Easter in 1988 fell on April 3, and American high schools and colleges usually gave students one to two weeks of spring break during this period. Young people are the main moviegoers in the movie market, and Easter has naturally become an important time in North America.
On March 25, the Easter schedule opened. After two weeks of screening, "When Harry Met Sally" officially opened on a large scale with a screening scale of 1,077 screens.
In addition, three films aimed at Easter audiences, including Universal Pictures' "The Last Man", Orion Pictures' "Johnny" and Paramount Pictures' "One Man," were also released on the same day.
Among the several new films, the star of "The Genius" happens to be Matthew Broderick, who has had conflicts with Simon before. This is not a coincidence. Matthew Broderick and Michael Fox, who became famous with "Back to the Future", are the two most popular male stars among teenagers in this era. This is why Michael Fox's "The Road to Prosperity" last year was also determined to be the best. It's Easter.
Compared with the two previous works with average reputation, Matthew Broderick's new film "The Genius" has been generally recognized by the media. If "When Harry Met Sally" hadn't come out, "The Genius" would have been destined to become the most popular work this Easter.
Now, through Disney's sparing no effort in publicity and word-of-mouth accumulated from screenings two weeks in advance, coupled with the hype about Meg Ryan's restaurant scene, "When Harry Met Sally" has become a hot topic both in terms of media reviews and The popularity is far higher than other works just released during this Easter period.
What's more, "When Harry Met Sally", a classic film that is still talked about by movie fans decades later, is naturally not the one that studios such as "The Genius" and "Johnny" are specially released for Easter. As tailor-made as a teen popcorn movie can be.
Therefore, in the first week of its large-scale opening, "When Harry Met Sally" easily won a box office of 17.81 million US dollars in an unparalleled manner.
In comparison, the first-week box office of the second-ranked "The Genius" fell directly to less than 10 million US dollars. It was released on 1,239 screens and only received 9.13 million US dollars in the first week. "Johnny" and "A Single Man's Secret" Old and new films such as "More" were left even further behind.
From March 25 to March 31, a total of 17 movies released in North American theaters had a cumulative box office of 60.33 million US dollars. Only the movie "When Harry Met Sally" took a strong share of 29.5% of the box office. Others 16 videos can only share the remaining 70.5%.
On April 1, when the new week's data was released, although they were mentally prepared during the screening stage of "When Harry Met Sally", many people still doubted whether this was an April Fool's Day joke.
You know, among the top five works on the weekly box office list, "When Harry Met Sally" has the smallest number of screens. "Pop 5", which Warner Bros. had high hopes for, even had 1,700 screens. However, the film only received US$5.09 million in box office in its second week of release, ranking fifth, with a cumulative box office of US$12.52 million.
Looking at "When Harry Met Sally" again, there are 1,077 screens. Counting previous screenings, the cumulative box office in three weeks has easily exceeded 20 million US dollars, reaching 21.56 million.
When Daenerys Pictures promoted "When Harry Met Sally" last year, almost all studios were not optimistic about the project. Even though later, due to the continuous success of Simon's several works, seven major pairs of "When Harry Met Sally" The attitude of "Meeting Sally" began to loosen, and Daenerys Pictures finally signed a very unequal distribution contract with Disney.
Although both parties have not announced the details of the cooperation, in Hollywood, where there are no secrets at all, this matter has become a hot topic among many people in the industry.
After Simon suddenly accumulated a huge fortune through the operation of the stock index futures market, his "spending money" in Hollywood in the past few months has been labeled by too many people as a rookie, a fat sheep, and a nouveau riche.
After the formation of the big studio structure, for more than half a century, too many capitals that have tried to enter Hollywood and establish a new business have almost failed. In recent years, Canon Pictures, De Laurentiis Entertainment, New World Entertainment and other rapid development companies have failed. The second-tier film companies that rapidly declined after expansion are the most direct example.
In the eyes of many people, Simon Westeros' recent actions are completely following the old path of companies such as Canon Pictures.
Now, with the release of When Harry Met Sally, many people are starting to calm down and take a second look at a young man who broke into Hollywood less than two years ago.
