Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, Las Vegas, Chicago, Miami, Philadelphia, New York, Boston.
From west to east, north to south.
Holding premieres, interacting with fans, participating in TV shows, accepting interviews from local newspapers... After half a month of traveling to nine cities, when the team finished recording a program for a local TV station in Boston, the carpet-style marketing tour finally concluded. Courteney Cox felt like she was going to fall apart.
She slumped weakly onto the king-sized bed in the team's hotel in Cambridge, Boston, and couldn't help but think of a certain guy, immediately feeling a surge of resentment.
Participating in 'Scream', she only received a newcomer's price of $200,000, yet she was being used like a first-tier actress with a $2 million salary. Even more exasperating was that he had explicitly told her that this movie wouldn't make her a big star and might even affect her future career.
But...
You jerk, did you give me any other options?
Tired and resentful, she fell asleep without realizing it. When she was woken by a knock at the door, the sky outside had already completely darkened.
Today is October 28th, the opening day of 'Scream'.
Since she had done everything she could and should, she had originally given up hope, wondering what the box office had to do with her. But now, she found herself really wanting to know if the movie would be well-received.
Rumour had it that the film's script was conceived by that guy himself, but he wasn't credited, saying he didn't want to cause controversy like with 'Basic Instinct'. This gossip had been hotly debated in the media recently, and she occasionally found that Daenerys Entertainment was deliberately fanning the flames but never gave a definitive answer.
She, however, knew the truth.
It was indeed his own idea. She met him at a marketing meeting before the start of this promotional tour, and when she jokingly asked about it, he personally admitted it.
And so, she felt a little superior.
She perked up, washed, and went out to eat with everyone. Then, the group of people she had gotten to know well recently suggested going to see their own movie, and she gladly agreed.
The group went to an AMC theatre by the Charles River. As minor celebrities, naturally, staff had bought their tickets in advance, allowing them to enter directly. However, no one seemed too eager. The six of them entered the theatre lobby and curiously observed their surroundings. It was prime viewing time, and there was already a queue at the ticket counter. 'Scream' posters were plastered everywhere in the lobby, showing that Daenerys Entertainment had pushed its promotion and distribution to the extreme.
Because they didn't try too hard to hide, they were quickly recognized by the men and women in the lobby. A crowd surged forward, asking for autographs, greetings, or simply out of curiosity. She habitually flashed the friendly smile she had perfected during this period and interacted with the audience. After almost ten minutes, they were finally able to enter the cinema.
It was a screening room with about 100 people. The few of them consciously chose seats in the back row and waited patiently. When the movie started, the screening room was packed, with hardly any empty seats visible.
Finally, she completely relaxed.
Since the movie was starring herself and her colleagues, she naturally didn't pay too much attention to the plot. Almost two hours passed without her realizing it. She did, however, hear constant gasps, screams, and exclamations from the audience around her. At a crucial plot point near the end, a loud-mouthed guy couldn't help but shout, 'Run, you idiot', which earned him angry glares from many people.
Leaving the screening room, they were inevitably stopped again.
The resourceful cinema manager even prepared a batch of posters for them to sign and distribute to the audience. After half an hour of this busy work, a commercial van from the team arrived to pick them up. As the group squeezed into the spacious General Motors commercial van, she vaguely wondered if this was all pre-arranged.
The guy leading the team on the promotional tour, Mark Belford, was said to have been personally promoted by him into the 'Scream' distribution and marketing team during a meeting. He was indeed a very shrewd and capable individual, habitually seizing every opportunity to promote the film, and Robert Rehme also held him in high regard.
But, it didn't matter.
Returning to the hotel, everyone gathered at a bar downstairs for a lively time. As it got late, they each returned to their rooms to rest, eagerly awaiting the film's box office data.
It's bound to be good, right?
Due to the time difference, it was already early morning on the East Coast, while it was not yet nine o'clock in the evening on the West Coast.
The market had been sluggish for over a month, and many people in Los Angeles were also closely watching 'Scream'. Some naturally dismissed Daenerys Entertainment's marketing offensive, which was like promoting a blockbuster, as an unwise move. But when reports from theatres indicated another queuing phenomenon, the first since the summer blockbusters ended, many people's moods began to get complicated.
Inside a mansion nestled halfway up the hills of Beverly Hills.
Terry Semel, CEO of Warner Bros. Pictures, hadn't rested well all night.
During this Halloween season, due to a lack of films, other major Hollywood studios reluctantly chose to opt out. Only Warner Bros.' 'Feds' was released concurrently with 'Scream'.
'Feds' was a female led police comedy, similar to the popular 'Police Academy' series, starring the Hollywood beauty Rebecca De Mornay.
The first 'Police Academy' in 1984, with a production cost of $4.5 million, grossed over $81 million at the North American box office, ranking sixth that year. In recent years, Warner had continuously developed 'Police Academy' sequels at a rate of one per year.
However, due to the writers' strike, the quality of 'Feds' was severely affected. During internal screenings, executives, seeing the scattered and disorganized plot, basically had no expectations. Only 850 screens were arranged for its release. It's worth noting that 'Police Academy 5' earlier in the year, despite its ultimately mediocre box office performance, opened on 1,700 screens.
Over the past few years, cinema ticketing systems had been continuously updated, and now it was possible to quickly and relatively accurately compile approximate daily box office data.
Waking up in the morning, Terry Semel completely abandoned his last shred of hope without immediately checking the box office data fax. He knew very well that if there was good news, the company would send the data over immediately, and the executives of the marketing and distribution department might even call him personally.
He waited until nearly eight o'clock when a page of data finally came through the fax machine.
