Hollywood Director 1992

"Boss! Did you need me?"

Michael Rison walked in and stood in front of the desk.

"Michael, this is the box office information sent by 20th Century Fox Film. Currently, the overseas box office for 'Buried' is $38.85 million. I have some doubts about the authenticity of this data.

Hire a few people to investigate the local box office situation in places like Japan, the UK, and Hong Kong. If it's correct, that's fine, but if there's a mistake, we need to know how much we've lost."

Link handed him the document.

"Boss, it's very difficult to investigate this kind of thing. Actually, in Hollywood, it's common for big film companies to fake box office numbers. Compared to the Big Seven studios, independent production companies are in a weak position.

Even if we find out the truth, it won't do much good. They control all the data for the film's release and have a hundred ways to prove the authenticity of the box office data."

Michael Rison has worked in the Hollywood film industry for over ten years. He's an old-timer in this industry and knows more and has deeper insights than ordinary people.

Hollywood film companies are important clients of large accounting firms such as PricewaterhouseCoopers and KPMG.

The film companies' accounts are also managed by these major accounting firms.

Questioning the accuracy of the box office data of the Big Seven studios is equivalent to questioning the integrity of the major accounting firms on Wall Street.

If someone questions the box office data, they won't be able to pass the scrutiny of these major accounting firms in the first place.

So, even though many people know that there are certain problems with the box office figures of the films released by the Big Seven studios, they can't expose them.

"Michael, I understand what you mean.

20th Century Fox Film is very powerful, and Guess Film is very weak, but it's just weak, not stupid.

Regarding the release of 'Buried,' we need to at least understand whether we've suffered a loss and how much we've lost. If we suffer a loss but remain ignorant and take it for granted, we'll only suffer greater losses in the future."

He also wanted to use this matter to figure out whether the system's box office subsidy was doubling based on the original film's box office or the current version of 'Buried's' box office data x4.

After understanding this, he could better utilize the system.

"Okay, boss, I'll arrange for people to investigate right away."

"Just investigate four or five major box office markets and get some relatively reliable data. No need for a deep investigation."

"Understood!"

Michael Rison took the documents and left.

Link continued to browse the documents, looking at the summarized box office data for thriller films in the North American film market in the first half of the year.

A total of 105 films were released in major theaters in the United States in the first half of the year.

Among them, there were 16 thriller and suspense films, accounting for about one-sixth.

The performance of these types of films is generally good, with several dark horses emerging. 'Buried' ranked first with its extremely high box office revenue ratio.

Ranking second was the erotic thriller film 'Basic Instinct,' with a production cost of $49 million and a global box office of $352 million.

It ranked fourth among all the films released in the first half of the year in North America.

Ranking third was the family thriller film 'The Hand That Rocks the Cradle,' with a cost of $22 million and a global box office of $164 million.

It ranked eighth in North American box office in the first half of the year.

Ranking fourth was the science fiction thriller film 'Alien 3,' directed by David Lynch, which was released in early May with a production cost of $50 million and a current cumulative global box office of $130 million.

The data was also good.

Several thriller films in the first half of the year were box office hits, and there was even a record-breaking film like 'Buried.'

Many media outlets believe that this year is a big year for thriller and horror films, and the box office performance of thriller films released this year can achieve good results.

Guided by this trend, there may be more horror films in the North American film market next year.

What's the use of understanding this data?

It's very useful.

'Paranormal Activity' is a thriller and horror film.

In the current film market, similar themes are doing well, and movie fans like this type of film.

When promoting and distributing this film, the distributor will also have more confidence.

If a film company is willing to distribute this film, Guess Film can also be in an advantageous position during negotiations.

— —

"Link, how's the new movie going?"

"So far, everything is going smoothly."

"Be careful. There's a lot of news about your new movie in the industry right now. Many media outlets are predicting, as usual, that your second movie is very likely to be a flop."

Jerome Preston stirred his coffee in the Starbucks coffee shop at the Grove shopping center.

"They're probably going to be disappointed."

"Haha, you're still that confident Link. I like guys like you."

Jerome pointed at him and then said,

"I asked you to come here today because I have good news to tell you."

Jerome's good news was that after review by AMC Entertainment Group, two of the plans written by Link to increase theater occupancy rates were adopted by AMC Entertainment Group.

AMC Theatres plans to implement them within the next three years.

Jerome has also received attention from AMC Entertainment Group, being promoted from theater manager at the Grove shopping center to head of AMC Theatres in the greater Los Angeles area, responsible for the distribution work of 9 theaters.

Los Angeles is the entertainment capital, and AMC is the second-largest theater chain in the United States. Becoming the head of AMC here is equivalent to becoming a mid-to-high-level executive of AMC Entertainment Group, which not only has financial prospects but also a future.

"That's indeed good news, Jerome, congratulations!"

"Link, I owe it all to you."

Jerome Preston sat up and said seriously.

"Don't be so polite. Your help was also essential for the smooth release of 'Buried.'"

"It's different. The smooth release of 'Buried' was an opportunity you earned through your efforts, and 'Buried' was a hit because the movie was good enough and the fans were willing to support it. I regret that I couldn't help you much.

Next time your movie is released, if you need help, the 9 theaters in Los Angeles can help you arrange it."

"Is that appropriate?"

"Haha, that's the power of the theater负责人. For example, when theater chains cooperate with film companies, they will give priority to films under the Big Seven studios.

When arranging movie posters, they give better positions to the Big Seven studios' films, and when recommending movies to customers, they also prioritize recommending their movies.

On the one hand, it's because the films released by the Big Seven studios have better box office results and greater distribution profits.

On the other hand, theater chains need to strengthen cooperation with the Big Seven studios to get more film distribution rights from them and profit from them.

If it's your movie, and it's released in the AMC theaters in the Los Angeles area, I can also exercise some power."

Jerome Preston smiled and used his hand to indicate a distance of centimeters.

"Sounds good." Link nodded. "I heard that when the Big Seven studios cooperate with theater chains, there are facts of falsely reporting box office numbers. Do you know anything about this?"

"Link, the water here is too deep. It's useless for you to know too much. In fact, when the Big Seven studios release movies, they prefer to exaggerate the numbers for publicity expenses, exaggerating 1 million to 2 million or more. This operation is relatively easier.

Jointly doing accounts with theater chains and falsely reporting box office numbers, whether exaggerating or lowering them, will have anomalies in the data. If the IRS investigates afterwards, there will be big problems.

In addition, there is more than one Hollywood film company, and there is more than one theater chain. There is competition between film companies and theater chains. It is not easy to quietly fake accounts.

You are a director, you only need to focus on making movies, make some good movies, and let film companies and theater chains compete to become your partners.

When you become the party with resources, you will become a big shot at Hollywood parties, not prey to be slaughtered."

Jerome Preston raised his thick eyebrows, his expression becoming serious.

"Understood."

Link raised his coffee cup and clinked it with Jerome's.