From Flower Vase to Film Emperor in Hollywood

In reality, a careful study reveals that "Dawn of the Dead" and "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" have distinct differences in their release strategies and target audiences. There's no need for comparison, let alone forced association; they are completely different.

"Dawn of the Dead" targets niche horror and zombie movie enthusiasts, especially seasoned fans who admire George A. Romero's original film. Universal Pictures' positioning is evident from the promotional slogans.

"The 'Dawn of the Dead' of the 21st Century," "A tribute to and replication of George A. Romero," "Twenty-five years later, zombies are still zombies..."

And so on. They didn't deliberately try to shake off the influence of the original film; instead, they planned to use the original as a selling point to attract new and old audiences.

"Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" targets artistic youths who enjoy art activities such as literature, music, and film. Even those who aren't hardcore movie fans are occasionally willing to go to the cinema and contemplate love.

"An imaginative adventure," "Do you trust your memory?" "What are we really missing when we miss love?"

Then, paired with some posters with literary flair, Focus Features abandoned love as a key word from the start and instead used artistic flair as an entry point. They even proactively mentioned Charlie Kaufman's existence—

"Adapted screenplay," a unique work with a brain circuit different from ordinary people. "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" will also continue Charlie Kaufman's consistent style.

Focus Features isn't worried about deterring audiences; they must prepare the audience psychologically.

Moreover, a point worth studying carefully is that:

Focus Features didn't focus their publicity on Anson and Kate.

Of course, there was still conventional publicity. They didn't hide the two leads; there were not only individual character posters of the two actors but also posters of the two actors intimately embracing. But in addition, there were also concept posters without the figures of the two actors, purely conceptual artistic creations, avoiding overwhelming emphasis on Anson and Kate's existence, and establishing the film's own artistic style through the posters.

Such a promotional approach made their attitude clear early on, completing a kind of psychological construction:

Indeed, Anson and Kate lead the cast, but audiences expecting a "Titanic"-style love blockbuster should abandon that idea.

Memory. Love. Time.

This is the focus of Focus Features' early publicity, highlighting a different strategy.

All indications show that "Dawn of the Dead" and "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" are two completely different works, with different styles, genres, and target audiences. Even if the two films are released on the same day, they won't be in direct competition.

The most direct point is the release strategy.

Major cities on the East and West Coasts, such as New York, Los Angeles, Seattle, Philadelphia, and San Francisco, have become the focus of the release, with overwhelming publicity.

Of course, the Midwest hasn't been ignored either. Dallas, Portland, Kansas City, Columbus, Jackson, Little Rock, etc., have all arranged screenings, the difference being that there's only one or two cinemas; but cities with cultural heritage and movie-going habits like Chicago, Atlanta, and New Orleans have slightly more theaters, but the number is still limited.

The real focus is still on areas densely populated by the middle class, artistic youths, and Ivy League universities. The entire positioning is very precise.

One with three thousand theaters, one with three hundred theaters, a difference of ten times in magnitude. From any perspective, the two films are not comparable.

However! But!

For various reasons, the media is still constantly fueling the flames, and "Dawn of the Dead" is inexplicably caught in this storm; but the point is that Universal Pictures doesn't seem to care. No matter what the media's reasons for focusing, it's all publicity anyway. They even join in, and the whole wave can't be stopped.

Thus.

In the third week of March, the focus of the entire North American film market is on these two films.

However, if it doesn't work, it doesn't work. Forcing a conflict won't create tension.

Just look at the premiere to know.

During last year's holiday season, "The Butterfly Effect" and "Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World" clashed head-on. The latter's grand premiere completely overshadowed the former. Being in Los Angeles, you could clearly feel the game and tug-of-war between the two.

But now, the situation is completely different.

"Dawn of the Dead" held a grand premiere at the Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles.

Although Universal Pictures is stingy and refuses to spend more money on publicity and promotion, now that there's no strong competitor interfering in this schedule, it easily occupies the schedule of the Chinese Theatre, and the scale of the premiere is immediately upgraded.

At that time, major media outlets will attend, and "Dawn of the Dead" can fully utilize Anson's momentum, achieving maximum publicity effect without much effort—

Universal Pictures' wishful thinking is crackling loudly.

So, what about "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind"?

This time, Focus Features simply didn't arrange a formal film premiere. A work like "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" doesn't need a grand premiere with a strong commercial atmosphere to announce its debut. The distribution strategy is closer to a limited preview model.

Just right, saving costs.

Instead, Focus Features arranged a screening in New York.

The venue is the Angelika Film Center in New York, one of the two cinemas that previously showed "Elephant" in a limited preview in New York; the screening is open to everyone. As long as you are interested in the film, you can log in to the Angelika Film Center's official website to apply, and finally, the film center will draw lots.

Furthermore, Focus Features also emphasized that this screening has no special nature. Even if you don't apply or participate, it doesn't matter, because the next day, "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" will be officially released on a small scale, and everyone can watch it.

Everything is casual and natural.

It's obvious that Focus Features' positioning is consciously separating itself from commercial genre films, leaning towards the limited preview model of art films.

Form, scale, posture, positioning—there's no comparability between the two films at all. Even if the media forcibly pairs them up, trying to hype up the life-and-death battle between "Dawn of the Dead" and "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind," there are no sparks—

Fake hype.

Focus Features' rationality and calmness have won "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" a breathing space in this wave of Hollywood turmoil, grasping the focus, standing firm, and even if the academy executives and Sony Columbia are fueling the flames behind the scenes, trying to set the rhythm, they have still stabilized the situation.

It was under such circumstances that "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" officially debuted at a screening that wasn't a premiere, finally unveiling its mysterious veil.