"There are so many people here!"
Standing in the lobby of Waterflow Theater, Greg Enrique felt a twinge of trypophobia as he looked at the packed crowd. "This is terrifying," he said.
But what Greg found terrifying wasn't the sheer number of people, but the fact that both of the theatre's screening rooms were showing "The Blair Witch Project."
"Greg!"
Hearing someone call his name, Greg turned to see Billy Holford from Artisan Entertainment.
Greg pointed at him, saying, "You're late! There are too many people. Luckily, I bought the tickets yesterday, or we'd have to reschedule."
Billy looked at the crowd pouring into the screening room and said, "Let's go inside."
The two had arranged to meet here not for a romantic rendezvous but to witness firsthand the film they had watched together at the St. Denis Film Festival.
After seeing some video clips, Billy noticed the buzz around the film, immediately recognized it, and contacted Greg.
Entering the theatre, they found seats in the last row in a corner.
"Did you see today's box office numbers?" Greg whispered. "The film grossed $4.12 million on Friday and $4.43 million yesterday."
He held up two fingers. "As far as I know, this film is only in a limited release in 200 theatres, averaging $45,000 per theatre in two days!"
Billy's heart raced. This was the film that had slipped through his fingers. "Michael Davenport's marketing tactics are shameless!"
Greg nodded, "This is the most shameless marketing I've ever seen." Then he added, "But it's insanely effective."
Both had seen through the rumours but kept silent. Hollywood often used dubious marketing tactics, and industry insiders could easily spot them. But there was an unwritten rule: if there were no direct conflicts of interest, no one would speak out.
Everyone in the industry might need to use such tactics someday.
But curiosity and jealousy were hard to suppress.
Two hundred theatres, averaging $45,000 per theatre in the limited release—insane numbers! And this was only the first two days. Sunday had just begun.
Next week, the film would definitely expand its release. With such explosive limited-release numbers, the expanded release was unlikely to perform poorly.
A film that went unnoticed at the St. Denis Film Festival had turned into this under Michael Davenport's hands. Should they be jealous or admire him?
Billy felt a pang of regret. "I knew the film had potential but didn't have the guts to buy it. If only I'd been braver."
Greg laughed, "Even if you bought it, would you have thought of using this marketing method?"
Billy thought about the widespread buzz around the Blair Witch and the three missing students. He fell silent, feeling the heavy blow. It took him a while to recover, and he forced himself to say, "I'm a conscientious filmmaker, not as shameless as Michael Davenport."
"No matter the marketing tactics," Greg said, looking at the packed theatre, "the effect is undeniably good."
He continued, "Lionsgate predicted this film could gross over $50 million in North America."
"Fifty... fifty million dollars!" Billy's face twitched with pain.
The saddest thing in the world is a low-budget film that grosses huge numbers right in front of you, but you missed it.
Suddenly, Billy remembered that during the St. Denis Film Festival, the film's director mentioned that Michael Davenport had bought the film the day after seeing it.
Could Michael Davenport have had the marketing plan in mind when he first saw the film?
This realization left Billy stunned. Was there such a massive gap between people? He was a seasoned film scout for Artisan Entertainment, yet he couldn't match a young man just over twenty?
It wasn't his lack of skill. The marketing for "The Blair Witch Project" was revolutionary. Michael Davenport was a genius, using entirely new methods to package the film.
As the film started, Billy stopped thinking and focused on the movie.
There was no company logo, producer credits, or even the director and actors' names. It seemed like a home video recording.
Watching the opening credits, Greg felt it was absurd. Clearly bought at a film festival, yet presented as found footage...
If Michael Davenport's operation was hugely successful, what chain reaction would it cause? Greg could easily imagine it. Hollywood's already low standards would be dragged even lower.
The film was dreadful, and Greg soon lost interest in the movie, instead pondering the marketing strategy.
Billy, however, watched attentively. As the film progressed, he sighed. This success wasn't a fluke. Michael Davenport had clearly re-edited the film, making it feel more like an authentic home video.
No special effects, no visual violence, the footage was rough, and the plot was unbelievably simple!
Billy glanced at the audience around him: these elements were precisely what earned their trust.
The internet, real-life buzz, and the screen were the magic stage. Viral marketing was the trick. The camcorder was the magic prop, and the plot was the performance. The last shot before the camcorder turned off was the magical moment.
And all of this was orchestrated by Michael Davenport.
The film was still terrible, but Michael Davenport's re-edit made it significantly better than before.
When the film ended and Billy and Greg left the theatre, they saw the crowd pouring into the screening room like a tidal wave.
Could this summer indeed see a box office miracle?
By Sunday night, Michael had the weekend box office numbers: "The Blair Witch Project" had grossed $11.95 million from 200 theatres, ranking third at the box office!
The weekend champion was "Eyes Wide Shut," starring Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman, grossing $21.7 million from 2,411 theatres.
However, neither the champion nor the runner-up had per-theater averages as high as "The Blair Witch Project."
"Eyes Wide Shut" averaged $9,000 per theatre, while "The Blair Witch Project" averaged $59,000 per theatre!
There would be no problem expanding the release.
Another report from a third-party firm showed that over 65% of "The Blair Witch Project" viewers went to the theatre in groups, with nearly 70% under the age of 25.
Michael understood that this was the effect of viral marketing.
Those interested in the Blair Witch were not only willing to spend time on movie information but also found it fun to share this process with friends and family, creating a sizeable infected audience group.
Each audience member became a disseminator, eagerly sharing Blair Witch-related news and activities within their social circles, further increasing the audience and naturally creating a box office miracle upon the film's release.
Michael had also researched the film market and had another theory.
The largest audience for American films was teenagers, living in orderly middle-class communities, yearning for adventure but having nowhere to explore. Not reading novels, they were internal "cultists," worshipping the mystery and unknowability of nature.
To target this market, traditional TV ads were outdated. The internet was their gathering place.
The internet had incredible power and potential in film distribution and marketing!
Using viral marketing to create a viewer surge, the film's quality was average, and "The Blair Witch Project" received mixed reviews.
Cinema Score gave it a C+, IMDB had a temporary score of 6.4, and the media's average rating was 42.
Many viewers felt deceived, either worrying about the "characters'" fate or leaving the theatre cursing.
A film with a witch theme but no witch in sight was bound to disappoint.
Surprisingly, "The Blair Witch Project" became a darling among critics. By the end of the weekend, Rotten Tomatoes had collected 45 reviews, with a 90% freshness rating!
In stark contrast, the audience score on Rotten Tomatoes was only 54%.
This was unusual, with critics almost unanimously praising it while audiences gave poor reviews, yet theatre attendance remained high.
Michael read some positive reviews and found that some critics praised not the film itself but its execution.
"There is a form of deception that is legal, popular, and usually charged, and that's magic. 'The Blair Witch Project' is a part of a magic show in every aspect of production, performance, planning, and promotion."
This was from Kenneth Turan, a critic for the Los Angeles Times: "I give this film four and a half stars, with three and a half for its marketing! The person who devised this marketing plan is an absolute genius!"
With the weekend's $11.95 million box office trend, "The Blair Witch Project" was guaranteed to be profitable. Michael increased the investment in the film. After producing 3,000 copies, they were quickly shipped across North America via FedEx.
At this point, except for a small portion of withheld promotional funds, Seashore Entertainment's total investment in "The Blair Witch Project" had reached a staggering $16.5 million!