As the new week began, the promotional efforts for "The Human Purge" intensified, and the main creative team members also made appearances in the media, attracting more attention.
Several key actors also conducted interviews with various media outlets, gradually gaining popularity both within and outside the industry.
All of this helped the film maintain a certain level of buzz.
Additionally, starting from Monday, the number of theaters screening "The Human Purge" and its showtimes continued to increase, which formed the foundation for box office revenue.
Thanks to the increase in the number of screens, the film's box office on the first weekday only dropped by fifty-five percent compared to Sunday, closing at $1.87 million.
In the following days, with the intensified promotional efforts and the increasing number of screenings, "The Human Purge" maintained a steady trend in daily box office performance, earning $1.8 million, $1.65 million, and $1.52 million respectively.
The total box office for the first four weekdays amounted to $6.84 million.
"The Human Purge" easily crossed the $20 million mark at the North American box office.
"Mom! Mom!"
In a not-so-large apartment, Amanda Sevfried rushed into the living room with a newspaper in hand, excitedly shouting, "Look! Look! Ronan mentioned me in an interview."
Although she participated in two media events this week, compared to adult actors, she didn't receive much attention.
Mrs. Sevfried put down her cooking book and asked, "What did Ronan Anderson say?"
"Oh, of course, he praised me! I performed so well!" Amanda first felt a bit proud, then imitated the man's tone and read from the newspaper, "Miss Amanda Sevfried is the most spirited young actress I have ever seen. Her performance, her understanding and interpretation of the role are admirable. I find her trait very charming, and it contributed to shaping her character on set because she could quickly get into the role and deliver the performance the director was satisfied with."
Mrs. Sevfried nodded approvingly, "Well said, not a waste of so many cakes."
Amanda sat down beside her mother and said, "I performed well, and Ronan is also a good person."
"Yes, he's a good young man." Mrs. Sevfried agreed.
Although she didn't meet many movie producers, she heard many rumors. Ronan Anderson was a bit stingy during negotiations, but he was really a good person when not negotiating.
Modest, hardworking, and honest.
Such young people were extremely rare not only in the entertainment industry but also in society.
Moreover, this young man was creating huge success.
"The North American box office has exceeded $20 million." Mrs. Sevfried whispered, "It's just the beginning of the second weekend."
"Mom," Amanda, limited by her age and experience, didn't fully understand the significance of box office, asking, "Is $20 million box office impressive?"
Mrs. Sevfried shook her head, "My silly daughter, you have to understand one thing. In Hollywood, movie producers and production companies invest in films as a commercial activity, with the ultimate goal of gaining commercial profits."
Amanda understood this statement, "Making money?"
"In Hollywood, only profitable movies are good movies." Mrs. Sevfried had studied deeply in the past few days, "Only producers who can make money can continue to succeed and bring more opportunities."
She looked at Amanda Sevfried, "Do you understand?"
She hoped her daughter would grow up soon. This was a complicated circle, especially since Amanda was so pretty and cute.
Making big money while not letting her daughter suffer losses was not easy.
Mrs. Sevfried picked up the cooking book again, "Twenty million dollars is just the beginning for 'The Human Purge'. The film has only been released for a week, and even though horror movies have a short lifespan, there will be two to three weeks ahead. What will the final box office be?"
Amanda opened her mouth, not knowing how to answer.
Mrs. Sevfried reached out and gently stroked her daughter's golden hair, "Only successful people can continue to succeed. I heard when I was on set that Ronan Anderson and James Huang are also preparing for a new film."
"I've heard about that too," Amanda echoed.
"Do you have Ronan Anderson's contact information?" Mrs. Severson asked carefully. "Why don't you contact him, see when he's available, and then go give him some cake."
Apart from negotiations, Ronan Anderson had left a strong impression on her.
Amanda nodded. "I'll text him right away."
...
When Ronan received Amanda's text, he was in the middle of writing the outline for a script. Seeing the message from the little girl about bringing cake, he directly told her he was temporarily unavailable.
It was hard enough finding a suitable idea; he didn't want to be disturbed.
"Final Destination" couldn't be delayed for too long. James Huang and Glenn Morgan were already in the early stages of the project, working on things like the script and storyboard. Ronan wanted to push the project forward as quickly as possible.
Having worked on "The Human Purge," Ronan understood very well that "Final Destination" couldn't achieve its ideal effect without a budget of tens of millions of dollars. Fortunately, there were the "Arab brothers."
However, having dealt with Abu Dhabi before, Ronan knew those people were wealthy but not foolish. Especially for a project like "Final Destination," simply using profit as bait would not easily persuade the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority.
He had thought about bundling two projects for funding, with the other one being a genuine Arab film.
With "The Human Purge" as a foundation, getting investment for the other project might be possible.
If all else failed, he had a backup plan: "Final Destination" would seek private financing from Abu Dhabi, while another Arab project would seek financing from the investment authority.
If one project satisfied the investment authority, the other project would likely find it easier to secure private financing.
First, he would appropriately reward the Abu Dhabi businessmen who invested in "The Human Purge," then seek financing for the new project...
Unfortunately, the richest people in Abu Dhabi were still government officials.
The amount and difficulty of private financing would probably not surpass that of the investment authority.
But with two films packaged together, he could make some adjustments.
With a clear plan in mind, preparing the script would be more targeted.
This time, Ronan planned to tailor the script for the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority. The genre would be the most popular action film nowadays, roughly telling the story of a powerful Abu Dhabi agent encountering a terrorist conspiracy, embarking on a killing spree to save the world.
In terms of plot, he would borrow some settings from "Kingsman," but of course, the British gentleman style wouldn't suit Arabs. The characters and other aspects would definitely need to be adjusted.
Hmm... let's call this project "Kingsman."
The hero destroys the conspiracy and saves the world.
It's a cliché story, but it's also the most convincing successful model.
With supporting roles from "The Human Purge" laying the groundwork, this time the Arab character would be upgraded to the lead.
If the film sold well, could it create an Arab James Bond... no, an Ethan Hunt series?
Ronan shook his head immediately. His mind was clear. He didn't expect this kind of film to be profitable in North America or worldwide.
After finishing this, cooperation with Arabs might have to be temporarily put on hold. It would cause problems to squeeze too hard when catching a sheep.
Going over the plan again in his mind, Ronan began to write the outline for the script's important protagonist character. This male lead would definitely have a sturdy physique, handsome appearance, outstanding skills... oh, right, since he's Arab, he definitely needs to have devout faith.
As for the terrorists? Write them as Jews? Absolutely not, that would be asking for trouble. White people would be better.
In movies, white people are just for trashing, right?
Just like "The Human Purge," many media outlets and prominent film critics have interpreted various social issues related to American society from it, but no one said it was wrong for black and Arab supporting roles to kill white people.
Political correctness, ah, its influence will become more and more profound in the future, and even the past will be subject to a great reckoning.
Some things need to be taken into consideration.
While Ronan was planning the next step in the Sand Sea Entertainment office, "The Human Purge" began its second weekend journey in North American theaters.
On the first day of the weekend, the screening scale of "The Human Purge" surged to nearly 2,500 theaters. Both the number of theaters and the screening rate were second only to "Halloween 7."
On that Friday, the film made a comeback, with $3.21 million, surpassing "Halloween 7's" $3.01 million, winning the first single-day box office championship since its release.
Subsequently, over the entire three-day weekend, "The Human Purge" similarly surpassed "Halloween 7."