In the morning, as the sun climbed up the sky between the buildings of Burbank, the newspaper stand owner arranged the newly arrived newspapers, waiting quietly for customers.
"A copy of the Los Angeles Times."
A familiar voice rang out, and the owner glanced up, took the money, handed over the newspaper, and greeted, "Good morning, Mr. Anderson."
"Good morning."
The young man politely responded and then entered the office building.
"Unbelievable, this guy didn't jump off the building!" A plump middle-aged woman walked out of the newsstand, looking towards the entrance of the office building, and said, "I thought he was done for after going bankrupt."
The newsstand owner frowned and reminded, "Lisa, don't talk nonsense."
The plump woman closed her mouth, grabbed a newspaper casually, and sat on a chair. The chair immediately made creaking sounds, seemingly struggling under the weight of life.
"Look! Look!" The plump woman suddenly exclaimed again, "It's crazy!"
The newsstand owner didn't look back but casually asked, "What's going on?"
The plump woman exclaimed in surprise, "That guy just now, little Anderson, he's filming another movie, and it's scheduled to be released in late October!"
The owner was also quite curious, picked up a copy of the same newspaper, and browsed the entertainment section, finding the relevant news report, or rather, advertisement, and started reading.
"He didn't give up after all." The plump woman put down the newspaper, glanced back at the office building behind her, and said, "Maybe one day he'll jump from here?"
The owner didn't say anything but shook his head directly. Old Anderson was a good man, but unfortunately, his son was unreliable.
Ronen arrived at the company and immediately summoned his three main men for a meeting to inquire about the latest developments. "Robert, did you go to Lionsgate yesterday? Have they finalized the distribution strategy?"
Robert immediately replied, "After signing the distribution contract, Lionsgate held two media and fan screenings. The reviews were mixed, but overall, the response was okay. They will hold an internal meeting today to finalize the distribution strategy for 'The Human Eradication Plan'."
Ronen instructed, "Keep in touch with Lionsgate." Then, he asked George Clint, "What's the assessment of the promotional scale?"
"We've only advertised in some second-tier media," George Clint said, reporting what he had learned. "The real push will come in the week before the film's release."
Ronen nodded lightly and said, "This year, Halloween falls on a weekend. I've reached an agreement with Lionsgate. The film will be released a week earlier."
Halloween is a traditional horror film slot in North America, and most people who go to the cinema during this time choose to watch horror films.
Robert interjected, "The two weekends before Halloween are crowded with too many horror films. The biggest production is 'Halloween 7,' starring Jamie Lee Curtis."
"The Scream Queen is back." Ronen said, "This is the friendliest period for horror films."
He thought for a moment and added, "I talked to James yesterday. He will quickly modify the film. The Purge Day will be changed from March 22 to Halloween."
This wasn't surprising to everyone; films need to fit the schedule.
Ronen then turned to George, "What about outdoor advertising?"
George replied, "Lionsgate is actively contacting advertising spaces near black communities and some minority ethnic enclave areas. They plan to launch a large-scale campaign two weeks before the release."
Ronen paced in the office for a moment and then said, "George, can you contact film critics?"
"I can," George Clint, who had a wide network in the media industry, understood Ronen's intention and reminded, "It's difficult to buy off first-tier film critics. The price is very high, and some of them can't be bought even with money."
Ronen said directly, "Contact as many second- and third-tier film critics as possible, those whose prices aren't too outrageous, and try to get as many positive reviews as possible."
In the era when traditional media was not declining, film critics still had a significant influence.
George nodded, "I understand."
Ronen turned to Mary and said, "Allocate the remaining $11 million in the accounts to this."
Mary asked, "Public relations expenses?"
"Yes." Ronen looked at her and said, "Include it in the public relations expenses."
The $11 million raised had basically become normal production expenses on the books.
Using money from overseas investors was really enjoyable.
The brief meeting ended quickly, and Ronen specifically checked the data on past Halloween release periods. In the last five years, the average theatrical release period for horror films released during Halloween was three weeks. Even horror films costing millions of dollars would only be in theaters for about seven to eight weeks.
For example, "Halloween 6" was taken offline in less than five weeks.
The short lifespan of horror films in theaters was a common phenomenon.
Ronen didn't find it difficult to draw a conclusion: if the box office didn't explode in the first two weeks of "The Human Eradication Plan," it would undoubtedly fall into the ranks of failures.
Just as many Americans have to eat turkey during Thanksgiving, moviegoers also have to watch horror films during Halloween, and after Halloween, their enthusiasm would decrease significantly.
There's a saying, how does it go? What comes up fast also goes down fast.
Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. Robert walked in with a smile on his face and said, "I just received news from Lionsgate. After two test screenings, they have rated 'The Human Eradication Plan' as a B and decided on a wide release. It's expected to be shown in no less than 1,000 theaters in the first week."
"Great!" Ronen clenched his fist involuntarily. "That's fantastic!"
The number of theaters showing the film would directly determine the box office performance.
Although there are four more levels before B, it's rare for a horror film rated as B internally to receive such treatment, but it was inevitable to receive such treatment.
Lionsgate signed this film to maximize its profits.
With the prevailing distribution contracts in Hollywood, the risk for distribution companies is actually very low.
Ronen looked at the huge poster of the film hanging on the office wall, with a grim mask on a head, and realized that "The Human Eradication Plan" was close to success.
Half an hour later, he received a call from Gray Enrich. Lionsgate didn't have any other films to release temporarily, and relatively speaking, they were optimistic about this film and would try to secure as many screens and showtimes as possible.
Of course, there was a gap between Lionsgate and the major studios. The final number of theaters for the premiere was around 1,850, while the premiere theaters for Emperor Gate Pictures' "Halloween 7" reached nearly 2,700.
Ronen didn't expect this film to be a mega-hit like before; as long as the box office was successful, it would be satisfactory.
Today, whether it's the number of screens or ticket prices, it's impossible to compare with after 2010.
In early October, the first official trailer for "The Human Eradication Plan" was released, and Lionsgate also increased its advertising efforts.
They adopted Ronen's suggestion and tilted promotional resources towards black communities and minority ethnic enclaves, based on appropriate advertising placements.
Many billboards near minority ethnic communities, bus stops, subway entrances, and outdoor billboards displayed huge posters of the film.
Compared to those popular locations, these advertising spaces were much cheaper.
New York, Queens.
After playing basketball, Owen and Bill rode their bikes back. Even in this relatively cool season, sweat still covered their black skin everywhere.
Before entering a community, they passed by a large convenience store, above which was a big billboard. Owen glanced at it and couldn't help but stop.
"What's up?" Bill asked.
Owen pointed to the billboard. "There's a new movie ad."
Bill turned to look. The advertisement was obviously a movie poster, with two in total: one was a face wearing a mask, eerie and frightening, sending chills down one's spine; the other was a character poster, with seven people standing side by side.
The most prominent among them were a blonde white person and a black person...
"'The Human Eradication Plan'?" Bill murmured.
Owen said, "It's almost Halloween. Let's go watch a movie this weekend?"
"Yeah." Bill nodded and pointed to the poster. "This movie looks pretty scary, and it seems like the black guy is the second lead."
Owen carefully looked at the poster and said, "Let's watch this one. I hate movies where all the important characters are white."
Bill nodded, "Me too. America is not just about white people. Without us black people, where would America be now?"
The two of them rode their bikes, chatting as they walked, and soon disappeared into the buildings of the community.
The huge movie poster hung on the edge of the black community, constantly attracting the attention of passing black people.