hollywood draw

"A crazy marketing, a deception art that continues to rise amid the criticism of fans!" ---"Los Angeles Times"

In the ceo office of Paramount Pictures, Shirley Lansing put down the newspaper in his hand. After the new working day was launched, various news about "The Witch Blair" occupied almost all the headlines in the newspaper entertainment sections.

At the same time, the marketing cases related to this film have also become the focus of research by all Hollywood film companies.

After the film won an incredible box office of $17.88 million on Friday, despite the criticism of fans who have watched it, the popularity of the film has not decreased but increased, and it closed again on Saturday at $19.98 million.

In this strange atmosphere, the box office of the film was criticized by the fans and media. After Sunday, the box office exceeded 50 million US dollars in the first weekend, reaching 52.23 million US dollars.

This weird hit product suddenly appeared in Hollywood. Shirley Lansing had people collecting video data and survey data from a third-party survey company early in the morning. These are not problems for Paramount CEO.

Generally, around March every year, whether it is the media or the public, the attention will be paid to the awards season, and there are few popular videos that will be released during this period.

But the unscrupulous outbreak of "Blair the Witch" has triggered public opinion in a short period of time, which makes the trajectory of this film worthy of analysis.

"Good morning, Shirley."

After knocking on the door, the secretary led Mel Gibson into the CEO office and greeted him. The first-line movie star also looked at the newspaper on the table.

"There are damn news in the media these days. I also took the time to watch it. The film was shot like a bunch of shit. I have to say, that fat man Harvey Weinstein played a good trick this time."

"Who knows." Shirley Lansing and other secretary went out, closed the office door, frowned and looked at the pile of statistics. "This matter is not that simple. Don't look at the young director who is being scolded now. Maybe Harvey Weinstein is not the real mastermind. I have specially found someone to investigate."

Although the news she received was ambiguous, the Witch Studio was opened by both parties, which proves that this crazy, bold and very successful marketing plan was not manipulated by Harvey Weinstein himself.

When Mel Gibson heard her words, he said with some emotion: "If this is the case, this person's methods are really clever! He hid behind the scenes, avoided all possible risks, and was able to gain enough benefits in this crazy plan. The person who formulated this plan will completely change the promotion of Hollywood movies."

This viral marketing plan relies on deception to drive movie fans into the theater. Although there was a lot of scolding after watching the movie, it gained a great social influence in the scolding.

The most important thing is that even director Mel Gibson, who saw that the film perfectly transformed social public opinion and popularity into actual box office numbers.

"Okay, this video has nothing to do with us."

Thinking of the purpose of coming here, Mel Gibson was about to talk about the serious matter directly. "Do we agree to Townsend Rossman's proposal? I have been thinking about it these days, and the risks are very high!"

Shirley Lansing nodded, also worried about the risks. "Mel, in fact, I tend to agree to him, but I won't announce our release date for now. As long as we want to release in May, we can't avoid those two films. Instead of doing this, it's better to join forces with 20th Century Fox to squeeze "Batman: The Moment of War" together!"

Although I don’t know where Townsend Rossman found out, their new film is about to be released at the end of May, but the other party’s proposal is very tempting.

Let "Brave Heart" be released a week after "Batman: The Moment of War" and "Die Hard 3". The two giants put pressure on theater companies together to squeeze each other's number of theaters.

This will indeed play some role. The three major theater companies will definitely give some face if they are the six giants.

Then, the two huge media resources gathered together to try to discredit each other's videos from all aspects to grab the audience at the beginning of the summer season.

Both of them know that if they do nothing, or just routine operations, there is a high probability that "Batman: The Moment of War" will be killed, causing another "Joker"-style market crushing, forming a winner-takes-all situation.

Since there is nothing we can do when facing Warner Brothers alone, it is better to join forces and control each other.

"Sherley, the risks must be considered!"

Mel Gibson reminded: "If we follow our original plan and release a weekend away from the films of their two companies, no matter who wins, we can temporarily avoid the winner's edge."

