had ranked second at the box office on the 22nd with 1100 million in revenue...

He completely exploded!
This is impossible!
As a globally recognized epic IP, even after a week of release, "The Secret Room" still has the highest number of screenings, with all theaters in North America showing the film. Under these circumstances, "The Secret Room" cannot possibly lose!
But now——

second?

What is this ghost?

And after he turned on his computer, logged into the North American theater chain's backend, and accessed the list of shows accessible only to the top six theaters...

The words "Die Another Day, 1661 million" at the top made his pupils shrink!

Is "007" coming out?
How did a game with a historical record even worse than HP, like 007, manage to climb up the ranks?

Oh my God!

What the hell is going on?!

Nathan Bailey couldn't understand it!

　Note: ① *Fear Killer* is a film in Tom Clancy's military series, starring Ben Affleck and Morgan Freeman. The film had a budget of $6800 million and grossed $1.93 million. While the numbers aren't as impressive as some other projects, Tom Clancy's works have a stable audience in the US. Films like *The Hunt for Red October*, *Red Storm*, *Patriot Games*, and *Clear and Bright* are all based on his novels, and even *Rainbow Six* and *Splinter Cell* were adapted into games by Ubisoft. When Tom Clancy's films secured regular theatrical releases in the US, *SW*'s screenings were squeezed out. Combined with the massive hype surrounding *Spider-Man*, this explains why *Replicas*' box office performance was so disastrous. ② Clooney is a well-known box office poison in Hollywood. He is not an actor, but a broker who uses movies to express his political stance and then uses his political views to get projects through the Democratic Party. Almost all of his projects lose money and have almost no economic value. Especially "Ocean's", Pitt, Mourinho, and Dursley are all A-list actors who can carry the box office on their own. It is absurd that putting Clooney together as the lead actor did not increase the box office but decreased it.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)