After the large-scale opening in the first week, the box office performance directly exceeded 20 million U.S. dollars. Coupled with the overwhelming reputation of film reviews and the popularity of the topic, it is obvious that "When Harry Met Sally" has great hope of exceeding 100 million U.S. dollars at the North American box office.
or.
Putting aside this conservative attitude, "When Harry Met Sally" was destined to be the first local movie to gross over 100 million in 1988.
A domestic box office of over 100 million may seem like a simple concept, but it is a goal that many Hollywood filmmakers pursue throughout their lives but may not be able to achieve.
You know, there are about four to five hundred movies that enter theaters in North America every year. Not to mention, in the past 10 years, on average, no more than 5 movies have achieved a box office of over 100 million in North America every year. Moreover, most of them are concentrated on the best filmmakers of this era in Hollywood and the studios’ unremitting investment in publicity and distribution. They can be like "When Harry Met Sally", which is purely a dark horse and hits the local box office of over 100 million. , the number is even rarer.
However, the local box office threshold of over 100 million seems so easy for a young man.
Of Simon's three movies last year, one won the annual crown and one had a box office of over 100 million. Even "Death", which had the worst box office performance, ranked ninth on the annual list with a local box office of more than 70 million US dollars. s position.
In the new year, when many people were watching a young man who suddenly got rich and started to act misbehaving, an anti-genre romance film that Hollywood was not optimistic about suddenly showed up again. It has the potential to exceed 100 million in local box office.
Four movies in a row, four hits in a row.
Now, anyone with a normal IQ will no longer think that Simon Westeros's series of successes are just accidental.
“…”
"Meg Ryan is so beautiful, and that scene, haha, is really a classic. I will definitely buy the video for my collection in the future."
“…”
"Do you know if Meg Ryan has any other movies?"
"Have you forgotten the character of the sacrificed pilot's wife in "Top Gun"? However, Meg Ryan's appearance in that movie was really terrible, and her performance seemed very exaggerated. It's normal that she can't remember it. . It seems that she is more suitable for a role like Sally."
“…”
"Autumn in New York is so beautiful, Toby, how about we go to New York in the fall and stay at my aunt's house."
“…”
Inside a movie theater in downtown Burbank.
After the movie ended, listening to the comments from the audience who started to leave, CAA President Michael Ovitz, who was still sitting motionless, said to Disney CEO Michael Eisner next to him: "If you count "Good Morning" "Vietnam", this should be the fifth time. At the end of last year, Simon Westeros was eager to sign Robin, it must be because he discovered the box office potential of "Good Morning Vietnam". I stopped that matter I even had some minor disputes with Westeros over this. Now I have some doubts about whether what I did was right or wrong. Robin may have missed a more outstanding movie."
"When Harry Met Sally" was distributed by Disney. If he wanted to see the film, Michael Eisner only had to ask and someone would send him a copy. However, both he and Michael Ovitz wanted to experience the film's response among the audience in the most intuitive way, so they took the time to come to the theater together.
Ovitz suddenly became interested in "Good Morning Vietnam" at the end of last year, and the two families arranged a home screening. Eisner naturally knew the reason. Also listening to the enthusiastic discussions of the audience around him, Michael Eisner asked: "That script, Michael, can you tell me more about it in detail?"
"A feature film called "Dead Poets Society," Michael Ovitz said, "If you're interested, I'll have someone send you a script later."
Michael Eisner nodded and suddenly said: "Michael, do you think it is possible for Disney to acquire Daenerys Pictures?"
"After "When Harry Met Sally", other companies will definitely have this idea," Michael Ovitz smiled and shook his head: "However, if you think about that kid's current net worth, how could he possibly Sell your own film company?"
Michael Eisner said: "Maybe he will want to be affiliated with a big movie company. Simon Westeros's talent in movies is unquestionable, but in terms of company operations, it is a complete mess. Just like "When Harry Met Sally, if I were in his shoes, I would never have signed the contract I had with Disney."
In the contract signed between Daenerys Films and Disney last year, Daenerys Pictures needs to pay Disney a fixed distribution commission of $6 million if the North American box office of "When Harry Met Sally" is within $40 million. If the North American box office exceeds US$40 million, Disney will receive an 18% box office share as a distribution commission.
