Early the next morning, Angel, the head of the distribution department at 20th Century Fox, had just arrived at work. In a meeting room, representatives from major theater chains such as Regal Cinemas, AMC Theatres, and Cinemark Theatres, who were stationed in the Los Angeles market, were already seated.
"Hello, Doug. Hello, Steve..."
Angel greeted them one by one as they took their seats.
"Sorry, Mr. Angel," Steve from AMC Theatres spoke first. "Regarding what you mentioned, it has already been decided by our company's headquarters, and I don't have the authority to make changes. Perhaps you could discuss it with my superiors?"
He was referring to the reduction in screen time for "The Passion of the Christ". Of course, these were just excuses, as all six major companies were major sources of films for AMC, and he didn't want to offend them. If he could brush it off, he would.
"Regal Cinemas is in the same situation, I'm sorry, Mr. Angel," Doug and the others also expressed similar sentiments one after another.
Angel smiled, showing no signs of displeasure. "You are all market managers for theater chains in the Los Angeles area, and Los Angeles is the largest film market in the United States. Both in terms of position and weight, it's the most significant. Can't you handle the affairs of a few theaters? My request is not excessive. I just want to maintain the same number of screens and showtimes for "The Passion of the Christ" next week. What do you think?"
Seeing that Angel wasn't buying into their excuses, Steve said, "I really can't make that decision. The company headquarters has its own plans, and AMC doesn't have any spare theaters right now. We have to coordinate and reallocate from within."
"As far as I know, your company plans to allocate 500 theaters," Angel was well-informed, "so why allocate 200 theaters from "The Passion of the Christ"? What about the other films currently screening? Even if we exclude "The Passion of the Christ", there are plenty of other films that could fill the gap."
With things having reached this point, Steve, from a major chain like AMC, understood that any move couldn't escape the notice of 20th Century Fox, a long-established company. So, he decided to be direct. "We have our own plans, which are based on the market's potential, and we're not targeting any specific film."
Angel frowned and said, "Plans? While "Effervescent" pulled ahead, "The Passion of the Christ" isn't doing badly either; it's in second place. Its performance is still good. If you don't want to increase it, that's fine, but reducing screens and showtimes for the film, what kind of plan is that? And about these 500 theaters, who are you planning to give them to? "Effervescent"?"
Steve didn't deny it and nodded, "Out of those, 300 will go to "Effervescent", and the remaining 200 will be divided among "50 First Dates", Warner Bros.' "Starsky & Hutch", and "Barbershop 2"."
Angel countered, "The films like "50 First Dates" have low production costs, and their cast lineups aren't well-known. Can they also get an increase in showtimes?"
Steve tactfully responded, "These films have just been released, and their performance still has room for improvement."
He made it quite clear with this statement. Angel was annoyed. "Last weekend, "The Passion of the Christ" was the box office champion, and it had the most momentum. Why can't it be maintained?"
"But the second weekend performance of this film compared to the first weekend has dropped by 40 percent. Don't tell me you don't know what such a decline means. Moreover, this film has been controversial since its release, while other films haven't fully realized their potential yet. "Effervescent" has a per-screen average box office of up to $15,000, and the occupancy rate has consistently been high."
Seeing that Angel still wanted to say something, Steve stopped him and continued, "Your company should understand better than us how to maintain the market. There are only so many theaters, and there's a certain pattern to how we allocate showtimes. "The Passion of the Christ" has already passed its peak, and there's not much potential left to tap into. Reducing the number of theaters and showtimes is inevitable."
The theater chain companies were not charitable organizations. While they had many connections with the six major studios, they couldn't afford to make foolish decisions. If the decline in "The Passion of the Christ" was within the normal range, they wouldn't have taken such drastic measures. However, the facts were what they were.
Angel continued to argue his case, but the major theater chains remained remarkably consistent in their stance. Realizing that they couldn't change the outcome, they each left the meeting room.
After returning to his personal office at AMC's Los Angeles branch, Steve picked up the relevant box office statistics and shook his head in disbelief.
In retrospect, they had seriously underestimated "Effervescent". This film had actually turned its critical acclaim and promotional buzz into substantial box office revenue and had overtaken "The Passion of the Christ" in its opening weekend.
Thinking about this, Steve couldn't help but sigh. They had played it safe, focusing on "The Passion of the Christ" for theater distribution and showtimes, instead of being as bold as Regal Cinemas, which had given strong support to "Effervescent" from the first week.
But who would have expected such a significant drop in box office performance for "The Passion of the Christ"? Even with his many years of experience in the industry, it was something he rarely encountered.
However, there was a silver lining. They weren't entirely unprepared, and expanding the screening of "Effervescent" was still possible for AMC, even if they missed out on the initial wave of success. It wasn't too late.
For theater chains, the market was always their primary reference. After all, box office revenue depended on audience attendance.
Moreover, North American theater chains relied heavily on the sale of high-margin products like soda and popcorn. Unlike in the mainland, where box office revenue made up a significant portion, theaters in North America had to make up the difference elsewhere.
At the same time, Paramount Pictures had smooth communication with these commercial chain theaters. Everyone was focused on maximizing profits, and their goals were aligned.
At the beginning of the new week, Paramount Pictures confirmed the number of theaters for the second weekend release of "Effervescent". The expanded release would encompass 3,000 theaters and 3,882 screens.
Sherry Lansing also decided to allocate additional marketing expenses, including printing copies and secondary media resources. Up to this point, Paramount Pictures had already spent $16M on promoting "Effervescent".
But it was all worth it. Investing some upfront to create more significant returns was a normal operation. Moreover, given the increasing buzz around "Effervescent", there wasn't a significant need for extravagant marketing expenses.
In summary, things were moving in a positive direction.