Terry Semel, who had just returned from outside with today's newspaper, picked up the page of data and quickly glanced at it, a wry smile even appearing on his face. 'Scream' had a higher box office than imagined, and 'Feds' had lower data than expected.
The daily box office preliminary report only included data for the top ten films.
On its opening day, 'Scream', with 1,755 screens, dominated the box office, with preliminary estimates of its first-day gross around $4.5 million.
The second-ranked film, 'Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers', screened on a roughly similar scale of 1,692 screens, had a first-day box office of $1.5 million in its second week, only one-third of 'Scream's.
Paramount's 'The Accused', Fox's 'Alien Nation', Universal's 'The Serpent and the Rainbow', and Columbia's 'Punchline', four older films that had been released for several weeks, followed closely behind.
Despite being a new release, 'Feds' was directly relegated to seventh place on the daily chart. This film, also with a production cost of $10 million like 'Scream', only managed a pitiful $350,000 on its opening day, less than one-tenth of 'Scream's first-day box office.
Putting down the box office report, Terry Semel sat on the living room sofa and began to read today's newspapers.
The Los Angeles Times, Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, etc., although not all positive, each newspaper featured large sections of film reviews for 'Scream'. As for 'Feds' it was barely mentioned in only two professional magazines, Variety and The Hollywood Reporter.
Having worked in Hollywood for so many years, Terry Semel understood a very clear principle: even worse than overwhelmingly negative reviews is no one commenting at all. 'Feds' had encountered this worst-case scenario.
A first-day gross of $350,000, less than one-tenth of 'Scream's box office, clearly indicated extremely low attendance. The theatres would undoubtedly pull the film quickly after the two-week screening contract ended, and the total box office might only reach $3 million, still less than 'Scream's opening day.
In contrast, with a first-day box office of $4.5 million, 'Scream' was clearly going to have a very impressive long run.
Terry Semel suddenly recalled a viewpoint that had formed in the media during the release of 'Basic Instinct': starting with 'When Harry Met Sally', followed by 'Pulp Fiction' and 'Basic Instinct', films produced by Daenerys Entertainment had been on a relay race to $100 million at the box office. The first three films had successfully achieved their goals, and now, 'Scream' would very likely continue Daenerys Entertainment's relay journey.
A fourth film to gross over $100 million!
Before this, Hollywood might not even have four films grossing over $100 million in an entire year. Now, a small company that had only risen in less than two years had achieved this goal, which was simply incredible.
Putting down the newspaper, Terry Semel hesitated for a moment, then picked up the phone and dialled Simon's number.
Warner currently had two film collaborations with Daenerys Entertainment, so at least on the surface, calling to congratulate them was appropriate, and it wouldn't cost much.
Malibu.
Although it was Saturday, Simon still woke up early and received the box office data report from the company immediately. A first-day gross of $4.5 million, exceeding expectations, allowed him to completely relax. Janette had already returned from France and habitually slept in, so he began preparing breakfast for the two of them. Although she occasionally complained in jest, in reality, this was probably the only thing he was allowed to do at home.
Around seven o'clock, after preparing breakfast, Simon went to the bedroom.
The woman was still sound asleep. Simon looked at her for a few moments and decided to wake her a little later. He picked up a folder from the bedside table and walked out of the bedroom again. October was the month when listed companies' new quarterly financial reports were released. The folder contained several financial reports of listed companies held by Westeros Company, as well as Westeros Company's own financial report for the previous quarter.
Listed companies in North America generally pay dividends quarterly.
According to preliminary statistics, in the just-concluded third quarter, Westeros Company received a total of approximately $26.3 million in cash or equity dividends. Based on this figure, it is estimated that the company will receive around $100 million in various types of dividends for the entire year. Compared to the total value of Westeros Company's stock holdings, this figure is not high, roughly equivalent to an annual return of 5%, which is even lower than some long-term bonds.
However, influenced by generally better-than-expected quarterly financial reports, the stock prices of technology companies held by Westeros Company generally rose. The total value calculated in the most recent week had reached $1.93 billion, an increase of $130 million compared to the $1.8 billion total value announced by Forbes in August when the rich list was published.
Clearly, stock appreciation is what most investors value most.
In the half-month since returning from France, Janette had been helping Simon review these financial reports. Although she always seemed a bit nonchalant, Simon knew that the woman was absolutely more dedicated than anyone else around him. With her help, Simon wasn't at all worried about any mistakes occurring.
As for Janette, she personally explained Westeros Company's quarterly financial report to Simon until past midnight.
Around eight o'clock, Simon received several congratulatory calls about 'Scream's box office from Amy Pascal, Terry Semel, and others. Only then did he return to the bedroom to wake Janette.
Still working on the weekend, with the first-day box office data, many other film-related pieces of information quickly accumulated.
Overall, the critical reception for 'Scream' wasn't particularly good, barely exceeding 7 points, but it was clear that the film's public popularity far surpassed all other films released concurrently. Moreover, Daenerys Entertainment's highly targeted marketing strategy had consistently focused on teenagers, a demographic that doesn't particularly care about media reviews and instead leans more towards word-of-mouth from classmates and friends.
With 'Scream' unknowingly forming a viewing craze among teenagers, the three-day weekend quickly passed.
October 31st, Monday.
The preliminary box office data for the past weekend was successfully released.
Just like the preliminary first-day box office report, 'Scream' still undeniably led all other films released concurrently, with its final opening weekend gross reaching $13.79 million. This opening weekend figure alone had already surpassed the total North American box office of most other films released in October.
Moreover, with such a strong opening, as long as the box office drop isn't too severe, this is clearly another film destined for over $100 million at the North American box office. Seeing this data, both within Hollywood and in the North American media, a faint sense of numbness arose.
Can it continue?