"This is an excellent horror film."
On the television screen, Susan Arnold, a producer from DreamWorks, was being interviewed by a reporter. "The target for 'The Haunting' is to be the box office champion, without a doubt!"
The TV reporter asked, "What do you think of the documentary 'The Blair Witch Project' that's being released at the same time? How does it compare to 'The Haunting'?"
Many reporters love to stir things up.
Susan Arnold, a veteran at DreamWorks, quickly understood the reporter's intention. After a brief hesitation, she answered, "'The Blair Witch Project' isn't a true self-shot film; it just uses some special filming techniques."
It was clear to anyone who watched the film that she took the opportunity to leverage 'The Blair Witch Project's' hype.
She honestly said, "Comparing 'The Haunting' to 'The Blair Witch Project' isn't fair. 'The Haunting's' production cost is $80 million!"
The implication was obvious.
The interview was short and soon ended.
Michael Davenport picked up the remote and turned off the TV.
"DreamWorks people are too much!" Robert said. "They're just talking nonsense."
He looked at Michael. "Do we need to respond?"
Michael shook his head. "She spoke the truth. How can we refute that? And she's not the only one saying it."
The public isn't blind. 'The Blair Witch Project' had been showing in 200 theatres for almost a week, and many media outlets and fans had noticed the film's flaws.
Online, in newspapers, and among movie fans, the criticism was relentless. However, rather than negatively impacting 'The Blair Witch Project,' it only increased its popularity.
A film that attracts a lot of criticism isn't necessarily a bad thing.
There are countless examples of movies that were heavily criticized but did exceptionally well at the box office.
"We should stay behind the scenes and not step out," Michael added. "Engaging in a war of words doesn't benefit us. DreamWorks just wants to ride on our coattails."
Although some media mentioned Seashore Entertainment, it didn't get as much attention compared to the hype around 'The Blair Witch Project.'
Michael's plan was clear: once the film's success was established, he would push the cast and crew into the spotlight, satisfying the media's curiosity.
"No need to respond?" Robert asked.
Michael wasn't known for being so easy-going.
Michael nodded lightly. "No need to respond. Let's focus on our work."
With 'The Blair Witch Project' at a critical stage of expansion, he didn't want any distractions or conflicts with DreamWorks.
As for this weekend's box office champion, it was still uncertain.
This weekend, only three films were playing in a large number of theatres: 'Eyes Wide Shut,' 'The Blair Witch Project,' and 'The Haunting.'
The Hollywood film industry, developed to its current state, had not only a complete industrial chain but also established a reasonably accurate market prediction mechanism.
A film often plays in North American theatres for just one to three days before the prediction mechanism can forecast its future box office performance based on audience feedback and initial earnings.
'Eyes Wide Shut' quickly fell behind. Despite its top-tier cast, Stanley Kubrick's films were never known for their box office success. The first week's box office champion status was more due to the hype of being Kubrick's last work and Tom Cruise's star power.
Even the massive draw of being Kubrick's final film didn't attract much of an audience.
On Friday, 'Eyes Wide Shut' only made under $3.5 million, exiting the competition for the weekend's top spot early.
DreamWorks' 'The Haunting' grossed $11.95 million, slightly edging out 'The Blair Witch Project's' $11.90 million to take the top spot for the day.
Directed by Jan de Bont, known for 'Speed' and 'Twister,' and starring Liam Neeson and Catherine Zeta-Jones, 'The Haunting' had a strong opening.
Cast strength had the most significant impact on a film's initial box office.
'The Haunting' had a great start with its new release momentum.
On the other hand, 'The Blair Witch Project,' expanding to 2,750 theatres and over 3,500 screens, naturally saw a drop in occupancy rates, a typical market adjustment.
But on Saturday, 'The Blair Witch Project' surged again, raking in $15.6 million, surpassing 'The Haunting's' $12.19 million, reclaiming the top spot and leading the weekend box office.
As for 'Eyes Wide Shut,' its two-day earnings were barely $6 million, far behind.
Michael took the time to gather some information on 'Eyes Wide Shut,' not because he was interested in the rumours about Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman, nor to see Nicole Kidman's explicit scenes.
