November 1st, which was also a Monday.
Amy Pascal, as usual, arrived at Malibu's Daenerys Studios before 8 a.m.
This past weekend, the box office numbers for "Seven" grabbed a lot of attention, particularly within Daenerys Entertainment.
A $30 million production budget and $15 million in marketing expenses.
With a total cost of $45 million, a box office failure wouldn't significantly impact Daenerys Entertainment.
However, this film carried other burdens.
Since the launch of the 58list platform by Egret, Daenerys Entertainment has been quietly adjusting its film distribution strategy to reduce the influence of traditional print media.
The previous few months' films were not the main focus, so the conflict with traditional print media wasn't that intense.
Because Daenerys Entertainment's films had been successful during the Halloween season for several years, this year's "Seven" became a target for many print media outlets. If this project failed due to the impact of print media reviews, whether proactively or reluctantly, the Westeros system would have to reconsider and adjust its relationship with print media.
To counter this attack, the distribution team for "Seven" maximized the strategic adjustments made over the past few months.
The key point was the application of emerging internet platforms.
"Seven" thus became the first film to release its trailer online.
With the completion of America Online's ADSL network upgrade, over 70% of North American internet users had their base internet speed upgraded to 256kbps, translating to a download speed of 32kb/s, with millions more subscribing to faster 512kbps or 1Mbps broadband packages.
A download speed of 32kb/s could support Egret's 240P resolution video.
The two-minute trailer for "Seven," using Egret's MP4 video format, only took up 3.1MB at 240P resolution. Streaming it online required a data transmission rate of just 26Kb/s, easily supported by America Online's basic ADSL package. In dial-up areas, a brief buffering or downloading period sufficed.
A 240P resolution might seem terrible on later 1080P computers, but with most of the current display configurations, the viewing effect was quite decent.
With the gimmick of being the first online movie trailer, the two trailers released over the past two months accumulated 73 million views.
Unlike passive TV ads, these 73 million trailer views represented over 20 million people actively interested in "Seven."
Following the success of "Seven's" online trailer, Egret began releasing trailers for Daenerys Entertainment's upcoming films like "The Lion King," "Mission: Impossible," "Schindler's List," and "Cyborg." They refused to host trailers from other movie companies under the pretext that their online video streaming technology was still in testing.
Egret wasn't lying.
The MP4 video format and streaming technology were indeed still in testing. Moreover, online videos consumed a lot of network bandwidth. To save costs, Egret didn't plan to launch a dedicated video website soon, partly because they lacked enough content for such a site.
Therefore, for a long time, Egret would only embed a few videos on relevant sections of its portal website, like the movie information section for trailers.
With Egret holding all patents for MP4 video format and streaming technology, without their authorization, other dedicated video websites couldn't emerge on the World Wide Web.
This was monopolistic behavior.
Since the decision was made to allow the Westeros system to grow unchecked, Simon no longer avoided the monopoly issue. Given their industry advantages, they would exploit them fully.
Aside from the first online trailer gimmick, Daenerys Entertainment and Egret also promoted a group of online movie critics and invited many traditional well-known critics to join Egret's portal Facebook, movie information, and specialized movie websites.
While "Seven" received a 7.3 rating on traditional print media platforms, its online ratings were much higher, with an average score of 8.1, an excellent rating.
This was partly due to Daenerys and Egret's deliberate guidance.
As a hot topic on Egret's forum, social platforms, and movie information sections, articles praising "Seven" were more likely to be featured. Critics who opposed the Westeros system were less likely to be banned but would certainly have less exposure.
Human nature tends to avoid harm and seek benefit.
Recognizing these rules, many people naturally showed a bias.
Moreover, "Seven" was genuinely an outstanding film.
Even the Westeros system wouldn't forcibly promote a bad film, as it would only invite ridicule.
Beyond the first online trailer gimmick and online critics' praise, the film's main cast—River Phoenix, Morgan Freeman, Kevin Spacey, and Gwyneth Paltrow—also opened Facebook pages to interact with fans.
Of the $15 million marketing budget, $2 million was spent directly on the internet, including creating an intriguing official website for "Seven" that drew many fans to browse.
The online trailer gimmick, support from online critics, interaction between the main cast and fans, direct advertising, and prominent promotion on the Egret portal meant that over the past few months, almost every internet user in North America had at least a passing impression of "Seven."
Often, it's this kind of subliminal impression that unknowingly draws consumers to spend money.
Walking into a cinema on the weekend, compared to other films they had barely heard of, "Seven" would stand out as a familiar name with seemingly good reviews, influencing their choice.
Besides the internet, Daenerys Entertainment didn't entirely abandon traditional marketing.