This means that the higher the North American box office of "When Harry Met Sally" is, the higher the distribution commission Disney will receive as a distributor. Normally, this kind of thing should be the other way around.
Now,
Even if "When Harry Met Sally" had a North American box office of US$100 million, Disney would have received US$18 million in commission income from this movie. Moreover, Disney will also have priority to obtain the right to distribute the film through other channels.
Since the two were good friends, Michael Ovitz roughly knew about it.
Thinking of Simon Westeros' various actions in Hollywood after he became rich, it does seem to be quite haphazard on the surface.
but.
Pointing to the big screen in front of him, Michael Ovitz said: "Michael, if Simon Westeros had not signed such a seemingly loss-making contract, would Disney be willing to spare no effort to promote this movie?"
Michael Eisner paused for a moment, with a stunned expression on his face. He shook his head and smiled bitterly: "No, and if it was a general agent for distribution, I would definitely not give this movie an Easter schedule and a price of more than 1,000 yuan." Projection screen.”
Michael Ovitz shrugged and said: "So, do you still think that young man can't run a company? In my opinion, his knowledge of Hollywood is no less than that of you and me. Moreover, this is also a A young man who knows how to make choices very well. He knows that only if he pays enough can he get what he wants. Now, look at "When Harry Met Sally". Even if the North American box office of this movie is calculated at 100 million US dollars , the theater chain share ratio is calculated as 50%, Disney can get 18 million US dollars, which seems very generous, but Daenerys Pictures, which also controls the distribution rights of all other channels besides local theater chains, will be able to obtain in the future The profits will be even greater.”
The people in the screening room gradually dispersed, and the two of them got up and started walking out.
When Michael Eisner heard what Michael Ovitz said, he thought about it for a moment and had to nod with a wry smile again.
really.
Without the conditions Simon Westeros offered, Disney would never have put much effort into this movie.
Now, it is Disney that has invested a lot of publicity and distribution resources. Through two consecutive months of TV trailer promotion, more than 1,000 screens rolled out at one time, the popular Easter schedule, etc., it has ensured that "The Time" will be successful. Harry Met Sally" was a box office success.
Without these prerequisites, "When Harry Met Sally" might still be a hit thanks to the film's excellent quality, but its box office performance would never be as good as it is now. Moreover, the local box office can reach over 100 million, which will have an immeasurable boost to the subsequent distribution of the film through all other channels.
According to the revenue ratio of various Hollywood movie platforms, the total revenue of "When Harry Met Sally" from overseas, TV and video channels will be three to four times that of the local box office. Since subsequent releases do not require much publicity The more investment you make, the more profitable you will be.
Moreover, even after deducting commissions and investment in publicity and distribution, Daenerys Pictures can more than recover all production costs through the North American box office. No matter how much it earns from subsequent distribution channels, it will be a net profit.
Based on this calculation, Disney only received a commission of US$18 million, but it suffered a loss.
The two got into a car parked outside the theater together, and when the driver drove back to the Disney headquarters, Michael Eisner said again: "So, Michael, what do you think about Simon Westeros's project during this period?" What do you think of those videos?”
"I have basically read all the scripts, such as "Rain Man," which I spent more than a year personally promoting, as well as "Dead Poets Society", "Steel Magnolias" and several others. To be fair, I think these scripts It will become a good movie, but the commercial box office potential is difficult to guarantee." Michael Ovitz said as he thought, "In Hollywood for so many years, everyone understands that before a movie is released, no one can I can’t predict whether it will be successful, but I’m not sure about that now.”
Michael Eisner said: "So, do you think any of the films produced by Daenerys Films will be like 'When Harry Met Sally'?"
Michael Ovitz shook his head and said: "I don't know, but if I were you, I would definitely start fighting for a few movies under Daenerys Pictures that have not yet determined distributors. At least, I will try my best to Great partnership with Daenerys Films."
Michael Eisner nodded, but suddenly said: "But, you don't seem to be doing this in your current position."
"That was a very ambitious little guy," Michael Ovitz said with a recalling expression: "You know, when we first met, he revealed some wishes. He hoped that Hollywood would return to the era of big studios. . In the era of big studios, stars were just employees of film companies at that time, and there was no room for agencies to survive. How could this be possible? Therefore, we are destined to only become rivals."