The screening was about to begin, and as the lights on the ceiling hadn't dimmed yet, Michael took the opportunity to observe the theater. Although The Secret Agent had limited marketing, it was quite targeted, drawing some audience members, but not too many.
He roughly counted about twenty people, with a mix of men and women, the majority being men, making up more than two-thirds of the audience. The lighting was bright enough for Michael to distinguish between genders, though it was hard to tell ethnicities from the back. He could vaguely see that quite a few were African Americans.
Indeed, films starring minority characters tend to attract African American audiences.
The current reality is that the proportion of white moviegoers in theaters is gradually decreasing, while the proportion of minority audiences is steadily increasing. This trend reflects broader social changes. Michael had seen reports indicating that the percentage of white people in the U.S. population is also decreasing yearly, with the African American population growing rapidly.
If, in the future, these trends reverse positions, white liberals might find they've trapped themselves.
Michael was undoubtedly a faux liberal and faux progressive, and there were many like him in North America. Even with his previous life's insights, he couldn't fathom what the "true liberals" were thinking.
Maybe they all went to Arkham Asylum for training?
As the saying goes, Blackgate Prison trains the body, while Arkham provides comprehensive mental guidance.
Blackgate's lessons are elementary; Arkham is where real transformation occurs.
The film began with the distributor Embassy Pictures' logo, followed by a desert scene from the production company Sand Sea Entertainment. Then, the film started with a series of action sequences.
Compared to the previous The Secret Agent, with its high-tech grandeur and elaborate action scenes, this version seemed much more modest. There was no high-tech gadgetry, and the fight scenes relied heavily on shaky camera work.
Paul Greengrass's action sequences already showed hints of the style seen in The Bourne Supremacy.
Sharp editing created a bullet-like rhythm, with a straightforward plot that was easy to follow. Despite the simple story, the film had a certain appeal with its combination of espionage and action.
The plot was straightforward, similar to the previous film. The main character's father died during training with a global spy organization. The protagonist grew up happily under the earnest support of the Abu Dhabi government until a group of white terrorists attacked Abu Dhabi, seriously injuring the official who had supported him. The protagonist learned of his father's heroic deeds from the dying official, decided to join the organization, and avenge the innocent victims.
Using his father's belongings, the protagonist joined the organization. His mentor was a Black man, and his classmates were all minorities, with the only white character being a villainous coward.
The organization faced a betrayal, with an insider colluding with the terrorists. They killed the protagonist's mentor and planned to use phone cards to drive the world insane, supposedly to cure the planet. The protagonist and his companions stormed the terrorists' lair, killed all the white terrorists amid a global frenzy, saved the world, and ended up with a beautiful woman.
The formula was traditional, but the style was unique.
Thankfully, the film's shaky cam was of the technical kind, unlike the dizzying shake of The Blair Witch Project. Watching in 2D didn't induce dizziness.
Michael had watched The Secret Agent many times during post-production, but seeing it on the big screen was different from viewing it in the editing room.
Perhaps his natural affinity for pure entertainment films made the big screen experience more exhilarating.
Of course, the film lacked grand scenes; there were no skydiving training, no hundred-person slashing scenes, and no head-exploding fireworks.
As for the Swedish Princess Madeleine, she was still a young girl, and Michael wasn't shameless enough to parody a minor. A beautiful, supposed heir to a multinational corporation sufficed.
When the film ended, there were no applause or boos. Like most movies, the audience finished their entertainment, gathered their things, and left to continue their daily lives.
As the lights came on, Michael quickly surveyed the room. As expected, the majority of the twenty or so audience members were minorities, with at least fifteen of them.
Leaving the theater, Michael saw someone conducting a survey, asking a Black audience member for feedback.
"I'd rate it a B. The action scenes were great!" the Black man said. "But it would've been better if there were more scenes with Black characters."
As Michael walked past, the surveyor tried to stop him, but Michael waved him off and left.
He then visited another theater near a minority community, where the attendance rate was noticeably higher.
After visiting three theaters, Michael had a clear impression that The Secret Agent wouldn't be a box office hit, but it wouldn't be a total flop either.
Early Saturday morning, relevant statistics were delivered to Embassy Pictures and passed to Michael. The film grossed $1.45 million on its opening day in 1,500 theaters across North America.