Of the $15 million marketing budget, $2 million went to internet expenses, $2 million to copying and transportation costs, and the remaining $11 million was divided between $7 million for TV network ads and $2 million for cinema posters and outdoor billboards. The last $2 million went to traditional print media.
Spending on TV ads remained largely unchanged.
In traditional print media, originally 25% of the marketing budget—about $4 million—was spent. This time, half of that amount was cut and redirected to internet platforms.
While maintaining strong TV marketing, Daenerys Entertainment also cultivated favorable print media factions like News Corporation and Time Warner, completely blocking those on the opposite side, such as the Hearst Corporation, from preview screenings.
The key to news is in the 'new.'
When other media have already released reviews of a film, shaping readers' preconceptions, critics from excluded print media have less impact when their reviews appear post-release.
This was the case this time.
Though "Seven" had a 7.3 rating from traditional media after its wide release, those media outlets that reviewed it earlier generally gave positive reviews.
Also, building on the groundwork laid by Highgate Films over the past few years, Daenerys Entertainment further strengthened its influence among critics.
Among newspapers, critics, and film companies, critics may seem weakest, but unlike full-time newspaper editors, critics have some independence. Especially those with significant reputations can greatly influence audiences and have a stronger voice with newspapers.
Daenerys Entertainment happened to hold crucial content resources for critics.
A renowned critic might write for multiple newspapers, but if blacklisted by film companies and barred from advance screenings, their influence would quickly wane.
In a small conference room in the main administration building of Daenerys Studios.
When Amy Pascal entered, Daenerys Films President Tom Pollock, New World Pictures President Danny Morris, Highgate Films President Ella Deutschman, and Daenerys Entertainment Global Distribution President Mark Belford were already present, discussing something in a relaxed atmosphere.
In fact, since the first day's box office for "Seven" was released last Saturday, everyone had been relieved.
At this moment, they all had expressions of joy.
Before the film's release, based on several internal screenings and data feedback from the two-month marketing campaign, the marketing team set a box office target of $60 million for "Seven."
$60 million was a high number, yet it still wouldn't recover the $45 million total cost through domestic box office alone.
To achieve that, a domestic box office of $80 million was necessary.
Of course, as long as the domestic box office hit $60 million, overseas releases and subsequent channels would easily recoup costs and profit.
They had also hoped for higher goals.
Like joining the $100 million box office club.
However, the marketing team generally believed "Seven's" dark and niche subject would greatly limit its audience.
When the film was officially released, reality exceeded expectations, with "Seven" grossing $7.93 million on its opening day.
$7.93 million on Friday.
$8.67 million on Saturday.
Due to Halloween, Sunday's box office dropped to $6.81 million.
Even so, the three-day opening weekend box office for "Seven" totaled $23.41 million.
With 2,511 screens, "Seven" grossing $23.41 million over its opening weekend was close to but not quite at the level of a breakout hit, which requires an average of over $10,000 per screen.
However, the marketing team had only expected $20 million for the entire first week of release, and "Seven" exceeded that target in just three days.
In comparison, the other two new releases, Tim Burton's "The Nightmare Before Christmas" grossed $8.21 million over its opening weekend despite high praise.
MGM's "Fatal Instinct" grossed only $3.76 million over the weekend, barely exceeding a fraction of "Seven's" total.
With $23.41 million over the opening weekend, "Seven" was projected to earn between $33 million and $35 million in its first full week. With such a strong start, unless the subsequent box office fell off a cliff, the $80 million target would be easily surpassed, and $100 million in North America would be within reach.
Amy Pascal's assistant, Vanessa Lynn, distributed freshly printed
reports to everyone, and the room quieted down.
After patiently waiting for everyone to finish reading, Amy said, "This report compiles survey results from this weekend, and there's a crucial data point: among the 10,000 surveyed, 33% had encountered 'Seven' through the internet, and 19% were completely influenced by the internet to see the film. As industry executives, you understand the significance of this report. This document will be collected and destroyed afterward, and I hope everyone keeps it confidential. Now, let's discuss further strengthening our cooperation with Egret."
Before the rise of the internet, many factors influenced a viewer's choice of film.
The main stars, TV ads, newspaper reviews, street posters, word of mouth, and random selections were all factors. To promote a film, movie companies had to exert effort in all areas.
This time, with "Seven" being a special case, the fact that 33% of the audience was influenced by the internet proved Egret's portal's immense influence.
Though Simon repeatedly emphasized the Westeros system as a unified interest group, many high-level executives at Daenerys Entertainment had grievances about being implicated by Egret's conflict with traditional print media.
The release of "Seven" dispelled most of these concerns.
While Egret might have strained Daenerys' relationship with traditional print media, the platform's powerful media capabilities not only offset Daenerys Entertainment's disadvantages in traditional media but also brought clear benefits.
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