Exploiting Hollywood 1980

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"The number of people who bought tickets for Longwei Kid is not many." Producer Weintraub looked at the crowd at the ticket office worriedly.

Ronald and Weintraub were together outside the fourth-floor movie theater at Sherman Oaks in Los Angeles, watching the box-office performance of "Dragon Boy" on its first day. The department store, where Ronald has made two movies, has become a standard sampling point for his reaction to the scene.

Weintraub's money was spent on on-site marketing and on expanding the scale of the show. After the two discussed it, there was no more insignificant premiere. Anyway, this movie has no stars, and it is difficult to attract reporters to make headlines.

"Ghostbusters," "Gremlins," and "Ghostbusters" are still three of the most popular movies. Ronald counted secretly next to him, and the number of people who watched the three films was probably even. And the number of people who choose to watch "Longwei Kid" is almost half of them.

"It's alright, I said it earlier, the first day of the movie's box office depends on marketing, and after that, it depends on word of mouth." Ronald was beside him, cheering Weintraub and himself.

"You're right, our reputation is better than..." Weintraub wanted to say that his movie was better than those three, but he was a bit self-deceiving when he thought about it, so he swallowed it and didn't say it.

This summer is very strange. There are two super dark horses, "Ghostbusters" and "Little Monsters". The reason why people can run out of the box office battle is because of their good reputation, otherwise they should not be called dark horses. I really have no confidence in defeating them with word of mouth.

Especially "Ghostbusters", the average box office of a single venue did not drop in the second week of its release, but increased, and the number of screening theaters was immediately added by 200 to 1,500. Everyone knows that this is the posture of a super dark horse.

Weintraub wanted to say that the two of them were deceiving themselves when they imagined that "Longwei Kid" could get good grades under the attack of the three masterpieces.

But seeing Ronald so confident, he also held back his bad judgment. After all, he himself is the first real producer.

The movie starts right away, and Weintraub finishes his Pepsi and throws the glass in the trash. He gave Ronald a wink, and the two went into the screening room together without discussing the box office forecast.

The movie started playing, and because it was a drama, the audience was immersed in the plot, and no one exclaimed like when the "Break Dancing" was shown.

Daniel and his mother started in New Jersey and drove all the way to Los Angeles. They moved into an apartment and met with Master Miyagi and asked him to fix the faucet.

The audience still didn't speak, and Weintraub didn't know whether they were fascinated or not interested in the plot. He got a little nervous and started clenching his hands and looking around.

Daniel met the beautiful Ali on the beach, and the two fell in love at first sight. Ali took the initiative to ask Daniel to teach him to play football.

Then Ali's ex-boyfriend Johnny taught Daniel a lesson. Daniel practiced karate by himself in the apartment and wanted to take revenge. Master Miyagi was noncommittal after seeing it.

On Halloween, Daniel dressed up as a shower ring to attend the masquerade party, Ali recognized him by heart, and the two embraced in the shower curtain.

Didn't hear the audience's reaction he expected, Weintraub's hands were turning white with force. He couldn't help it, he picked up the drink that was placed next to it and drank it.

"Hey, Jerry, that's my Coke." Ronald also went to get a drink, took an empty one, and couldn't help complaining.

The audience in front turned back and glared, thinking they were too noisy.

"Sorry," Ronald winked, and the two quietly got out of their seats and went to the lounge at the door.

"You're so nervous, Jerry." Ronald went to the snack counter and bought a pack of cigarettes, pulled one out and handed it to Weintraub, then lit it for him with a disposable plastic lighter and took it himself Pick up one.

"I'm inside, my heart is about to jump out, why isn't the audience responding?"

Weintraub smoked cheap cigarettes he usually dismissed,

He spit out a big mouthful.

"They are so fascinated by it. I think it's a good sign that the plot of the movie affects their curiosity. Don't you see the disgusted look from the audience after they were disturbed by us?"

Ronald also exhaled a puff of smoke. He never smoked at ordinary times, he only smoked when he was writing a script to relieve the pressure.

"You're right," Weintraub hurriedly finished his cigarette, went to the counter to buy two packs of chocolate chips, and distributed one to Ronald.

"Don't worry, it's too late to modify the copy anyway." Ronald joked.

"Hey!"

Clearly the joke was on the wrong occasion, and this time Weintraub was even more worried.

"Did we fail?" he asked suddenly.

"Where did this come from?" Ronald opened the package and ate two chocolates.

"No, it's not your fault, I'm not complaining about you." Weintraub tore the packaging of MM Chocolate nervously. "It's Columbia's fault in scheduling the show."

"They don't know that the Ghostbusters and the little monsters can be so popular. We have tried our best to avoid the magic palace and Star Trek." Ronald persuaded, in fact, the worst is "Hot Street Boys", their box office It was the one who was hit hard. It is expected to be taken offline in three weeks.

"Hey..." Weintraub didn't listen to Ronald's advice. He had completely fallen into a cycle of self-denial.

"Maybe we're spending too much time on useless plots. Are we moving the story too slowly?"

"It's nothing, I think the audience is very engaged, but you didn't realize that we've been out for so long, and no one has come out to go to the bathroom in Hall 4 of 'Longwei Kid'?"

"Yeah...that's a good sign." Weintraub relaxed a little.

"Well, did these two audience members come out of Hall 4? They're going to the toilet." Weintraub pointed to a young couple before he finished speaking, and the two walked quickly to the bathroom.

