Golden Dawn Entertainment Group.
"The Christmas season is one of the most important release windows of the year."
Kyle stood up, looked at the executives present, and said loudly, "We have experienced many important release windows before, but... undoubtedly, we have never experienced the competition for the Christmas release window."
Hearing this, Victor and the others immediately grew solemn.
Page Pictures had continuously released many excellent films, but it had indeed never screened a movie during the Christmas release window.
It wasn't that they didn't want to, but that they couldn't!
The Christmas release window had long been the private reserve of The Big Six of Hollywood!
Works from other film and television companies were simply powerless to participate in the competition for this window; even if they managed to screen, they were destined to become cannon fodder because they couldn't secure many opening theaters.
"Mr. Bill, what did the theater chains say?" Kyle asked.
Suddenly, everyone's eyes focused on Bill McNickle. Well, the movie Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone was the last project Mr. Bill was responsible for before his impending retirement.
Mr. Bill said with a serious expression, "The situation is not optimistic."
Hearing this, the hearts of everyone present immediately sank.
Kevin Feige couldn't help but interject, "Let me explain."
"Since October, Mr. McNickle and I have held round after round of negotiations regarding the screening of Harry Potter with mainstream North America theater chains like Regal Entertainment, AMC Theatres, and Cinemark, but the results haven't been very good."
While speaking, Kevin Feige also took out a stack of documents from his briefcase.
These documents detailed Harry Potter's experience over the past two months.
Since early October, Page Pictures had invited numerous fan representatives to watch Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone in Los Angeles, Chicago, New York, Salt Lake City, San Francisco, and other locations.
Over 52% of the audience gave it an A+ rating.
Over 85% of the audience gave it an A rating.
Generally speaking,
most viewers who watched the film were full of interest in the fantasy movie Harry Potter.
However... the theater chains didn't see it that way!
Regal Entertainment: "I don't deny that Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone is a good movie, whether it's the spectacular special effects, the dream-like magic story, or even the performances of the young actors—they are all outstanding. But... a fantasy movie like Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone hasn't been market-tested, so we can't give it a high screening schedule from the start."
AMC Theatres: "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone is adapted from an excellent fantasy work and has many readers, but it has only been around for a few years; it is not Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. If it were The Lord of the Rings movie, then our AMC Theatres would definitely give it a high screening schedule."
Did the words of Regal Entertainment and AMC Theatres make sense?
Bullshit!
Everything they said was an excuse!
Cinemark, which had a good relationship with Page Pictures and had previously cooperated well on the Spider-Man movie, was more honest.
"Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone is undoubtedly a good movie!"
"Anyone who isn't blind can tell that it will achieve good box office results in the market."
"But why can't Regal Entertainment and AMC Theatres give it a high screening schedule?"
"It all comes down to profit!"
The First Vice President of Cinemark personally told Mr. Bill, "The reason the Christmas release window has become the private reserve of The Big Six is that The Big Six's film output rate is second to none globally. They have enough movies to guarantee blockbusters during the Christmas season. What about small and medium film companies? Can they guarantee a movie release every Christmas?"
"No!"
"They cannot guarantee quantity, let alone quality!"
...The documents were finished.
Kyle took a deep breath and said, "In other words, as of now, the opening count for Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone on December 15th is only 1,300 theaters."
"1,922!"
Mr. Bill added, "I negotiated with other small and medium theater chains for over 300 more theaters, bringing the total to 1,922 theaters."
To be honest, Kyle was not very satisfied with this opening count.
Not long ago, when Spider-Man was released, the opening day count was as high as 3,600 theaters.
Now that it was time for Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone to be released, the number of screening theaters had been nearly cut in half. Could Kyle be satisfied?
A movie's reputation is very important; it guarantees the floor for a film, but it cannot determine the ceiling.
To amaze the world with a single brilliant feat!
To become an instant hit!
Only by creating a popular, overwhelming situation right from the start can a film maximize its box office success!
Well, anomalies like Titanic don't count.
The number of opening day screens directly affects a film's final box office. Yes, this is correct for the most part!
"Mr. Bill, what are the screening schedules for Paramount's someone like you and Disney's the emperors new groove?" Kyle asked again.
"3,400 and 2,150!"
Mr. Bill said gravely, "Paramount's movie someone like you is a decent film. I checked, and 3,400 opening screens is well-deserved. But Disney's the emperors new groove... honestly, it's just so-so."
Undoubtedly, Paramount and Disney secured the advantage on December 15th.
The meeting lasted for a very long time, finally concluding after a full six hours.
Finally, Mr. Bill proposed a rather bold idea.
"In the U.S. domestic market, we can't beat Paramount and Disney in terms of opening screen count; we must admit this. So, why don't we switch markets!"
"Keep Harry Potter's North America release date unchanged, but release it early in Britain, making the British market the premiere location for Harry Potter!"
Release it early?
Premiere early in Britain?
It must be said, this idea was bold enough!
If successful, it would certainly impact the North America market; but if Harry Potter's premiere box office in Britain was poor, the box office of the U.S. domestic market would also be negatively affected.
In the end, Kyle agreed!
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone would premiere first in Britain!
As the saying goes, if the movie's premiere in Britain fails, Page Pictures will find it very difficult to compete further for screening slots in the North America film market... Paramount Pictures.
"I have to say, Page Pictures is developing fast enough!" Old friend Jordan exclaimed.
The number of opening theaters Page Pictures secured for the Christmas window was far lower than Paramount Pictures, but having the courage to join the Christmas window competition itself showed that Page Pictures' current strength was astonishing.
Look at the other Hollywood film companies~
Name one—do they dare to join the Christmas window competition?
Heh heh, even DreamWorks backed down from this Christmas release window!
Paramount President Sherry Lansing said gravely, "Jordan, we just received news that Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone will premiere early in Britain. Keep a close eye on it. If it succeeds in Britain, it will definitely not be good news for us."
"Yes, Boss."
The competition for the Christmas release window is clearly a life-or-death battlefield!