In an era where traditional media still holds sway, no one can ignore the influence of newspapers, magazines, radio, and television. Rooted in these media are film critics who often have the power to influence the movie choices of a considerable portion of the audience.
Ronan Ken's investment in public relations wasn't without reason. However, the amount of money he spent was insufficient to attract major critics. Most of those he could sway were second or third-tier critics active in local media. The top-tier critics were more cautious.
On the second day of "The Human Purge" premiere, some top-tier critics published relevant reviews in their columns. One of them said, "This bloody thriller started off well, presenting high concepts and crafting a decent backstory. However, the characters became mere accessories to the story, resulting in a plot that never truly instilled fear, and the final twist was clumsy and lacked surprises."
Ronan specifically bought a stack of influential newspapers nationwide to check the media response to "The Human Purge." To be frank, there were quite a few negative reviews.
"After watching this film, the biggest feeling is the chaotic character development and the convoluted and lengthy plot."
"It's a very creative subject matter, but the production turned such a good subject into a mediocre horror movie."
After reading these negative reviews, Ronan scratched his head. He felt the film was still decent. In his past life, the thing that annoyed him the most was the issue of the kid, but surprisingly, no media even mentioned it.
Upon reflection, he understood. Amanda's portrayal of the child represented kindness and innocence. If mainstream media targeted that aspect, more people would likely criticize them.
Private complaints were one thing, but publicly criticizing was another matter altogether.
What surprised Roger even more was that some critics dug deep into the film's positive aspects.
"This is the most terrifying movie, unrelated to bloodshed or plot, but scared by the existence of this assumption and reality. It fully exposes the pathological nature of society's rapid development and human selfishness, pointing directly at the violence, injustice, and racial issues in human society, thereby giving the film a true soul and making it a film of profound significance."
At the end of his column, the well-known critic, Jonathan Rosenbaum, even gave "The Human Purge" a full five-star recommendation.
Compared to those reviews like "this is a violent anti-violence film" or "the film alludes to the reality of American society, accusing frequent violence," Jonathan Rosenbaum's review made the others seem weak.
This indicated that his film had considerable appeal to certain industry professionals!
Now was not the internet age, and the influence of well-known critics was quite significant, sometimes even capable of changing some people's movie choices.
After perusing all the newspapers in front of him, Ronan found an article he felt was relatively fair and candid: "This is a very rough B-grade film!"
As for highbrow stuff, that was just experts overthinking.
Of course, Ronan knew from investigating the social situation that a plot setup like "The Human Purge" would undoubtedly win the support of some morally dubious or civil rights activists.
Even though it wasn't the future yet, the decision on a film's reputation and audience size sometimes wasn't about the quality of the film itself.
Controversy surrounding a film wasn't necessarily a bad thing. Many accurately targeted films tended to generate controversy.
Ronan put away the newspapers, checked the time, it was already past nine in the morning, and yesterday's box office statistics for the premiere day hadn't arrived yet.
Although the North American theater system was already connected, the speed was far slower compared to after the turn of the millennium.
Before yesterday's box office numbers arrived, George Clint rushed in with a report he was responsible for.
"The research company we hired sent yesterday's sampling report," George placed the report on Ronan's desk and continued, "They conducted on-site sampling surveys at 24 theaters in 12 cities."
Ronan looked over the report carefully, nodded, and said, "The survey covered 869 viewers, with male viewers accounting for 67%, those over 25 accounting for 55%, and minority viewers accounting for 62%, with an average rating of 6.2."
This was the live rating given by viewers immediately after watching the film, far more authentic in reflecting market response than critics.
In fact, a 6.2 rating wasn't low for a horror film, especially one leaning towards B-grade horror thrillers. Six points or more weren't that common.
Just then, the office door was knocked, and Robert hurriedly entered. Even before he came in, his excited voice had already reached them, "Lionsgate just sent yesterday's box office statistics!"
"How much?" George asked immediately.
Ronan glanced at the inquiry. Although the fact that the film could be screened in theaters meant there was still potential for further deception... um, further investment from Abu Dhabi, who wouldn't want to see box office success after making a film?
Robert's excitement was barely containable: "4.55 million dollars!" He directly handed a fax to George: "In just one day, the box office has exceeded the production cost!"
George immediately picked up the fax and seemed almost disbelieving. After reading it, he murmured, "We... we've made a million-dollar-grossing film?"
He rubbed his face, exclaiming, "We've done it! We've succeeded!"
Having spent many years in the film industry, mostly in the lower echelons, involved mainly in direct-to-video productions, his only previous venture into mainstream cinema had ended in dismal failure...
Now, he could proudly tell others: "I've also worked on a high-profile mainstream film, and in just one day, it grossed more than its production cost!"
Sitting behind his desk, Rona couldn't help but clench his fist, joy welling up from deep within, spreading through his body in an instant.
In that moment, he felt an overwhelming sense of excitement, almost bringing him to tears.
In his past life, he had succeeded many times, but never had he felt the sweetness of success so profoundly, so addictively.
With this initial success, there had to be more to come!
"George, Robert!" Rona interrupted their excitement, reminding them, "The production cost of our film is $11 million, and we haven't recovered it yet."
The two men paused for a moment, then agreed, "Right, right!"
Rona quickly regained his sobriety from the excitement of success and continued, "George, contact those film critics you've reached out to and ask them to publish their columns as soon as possible. Robert, keep in touch with Lionsgate and urge them to invest more resources into promotion and distribution."
"Got it!" George set down the fax. "I'll do that right away."
Robert wasted no time either. "I'm heading to Lionsgate now."
Meanwhile, at Lionsgate, a brief meeting was underway.
The company's CEO, Gustav, sat at the head of the table, saying to Navas, "Our distribution department has done a great job this time, securing a film with significant market value."
Navas modestly smiled and added, "We internally evaluated 'The Human Purge' three times and finally won the distribution rights over Sony Entertainment."
"Hmm," Gustav seemed quite pleased. "The company hasn't been around for long, so every successfully distributed film is of great significance to us."
He inquired, "What's the scale of this film's release?"
Navas replied, "1860 theaters. Among several horror films released during the same period, it's of moderate scale."
Gustav immediately said, "You go communicate with the theaters, strive for more screens and showtimes... Hmm, in terms of promotion, I'll allocate an additional $2 million to increase the promotional scale."
"Understood," Navas responded.
These tasks weren't difficult. Just last Friday, 'The Human Purge' grossed $4.35 million, ranking second on the daily box office chart, just behind 'Halloween 7,' which earned $5.48 million. However, 'Halloween 7' premiered in almost twice as many theaters as 'The Human Purge.'
Anyone with a bit of intelligence could see that 'The Human Purge' still had tremendous untapped potential.
"I heard that the strategy targeting minorities originated from the mind of Ronan Anderson?" Gustav asked.
Navas replied, "Yes, he proposed an idea, and after on-site investigation, we found it to be feasible."
Gustav nodded approvingly, "He's a thoughtful young man. Last time you submitted a report, it mentioned that Sandsea Entertainment is preparing another horror film?"
"'Death is Coming'," Navas quickly replied, "Directed by James Huang."
Gustav instructed, "Maintain a good relationship with Ronan Anderson and keep an eye on the specific progress of this project."