~： Six hundred and seventy-three - why the theater loves Wayne

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"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 his feet with a large pile of questionnaires and a large bundle of pens, ready for the job he is about to face.

The entire film of "The Flash" is only 106 minutes long. The only reason for doing so is to sell more money. Hollywood studios have done a lot of research. A compact commercial film, about 100 minutes, is the most appropriate film length.

This length of time is also the favorite of the theater, and it is also to be able to quickly turn the scene and attract more traffic.

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

"It's so addicting, this is the real superhero, the special effects are so shocking."

"I swear, just looking at the special effects, it's already worth the price!"

As soon as the theater manager opened the door of the screening room, the fans who followed immediately talked about the movie they had just watched. Investigator Sean felt relieved that the fans who had come out had excited expressions, which showed that they were not interested in the movie. satisfaction is quite high.

"Hey, can I hold you for a few seconds..."

Seeing that the crowd had begun to line up and slowly walk out, Sean hurried up to meet them, and waved the questionnaire and pen in his hands to the three young people in the front.

"Of course, I mean no problem."

As long as they are movie fans with long-term movie viewing habits, almost all of them have encountered these. The three young people skillfully took the questionnaires and pens, quickly filled out the scores on them, handed them back to Sean again, and continued to be excited. Talking about the plot of the movie and going out.

As long as they are satisfied with the movie, movie fans are usually very talkative. It is the most favorable situation for the investigation work. In less than ten minutes, a large pile of completed questionnaires will be piled up at Sean's feet again.

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

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

Sean just sat down and rested for a while, looking at the fans lining up to enter the theater, the theater manager Mirko Ramsey, bent down and picked up a few questionnaires, nodded and said, "A, A, A-, A+, B+, it's been a long time since I've seen such a gratifying review from fans on a commercial film."

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

"It's been able to explain a lot, Sean."

Shaking his head slightly, Mirko Ramsey looked at the other party and said in a low voice, "I just went to the front desk to watch it, even if it doesn't count the reserved show organized by Wayne's fans, so far "The Flash" has had six shows. The average attendance rate is about 65%, hey, you should know what I mean, today is Friday!"

For example, the theater under the Imperial Cinema Line in Burbank has completed the modernization of multiple halls early, and can open multiple movies at the same time. In addition, today is still a working day in the morning, to be able to have this attendance rate is already a proper firework.

"What about "Godzilla"?" Upon hearing this news, Sean's face was also full of smiles, but the first thing he cared about was still the company's main competitor. "How does it compare to The Flash?"

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

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

Of course, it's not even noon, let alone the night when the attendance is at its highest. Coupled with the data of just this one theater, it is likely that there will be a big deviation from the final result, but at least it has been proved that the first choice of most people is still "The Flash".

"If this ratio of ticket sales continues, before I get off work tonight, I will make a proposal to the headquarters to reduce one or two theaters for "Godzilla" and give it to "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 stage of the release of major film companies, the theater companies could not make much money at the box office. The reason why they agreed to sign such a box office sharing contract was for the traffic of those people.

The screening agreement that the theater company usually reaches with the distribution company not only includes the cycle of the film being shown in the theater, but more importantly, the box office sharing clause of the film.

Hollywood's most common box office split is 90-10, which means that after deducting theater operating expenses, the distributor gets 90 percent of it and the theater gets the remaining 10 percent. The operating expenses of the theater will be negotiated specifically for different films, and will also change with the influence of the two parties.

However, this high proportion of the distribution company's share is only applicable to the early stage of the film's release, such as the first week and the second week.

Over time, this number has changed from 90-10, to 80-20, 70-30, 60-40 and so on. For example, some films that want to show their talents at the Oscars will even give more than 90% of the box office revenue to the theater company because the theater needs to show the film for a long time.

According to normal circumstances, from the beginning of the release of a film to the next stage, the income of the distribution company and the theater company at the box office can basically reach about five or five points. After all, the film is not only shown for a week or two, and the time line As you lengthen, this number will gradually change.

In the pre-release period of the busiest movie, why did the theater agree to share more than 90% of the box office? Pass.

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

This has to mention "licensed products", which are generally popcorn and soda in the eyes of people. This revenue is the bulk of theater revenue, and importantly, this revenue is not distributed by publishers.

According to detailed data, the sales of this "franchise revenue" account for 50% to 80% of the total profit of the theater. In 1998 alone, this profit for movie theaters across North America was about $2.5 billion!

In 1990, the average price of a movie ticket was $4.22. Today, in 1998, the average ticket price in North America was $4.69. For nearly a decade, the ticket price has 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 always been soaring along with the price! Whether it's Coke, popcorn, or those little snacks, they're all cheap and scary things.

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

There is also a major income that has been ignored all the time, that is, OEM advertisements and screen advertising spaces in theaters. The amount of charges for these advertising spaces is calculated by advertisers based on the flow of people in the theaters.

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

If you are serious, you will find that the revenue model of the theater company is actually passed down from the same line of the film company, and the movie as the main body is more like a large-scale advertising film, or should be said to be a gimmick.

However, the only convincing way to show how effective this commercial is is at the box office!

Peeling off the so-called film art coat and standing in the eyes of the relevant practitioners behind the scenes, the film industry is only a small part of the money-making tools, and the reality is just like this.

This also explains why the theater company loves Wayne's films, and there is no other, because every time Wayne's film is released, they can get the top traffic, which can indirectly create huge profits for the theater company. to amazing.

It's like the movie fans who appeared early in the morning have organized reservations. In fact, it's not just happening in this theater. The mainstream commercial theaters in major cities in North America are more or less performing. Even the exaggerated proportion of ticket purchases for "The Flash" and "Godzilla" also occurred in major mainstream theaters, which lasted for a whole day on Friday.

The scorching sun in Los Angeles fell, in exchange for the hustle and bustle of the night. When the time passed midnight, the hustle and bustle of the night gradually subsided.

The entire media capital of Burbank has fallen into silence, and one of the offices on the upper floors of the Warner Bros. headquarters building is still brightly lit. Wayne in the office lounge area had a half cigar in his hand, scratched his head twice, and muttered:

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

"Don't worry about it so much, nothing is convincing at the box office!"

Hearing his dripping sound, Bruce Rosenblum, who was sitting across from him, shook his head, always feeling that he was thinking too much sometimes. Too smart people usually see everything like a conspiracy, and there will inevitably be some deviations.

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

He has a strong feeling that today is probably the last calm before the storm. Warner Bros.' investment in "The Flash" is close to $300 million, including the publicity fund. Sony Columbia's investment in "Godzilla" , I am afraid it will not be much less than this number!

Who would be dumb enough to watch hundreds of millions of dollars in damage? Anyway, Wayne always felt that Paul, the old fox who had been in Hollywood for more than 20 years, was not stupid, and the CEO couldn't be a fool either.

The office returned to calm 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. Everything that should have been said, had already been said when they came over in the afternoon, and now the three top Hollywood elders were all waiting for a few simple numbers as if they were waiting for a verdict.

Another point, I am afraid that neither Sony Columbia nor Paramount Pictures would have thought that Wayne, the absolute leader of DC movies for such an important film as "The Flash", would dare to stay in Los Angeles instead of leading the crew to run publicity. roadshow.

"Bang, bang."

There was a loud knock on the door of the office, and the three men who had been smoking cigars and drinking silently raised their heads and looked at the knocked door.

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

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