With an average of nearly $1,000 per theater, it performed slightly better than Michael had expected.
Saturday's daily gross increased slightly to $1.55 million.
By the end of its first weekend, The Secret Agent had earned $4.1 million in North America.
"With an average of less than $3,000 per theater, it's impossible to increase the number of theaters."
In the Los Angeles branch of Empire Entertainment, Miller looked at Thomas across from him and said, "We've given substantial support to Embassy Pictures, but with this film's average box office performance, without The Blair Witch Project's success, we would definitely reduce the number of theaters and showtimes next week."
Thomas replied, "Maintaining the current number of theaters is satisfactory for Embassy Pictures."
With the film's box office performance lacking, he lacked confidence. Embassy Pictures wasn't a major company, and everything depended on the market.
Miller, adept at making favorable remarks, continued, "With our successful collaboration on The Blair Witch Project, I personally am willing to shoulder some of the burden for your company, ensuring The Secret Agent maintains its current screening scale."
"Thank you," Thomas said quickly. "Thank you for your support, Mr. Miller."
Miller continued, "Due to the poor box office performance of The Secret Agent, the head office considered reducing the number of theaters for your other film, Final Destination. I fought hard for Final Destination, ensuring the situation remained unchanged."
Thomas smiled and said, "Embassy Pictures will always remember your friendship, Mr. Miller." He pulled out an invitation and handed it over. "Embassy Pictures invites you to attend the premiere of Final Destination."
Miller accepted the invitation, saying, "If my schedule permits, I'll be there."
"Then I won't disturb your work any further," Thomas said, taking his leave.
Miller opened the invitation, his eyes landing on a name he had heard many times but had never met in person—Michael Davenport.
Since the success of The Blair Witch Project, word about Michael Davenport had spread within several North American theater chains. The buzz was that Michael Davenport had performed some remarkable feats, with two consecutive low-budget films achieving great success, especially The Blair Witch Project.
While the media credited the success of The Blair Witch Project to director and producer Daniel Malik, those directly dealing with the distribution knew it was Michael Davenport who had orchestrated the series of miraculous marketing strategies.
Many were calling Michael Davenport a genius.
Having worked in the film industry for many years, Miller didn't believe in geniuses. The film industry had no such thing. Even the most successful producers experienced failures.
After only two successful films, Michael Davenport had now encountered a failure.
Miller began to worry about Final Destination. When successful producers start to falter, they often experience a string of failures. If Michael Davenport's horror film flopped like The Secret Agent, would Empire Entertainment's heavy investment in resources be justified?
If Final Destination had a poor opening weekend, its screening space would need to be significantly reduced.
With The Secret Agent grossing $4.1 million in its first weekend, it didn't even make the top five on the North American box office chart for that week.
"I told you, without us, he wouldn't have such good fortune."
In an office at DreamWorks headquarters, Daniel Malik put down the newspaper and said to Eduardo Sanchez, who was revising the script, "With The Secret Agent publicly claiming a budget of $25 million, even if Michael Davenport exaggerated, it still must have cost around $20 million. Adding the marketing and distribution expenses, this film earning $4.1 million in its first weekend is a complete disaster!"
Eduardo Sanchez, although the second director of The Blair Witch Project, didn't know much about Hollywood and asked, "Can't the box office increase later?"
Daniel Malik, adopting an expert tone, replied, "No, it won't! Not for a large-scale commercial film like this. The box office will only continue to drop!"
He pointed to the newspaper, "Did you see this? Cinemascore predicts this film's North American box office will be around $10 million!"
"Would that result in a significant loss?" Eduardo Sanchez asked.
Daniel Malik flaunted his newly acquired knowledge, "With a North American box office failure, the overseas performance will be even worse. If Michael Davenport can recover $10 million, it would be a good outcome."
Eduardo Sanchez couldn't help but laugh, "Dead loss for him!"
Daniel Malik also laughed happily, "This film losing over $10 million, and with Final Destination releasing in two weeks, if that film loses another $10 million, Michael Davenport will be on the brink of bankruptcy!"
Eduardo Sanchez nodded repeatedly, "Will that bastard Michael Davenport cry?"
Daniel Malik was in a great mood, "I'd love to see his face right now!"
At the same time, in the conference room of Embassy Pictures, Michael met with Paul Greengrass and his agent Dean.