"It's over, they're out to the toilet." Weintraub handed the cigarette to his mouth with trembling hands, and the cigarette head, which he smoked hard, glowed bright red.

"It doesn't matter, there are not many people, and they are all eager to go back." Ronald explained. The boy waited for the girl, grabbed his hand and walked in hastily.

Seeing that the other party was so nervous, Ronald led Weintraub to the pizza shop opposite, and ordered two cokes, a small pizza, and a poke of chicken wings from the clerk wearing a red and white arrow shirt.

"Eat first, don't be nervous, I think the audience's reaction is very positive."

"Just because few people go to the bathroom?" Weintraub picked up Pepsi and drank it again.

"Yes, I generally use this to measure the appeal of the plot to the audience, and obviously they don't want to miss any episodes."

"Thank you," Ronald took the chicken wing from the waitress and ate it himself.

"Maybe I should listen to Columbia and cut the scene of Mr. Miyagi's recollection of the 442 Infantry Regiment, so that 30 minutes can be compressed so that the cinema can be lined up one more time."

Ronald was defeated by Weintraub, who was very nagging as he waited for the flop at the table.

Actually it's not that bad. He thought to himself that even if he was in the ring with the three major films, he was confident that he could stand out.

Ronald didn't speak, and handed Weintraub another cigarette.

"I may be too nervous, we haven't lost yet." Weintraub finally gagged his mouth with a cigarette, took the pizza, and began to chew.

"How much box office do you think we can get in the end? The average release is 4 million in six to eight weeks. Is it possible to break 30 million?" Weintraub began to worry again.

But this time, his worries are not random. The first week of the release is generally the highest at the box office. According to today's attendance and publicity, it is about 5 million, and then decreases every week, and it is released for six to eight weeks. , which is already above the industry average.

"Like I said, the opening of the movie determines the box office on the first day, and then it depends on the word of mouth." Ronald knocked on the table, he was not very sure, "I think we should be able to stay in the theater. more than eight weeks."

Weintraub also knew that it would be disrespectful to Ronald if he continued to ask, and the two faced each other silently, eating pizza silently.

"How is your wife Jane and Susan getting along?" Ronald broke the silence. He was very curious and admired that Weintraub could live as one wife and one concubine.

"I'm living a life of avatars now. Although Jane asked Susan to go home on festivals, they usually don't talk. I can only take care of both ends and work hard on my own."

Weintraub shook his head, "Who made me fall in love with the two of them, Ronald, you must not repeat my mistakes in the future."

The two sat in the pizza shop for a long time, and Weintraub never dared to go back to see the real reaction of the audience, so he could only wait here.

"Ow..." A faint cry came from the theater opposite.

"Where is it? Is it our Hall 4?" Weintraub stood up with a swipe, and looked across the way with both hands on the railing. His joy was beyond words, and his head was already sticking out of the railing.

"It seems so." Ronald also stood up. He raised his wrist and looked at the newly bought electronic watch. The numbers showed that this "Longwei Kid" had been played for one hour and fifty-five minutes.

"Probably the last crane kick." Ronald guessed.

"Let's go and have a look," Weintraub hurriedly took out a handful of bills and put them on the table. Pulling Ronald, he ran along the aisle to the entrance of the opposite theater, waiting for the audience to finish.

On Joe Esposito's "You're the Best" closing track, the audience starts to walk out in twos and threes.

The first few young people began to walk and begin to gesture the karate movements in the movie.

"Huh, ah!" A boy in a T-shirt raised his hand and hit his companion with a "wall-washing" gesture.

"Sweep the legs!" Not to be outdone, another young man squatted down and returned to the cobra dojo's despicable move, "Prepare the body bag!"

"It's all lines from the movie, it's all lines from the movie," Weintraub was excited, he grabbed Ronald's sleeve and shook it.

"Karate is here, not on the belt." Another older man began to learn Master Miyagi's lines and taught his two companions a lesson.

"Waxing style! Floor style!" The two were unconvinced and slapped around him.

Ronald also sighed heavily. It seems that the effect is really good, and young people like to watch it.

"Uncle, uncle!"

A voice started screaming from behind, and Ronald looked back. It was a man in a suit and leather shoes, who looked like a senior white-collar worker in the office, and wore a pair of gold-rimmed glasses.

He stood on one foot, and then began to imitate Daniel's final trick to defeat Johnny, the "crane kick."

"Uncle", he didn't know how to use force, and he imitated it badly, but he still enjoyed it.

"We're saved." Ronald pulled Raventraub and pointed the white-collar worker to him.

"What did you say?"

"I said our box office is guaranteed," Ronald pointed to the white-collar worker who had been bumping his way. There are several people next to him, imitating crane kicks with him.

"Why?" Weintraub looked at them blankly.

Ronald smiled slightly, this is not the target customer of the movie, but those senior white-collar workers who used to be very particular about their dress and demeanor.

Even this kind of audience began to imitate the crane kick, which means that the whole story is very convincing, not only teenagers, but also adults will be moved, remember the past in high school, right?

Unlike "break dance", it was an epoch-making dance that no one had ever seen, and most of the madness of the audience was brought about by that dance.

The audience has seen a lot of martial arts movies like "Longwei Kid".

From the earliest Bruce Lee's "Dragon Fight", there have been martial arts movies coming out over the years. The audience has seen much more exciting fights than this "crane kick".

This time, their madness about this action was obviously not out of admiration for the martial arts action itself, but the story really moved them.

"I think your box office target can be greatly improved, and we will not fail."