Actresses like Nicole Kidman in artsy roles have countless explicit scenes; he's seen many before.
He was summarizing the lessons learned.
Maybe due to the film's genre, Warner Brothers didn't invest much in marketing 'Eyes Wide Shut.' The hype around Stanley Kubrick's last film wasn't leveraged well.
For Hollywood film marketing, dead creators are more valuable than live ones.
If they had planned to market using Stanley Kubrick's legacy and the Cruise-Kidman relationship, the North American box office would have been much better.
Michael didn't think it was out of respect for Kubrick. It was simply because they didn't see much potential in the film.
Hollywood companies aren't known for their scruples.
Warner Brothers is among the best at capitalizing on posthumous fame.
Maybe they learned from this failure.
Michael simulated how to market using Kubrick's death for 'Eyes Wide Shut' for future reference, perhaps to capitalize on posthumous fame someday.
But it can only be simulated, not actually executed.
Can't kill a member of the crew for marketing purposes, can you? That would be too extreme.
Skirting legal loopholes is one thing, but crossing the line is another.
Sunday passed, and the weekend box office results came out with the start of a new week.
'The Haunting' had a promising debut, grossing $33.43 million across over 2,800 theatres, meeting DreamWorks' expectations.
But it didn't win the box office title.
After regaining momentum on Saturday, 'The Blair Witch Project' led on Sunday with $34.46 million over three days, claiming its first box office championship!
Including its previous earnings, 'The Blair Witch Project' had grossed $53.4 million in North America in just ten days.
This revenue was enough for Seashore Entertainment to recoup all its investments.
As more people watched the film, skepticism about 'The Blair Witch Project' grew.
But skepticism and debate only boosted its box office numbers.
Over the following four weekdays, it grossed another $6.2 million in North America. On its third weekend, despite competition from Julia Roberts' new film 'Runaway Bride,' it only dropped by 30%, grossing $25.12 million.
This week's box office champion was Julia Roberts. 'Runaway Bride,' riding her massive star power, quickly grossed $35.05 million in its opening weekend.
However, the $25.12 million was enough for 'The Blair Witch Project' to surpass 'The Haunting's' $15.25 million and take second place in the box office rankings.
'The Blair Witch Project's' North American gross had exceeded $80 million, reaching $84.72 million.
Undoubtedly, this was seen as a miracle by the media and Hollywood insiders.
Anyone familiar with film distribution could see that 'The Blair Witch Project' was guaranteed to gross over $100 million in North America, and $100 million was not the limit.
High box office revenue naturally attracted more media attention, which in turn scrutinized the film's true nature.
A pseudo-documentary like 'The Blair Witch Project' can create buzz during its marketing phase, but seasoned moviegoers and media professionals quickly see through it.
"This is an unprecedented film in Hollywood history. 'The Blair Witch Project' is pioneering, using innovative DV documentary techniques to give viewers a highly authentic experience, naturally drawing them into the Blair Witch world. The first-person shooting style is highly effective."
This was a relatively polite statement.
"'The Blair Witch Project' is a complete scam. They used marketing tactics to deceive the audience and then ruthlessly harvested the box office…"
The media always has its own stance, which wasn't incorrect either.
'The Blair Witch Project' was essentially a scam.
Some newspapers were more balanced: "'The Blair Witch Project' uses the 'found footage' trick to film a scripted movie like a documentary, confusing the audience's perception of its authenticity, creating a new category in the industry."
Due to its novel narrative and marketing, the film made audiences believe it was a real documentary rather than a fictional work, gaining significant attention from many Hollywood companies as a case study.
Despite the media coverage, Michael kept Seashore Entertainment behind the scenes, refusing all interviews.
Denying, confirming, and not responding was their strategy.
As more viewers realized 'The Blair Witch Project' wasn't genuine found footage, the criticism grew.
Many curious people bought tickets, leaving the cinema feeling deceived and angry.
Michael monitored the situation closely, knowing that the audience's dissatisfaction needed an outlet or could backfire on Seashore Entertainment.