May 24th, a Saturday, dawned with its customary clear skies.
As the sun, an age-old early riser, ascended to its post in the sky, the momentarily quiet City of Angels, Los Angeles, stirred once more to its familiar cacophony.
Streets bustled with pedestrians, and traffic flowed ceaselessly.
The cinema, too, welcomed a new flock of eager viewers.
Though "Miscreant" had started its run two days prior, for a different segment of the audience and fans, only the weekend marked the beginning of their cinematic journey.
As the sun traversed to its zenith, the previous day's box office tallies were finalized. Market results for all currently screening films were relayed to the respective film companies, intensifying many people's investment in the matter.
Hollywood, Paramount Pictures Tower.
Sherry Lansing had just entered her private office when, before she could even settle into her seat, the head of the marketing department, knocked and entered.
This middle-aged, slightly portly Caucasian man carried a file in hand, a smile on his face, exuding an air of carefree contentment.
"What brings you here?" Sherry inquired.
"Chairman, I bring good news." He smiled, his eyes narrowing into slits, creating an illusion that he was speaking with his eyes closed.
"Go ahead, Cliff."
She turned and seated herself behind her desk, gesturing for him to do the same.
The hefty Caucasian man didn't decline the offer and took a seat on the sofa. He opened the file in his hand and began to report, "The box office results for "Miscreant" from yesterday are in."
"Did we meet expectations?" Sherry asked.
Based on Paramount Pictures' early market research and the $26.32M earned on the premiere day, they had projected breaking $100M in the first week. This was an ideal goal achievable even by top-tier blockbusters in North America.
To achieve such a feat, the daily box office revenue had to maintain the standard set on the premiere day. Any excessive decline was out of the question.
"It's not just meeting expectations." Cliff raised the file in his hand, his excitement evident. "Yesterday, we garnered $31.25M in box office revenue. Chairman, it seems our target might be achieved even sooner than anticipated. With a 25% surge in revenue on the following day, if audience enthusiasm remains high, we could potentially cross the $100M mark in just four days."
"What?" Sherry was taken aback, bordering on disbelief.
If the high score on the premiere day could be attributed to the fervent support of the lead actors' fanbase, then a second-day surge suggested that general moviegoers were also lending strong support. Movies like "Mission: Impossible" are a prime example of star-driven cinema, often achieving significantly better results in the first three days than the cumulative box office earnings of the following one or two weeks, with the premiere day usually being the highest.
"Bring me the file. I need to see it." She stood up and said.
Cliff respectfully handed over the file. Sherry took it and scrutinized it closely, ensuring the previous day's market performance for "Miscreant" was indeed as impressive as it seemed.
"With this momentum, we might need to intensify our promotional efforts and encourage more potential viewers to step into the theaters." Cliff proposed in a hushed tone, not forgetting his primary responsibility amidst his elation.
This consensus resonated with the upper echelons of the marketing department.
Upon hearing Cliff's suggestion, Sherry composed herself. After all, she had risen to the position of Paramount's CEO through years of struggle. Even though the past two years had seen dismal financial reports and consecutive bottom rankings among the "Big Six" studios, stirring dissatisfaction among major shareholders, her personal insight and competence were unquestionable.
"Braveheart", "Forrest Gump", "Titanic", "The Truman Show", "Saving Private Ryan"... All these films had been produced and distributed under her management, reaping resounding success.
One could say that she wouldn't be the one to launch the most mainstream franchise films in the market now. Under her guidance, the only franchise that could be deemed successful was "Mission: Impossible," and even that was primarily due to Tom Cruise's leading role. But when it came to evaluating people, she had always been spot-on.
She had also believed that Lyman Lattes would be Paramount's best collaborator. She was even willing to open the domestic market and allow EuropaCorp a share, maintaining a close cooperation between the two sides. Yet, the rapid success they were experiencing now still filled her with a sense of pleasant surprise, as if she had stumbled upon a golden nugget, revealing a hidden gold mine nearby.
And the current situation was this: box office revenues of "Miscreant" on the second day were still rising. Given this trajectory, with a bit of optimism, if they reached $100M in four days, what could the first-week box office earnings amount to? $150M? Or perhaps $200M?
A subtle smile curved Sherry's lips, a smile of subtle delight. The fact that she chose to collaborate with Lyman even before he made his name, was a step in the right direction. It seemed that he could always provide lucrative market returns.
"Cliff, get in touch with Norman, the president of Viacom's Media Department, right away. Have him organize the airing of "Miscreant" teaser trailers on all 39 of his local TV stations for a while, and also, get in touch with those variety shows. Schedule some time for concentrated promotion next week." In fact, Viacom was the third-largest media company in the United States, and Paramount Pictures could be considered a subsidiary of it. However, Paramount's independence was substantial, but the two entities remained closely linked, and their channel resources were generally shared by Paramount.
"I'll get on it immediately."
After Cliff left her office, Sherry pondered for a moment. Then, she dialed Lyman's contact number from her secretary's desk.
"Hey, Lyman, are you still in Los Angeles?"
"Yeah, I'm at the hotel." Answering the call in the high-end suite of the Waldorf Astoria near Beverly Hills, Lyman's voice carried a hint of confusion. It was quite rare for the President of Paramount to call him personally. "Is there something you need?"
"Congratulations on the movie's great success recently..."
Over the phone, Sherry conveyed Paramount's decision to intensify promotions. She hoped that Lyman and the other creators could cooperate with the publicity efforts. She also mentioned plans for a celebration, essentially throwing him a victory party.
Lyman naturally agreed to the former. As for the latter, he tactfully expressed that there was no need to rush, suggesting they could postpone it.
After hanging up the phone, Lyman returned to writing and sketching storyboards for his new script project.
A romance film, a fresh genre to explore. Thorough preparation was essential.