Although this is the most conservative plan, it is also the most passive plan. He has a little big concern. "Have you ever thought that if those two films were both sides of the loss, or if they were divided into different audiences, Townsend Rossman would definitely turn against each other immediately and join forces with Warner Bros. to suppress us!"

This situation is very common, especially in the most important summer season, where two companies were still ally in the last second, and the next second they would become life-and-death opponents and start calculating each other.

To put it bluntly, everything is for the benefit, just like the six major companies now, with a lot of cooperation and fierce struggles in the dark.

Shirley Lansing shook her head, picked up the cold coffee and took a sip. "As long as we want to release in May, this situation cannot be avoided unless you are willing to avoid the summer season and move "Brave Heart" to October or November."

The start of this summer season is very abnormal, because Warner Bros. announced the release date of "Batman: The War Moment" in advance, and a large number of films originally scheduled to be released in May have been revised, and they all want to avoid this super blockbuster.

This has caused the subsequent periods to be overcrowded. Almost from the first weekend of June, at least two major productions will be released every weekend. Most film companies would rather go to the crowded few months than compete with Batman head-on.

Wayne Greenberg has proved more than once that once his video succeeds, it will become a movie-watching frenzy that lasts for several weeks, and it is a way to die when his video is released at the same time as his video.

Everyone knows that he can't keep going, and there will always be times when he encounters Waterloo. But no one is willing to take a gamble and see if "Batman: The Moment of War" is his Waterloo.

This masterpiece of the Dark King's return to the summer season is worth hundreds of millions of dollars. The filming of Batman is the most familiar one. Everyone in the circle knows it very well that as long as there is no big accident, the box office of this film will not be low.

This strange situation in May schedule is also a huge opportunity in the eyes of Mel Gibson and Shirley Lansing.

Their initial idea was very simple. They would not announce the release date of "Brave Heart" before the Oscars were over, and they would announce the release date while promoting the video. In this way, as long as they could withstand the momentum of "Batman: The Moment of War" in the third week of the release, their videos would be able to occupy at least two weeks of gap.

"Mer, if Townsend Rossman doesn't call, we still have the possibility of taking advantage of the troubled waters, but now..."

Shirley Lansing shook his head and said seriously to the big star in front of him: "I know that old Jewish man. If we can't reach an agreement on this matter, he will definitely join forces with Warner Brothers without hesitation. If I had this matter, I would definitely do this. If one competitor is missing, it is possible to gain more box office."

"Okay, then do it." Mel Gibson nodded. "I'll notify me if I need it later."

In fact, for this "Brave Heart", his ambition is not just the theater market. For the filming of this film, Mel Gibson is both a director and an actor, which is an important work he is preparing to break through the Oscars.

In his heart, he is not afraid of Twentieth Century Fox's "Die Hard 3". If he only competes with this film, he is very sure to win, but with "Batman: The Moment of War" it would be different.

He had previously studied Wayne Greenberg, a young director who made him feel uncomfortable from the bottom of his heart, but he had to admit his talent. The box office achievements he has achieved so far in his debut are worthy of everyone's careful treatment.

"I will communicate with Townsend Rossman," said Shirley Lansing. "Then it's like this today. I'll have a meeting later to discuss the Oscars of Forrest Gump."

"OK."

The two shook hands and ended the conversation.

After Mel Gibson left, Shirley Lansing once again looked at the survey data on her desk. She knew more than the outside world reported. "Blair the Witch" could not be done by Harvey Weinstein alone.

Thinking about the news you have received, are there any places to use...

The first weekend of "Blair Witch" was a hit, allowing Bob Weinstein, who was already ready, to send a copy of the film on Sunday. In this off-season, it is definitely imperative to expand the screening.

Starting from the new weekend, the number of screenings of this film has increased to 2,450. The abundant number of screens also ensures that the film can drain all the box office potential in a short period of time.

From the filming of the film to the box office, the promotional funds invested in the project "Blair Witch" alone have reached an astonishing $15 million, while the filming only cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, and most of the expenses are spent on purchasing film.

But as soon as the film was released, the box office on the first weekend made all the early investments and began to generate large profits.